Abstract
ABSTRACTBats are fascinating wildlife species. Yet, many citizens tend to perceive them as threatening. Such perceptions could influence citizens’ knowledge acquisition about bats. In terms of wildlife management, it is important to understand what citizens who perceive bats as threatening learn about bats. Evolutionarily, it is likely that humans process negative information about threatening bats more attentively as they may encounter them again in the future. Therefore, this study investigated how representations of bats as threatening affected participants’ recall of information by comparing a threatening representation to other representations of bats as cute, neutral, and imperiled. We hypothesized and found that representations of bats as threatening elicited recall of more negative pieces of information and more pieces of information overall than representations of bats as imperiled, neutral, or cute. Thus, threatening bats increased citizens’ knowledge acquisition. We discuss the implications for wildlife management.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.