“…Such intuitions may include a preference for animals to which people feel socially connected, a preference for particularly charismatic animals, or an aversion against disgusting or dangerous animals (Amiot & Bastian, 2017; Amiot, Sukhanova, & Bastian, 2019; Loughnan & Piazza, 2018). In the context of meat consumption, for example, it has been shown that emotional reactions toward animals mediate willingness to eat them: People are more reluctant to eat animals that trigger empathy, such as cute and baby animals (Bastian & Loughnan, 2016; Piazza, McLatchie, & Olesen, 2018; Zickfeld, Kunst, & Hohle, 2018). As we have seen in our studies, most people like animals in general and pet animals—such as dogs—in particular.…”