Solidarity with Animals: Assessing a Relevant Dimension of Social Identification with Animals

Amiot, Catherine E.; Bastian, Brock

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0168184

Cited by 80 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…A positive correlation has previously been shown between solidarity (i.e. feelings of psychological attachment and closeness) with animals and dispositional empathy, particularly with empathic concern [45]. While alternative explanations likely exist, warm feelings toward a breed or group may be related to solidarity, and higher pain sensitivity ratings to empathic concern.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 92%

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

2020

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Humans do not respond to the pain of all humans equally; physical appearance and associated group identity affect how people respond to the pain of others. Here we ask if a similar differential response occurs when humans evaluate different individuals of another species. Beliefs about pain in pet dogs (Canis familiaris) provide a powerful test, since dogs vary so much in size, shape, and color, and are often associated with behavioral stereotypes. Using an on-line survey, we asked both the general public and veterinarians to rate pain sensitivity in 28 different dog breeds, identified only by their pictures. We found that both the general public and veterinarians rated smaller dogs (i.e. based on height and weight) as being more sensitive to pain; the general public respondents rated breeds associated with breed specific legislation as having lower pain sensitivity. While there is currently no known physiological basis for such breed-level differences, over 90% of respondents from both groups indicated belief in differences in pain sensitivity among dog breeds. We discuss how these results inform theories of human social discrimination and suggest that the perception of breed-level differences in pain sensitivity may affect the recognition and management of painful conditions in dogs.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 92%

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

2020

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“…It could also be explored whether, as aforementioned, pre-existing (positive or negative) stereotypes about these animals (mammals or non-mammals) interact with the effects of anthropomorphism. Additionally, another metaphor "animals are family members" could appear to be more suitable than the friendship metaphor to anthropomorphize certain animals in some cultures (Amiot & Bastian, 2017;Belk, 1996;Gray & Young, 2011;Hirschman, 1994). Using more subtle forms of anthropomorphism by simply calling the restaurant or company "Mr. Piggy's" or "Mr. Moo's" could also further document weak forms of anthropomorphism.…”

Section: Perspectives and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Animals are friends, not food”: Anthropomorphism leads to less favorable attitudes toward meat consumption by inducing feelings of anticipatory guilt

Wang

Basso

2019

Appetite

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Why do people befriend animals, yet don't feel conflicted about eating some of them? Previous research on the "meat paradox" suggests that the dehumanization of meat animals plays a crucial role in attenuating the negative affective states that consumers may experience when consuming meat. However, relatively little is known about how the converse process, namely anthropomorphism, influences meat consumption. The current research provides evidence that anthropomorphizing meat animals through the friendship metaphor, "animals are friends", can alter (omnivorous) consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward meat eating, and induce feelings of guilt. More specifically, our experimental findings reveal that anthropomorphism has a negative effect on consumers' attitudes toward the food served in a restaurant and their intentions to patronize it when (pork) meat is on offer. This effect holds whether consumers are invited to consider themselves (Study 1a) or staff members (Study 1b) as taking part in a friendly humananimal interaction. We also demonstrate a similar effect of anthropomorphism on attitudes toward a (pork) meat product and their intentions to buy it, when consumers consider animal-animal friendship or human-animal friendship (Study 2). Last, we show that the negative effect of anthropomorphism on consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward (pork) meat consumption is mediated by increased feelings of anticipatory guilt (Studies 3a and 3c). Nevertheless, no such effect was found with another kind of meat (beef), which indicates that anthropomorphizing meat animals through the friendship metaphor cannot be successfully applied to all commonly eaten species (Study 3b). Implications of these results for meat consumption are discussed.

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“…This type of solidarity exists around the globe, including in Indigenous spiritualties (Kairos, 2017;Soole, 2018;United Nations, 2016), Christian and Catholic notions of stewardship (Catholic Social Teaching, n.d.), teachings of the Dalai Lama (DalaiLama, 2018), and other sustainability movements (e.g., voluntary simplicity; Elgin, 2006). Solidarity with nature is at times apolitical, a feeling that existing unidimensional measures (e.g., Amiot & Bastian, 2017) could assess. Yet solidarity with nature can also be quite political, as is often the case with pipeline development, water protection, and fossil fuel divestment.…”

Section: Sampled Participants and Focal Social Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political solidarity: A theory and a measure

Neufeld

Starzyk

Gaucher

2019

J. Soc. Polit. Psych.

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Political solidarity is often key to addressing societal injustice. Yet social and political psychology are without a common definition or comprehensive measure of this construct, complicating advancements in this burgeoning field. To address these gaps, we advance a novel understanding and measure of this construct. We conceptualized political solidarity as a construct consisting of three factors—allyship with a minority outgroup, a connection to their cause, and a commitment to working with them to achieve social change—that can emerge within and across social groups. Five studies empirically supported our conceptualization and measure; all participants were Canadian university students. In Study 1, 1,594 participants completed the initial 30-item pool. A series of exploratory factor analyses, along with indices of factor retention, supported the three-factor model. We retained three items per factor to create the 9-item Political Solidarity Measure (PSM). This three-factor model adequately fit Study 2 data (N = 275). In Study 3 (N = 268), we found evidence of the PSM’s convergent and discriminant validity. Studies 3 and 4 assessed the PSM’s retest stability in the medium-term (three to six months; Study 3) and short-term (a three-week period; Study 4; N = 126). Finally, we demonstrate the PSM’s predictive validity in Study 5 (N = 221). Controlling for modern racism, political orientation, and gender, PSM scores predicted collective action intentions and behavior benefitting the outgroup: Participants who reported higher political solidarity donated more to the outgroup’s cause and were more likely to agree to create a message of support.

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Solidarity with Animals: Assessing a Relevant Dimension of Social Identification with Animals

Cited by 80 publications

References 83 publications

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

“Animals are friends, not food”: Anthropomorphism leads to less favorable attitudes toward meat consumption by inducing feelings of anticipatory guilt

Political solidarity: A theory and a measure

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