"Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others": The Role of Animal Category in Judgments of Sadistic Harm.

Nonhuman animals are perceived differently depending on their relative use for humans. While companion animals are anthropomorphized and assigned a high moral status, farm animals often do not receive such consideration. To investigate the development of these differing perceptions, we evaluated the depiction of farm and companion animals in German biology textbooks to identify and analyze inherent biases across nonhuman animal species. The varying moral considerations and treatment of nonhuman animals are solely determined by their species membership, reflecting a broader collective orientation toward nonhuman animals referred to as speciesism. Analyzing 35 German biology textbooks, we investigated whether the portrayal of companion animals (dogs and cats) versus farm animals (pigs, cows, and chickens) differentiates between them, manifesting in companion animal speciesism and belief in the emotional and cognitive capacities of animals (belief in animal mind). We developed a set of categories and examined differences in the frequencies of sentence allocation between companion animals and farm animals to test whether speciesism is embedded in German educational materials. The results of our tests indicate significant biases in the representation of companion and farm animals in German biology textbooks. Specifically, companion animals are attributed significantly greater intrinsic value (χ 2 = 102.36, p < 0.001, φ = 0.152), concern (χ 2 = 20.91, p < 0.001, φ = 0.069), and belief in animal mind (χ 2 = 351.22, p < 0.001, φ = 0.269) compared with farm animals. These findings expose speciesist bias in textbooks, where companion animals are portrayed more favorably, while farm animals are depicted with indifference or as mere resources. This raises critical questions about perspectives on nonhuman animals and underscores the need to reevaluate their portrayal in educational materials.

Simple SummaryHumans exhibit special brain reactions when processing information about companion animals (like cats or dogs), but we do not fully understand how this works. To figure it out, we studied 40 people using functional magnetic resonance imaging—a tool that hows brain activity—while they looked at four types of images (companion animals, other animals, pleasant objects, common objects) and judged each image’s category. We found three key things: first, looking at companion animals activated specific brain areas (linked to seeing, feelings, and attachment); second, the connections between these brain areas changed in a special way; third, pet owners and non-pet owners had clear differences in how some brain areas connect internally. This study confirms our brains react uniquely to companion animals. It helps us understand how companion animals affect our brain activity during interactions and can guide uses like animal-assisted therapy (where animals help with healing).Humans show neural specificity in processing animal-related information, especially regarding companion animals. However, the underlying cognitive mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study’s main objective is to investigate human neural specificity in processing companion animal-related information, compared to other animal types and inanimate objects. Forty participants viewed four image types (companion animals, neutral animals, positive objects, neutral objects) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans and judged image categories. T-test results showed: 1. Processing companion animal-related information elicited specific brain activation in the right Inferior Parietal Lobe (right IPL), right Middle Occipital Gyrus (right MOG), left Superior Frontal Gyrus (left SFG), and left Precuneus (left PCu) (<0.05). 2. Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction (gPPI) analysis revealed specific functional connectivity changes between relevant brain regions during companion animal info processing (<0.05). 3. Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) analysis showed significant intrinsic connectivity differences between pet owners and non-pet owners: specifically, left IPL to left PCu and right ACC to right MOG (posterior probability, Pp > 0.95). The results of this study demonstrate that humans exhibit distinct neural specificity when processing information related to companion animals compared with livestock and inanimate objects. This neural specificity involves brain regions linked to higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., visual processing, emotion, and attachment), all of which are integral components of the human attachment network. These regions are part of the human attachment network, and their functional role likely relates to attachment mechanisms. These findings help clarify companion animals’ impact on human neural activity during human–animal interactions and guide applications like animal-assisted therapy.

ABSTRACTHomebound older adults are prone to depression, which is linked to systemic inflammation that promotes executive function decline. A companion animal may reduce the negative biobehavioral processes asso- ciated with depression, inflammation, and reduced executive function in homebound older adults. The primary aim of this study was to examine dif- ferences between homebound older adult pet owners and non-pet owners in depression, salivary C-reactive protein (CRP), and executive function. The secondary aim was to determine if the level of attachment to pets was as- sociated with depression, salivary CRP, and executive function. The study was cross-sectional and investigated homebound older adult pet owners and non-pet owners (n = 88) using psychometrically reliable and valid instru- ments (Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form and CLOX 1). Salivary CRP was assessed with immunoassay. Level of attachment to pets was measured using a Likert scale (0–10). Mean age for the total sample was 75 years (SD = 9). Forty-eight (55%) participants owned pets (56% dogs, 25% cats, 4% other pets, 15% both cats and dogs). Pet owners reported a high level of attachment to pets (Median = 10). Pet owners had significantly higher ex- ecutive function than non-pet owners (t = –2.07; p = 0.04) but there were no significant differences in executive function between cat owners and dog owners (t = 1.53; p = 0.14). Pet owners and non-pet owners were similar in depression (t = –1.80, p = 0.08) and salivary CRP levels (t = 0.27, p = 0.79). Level of attachment to pets was significantly and positively correlated with executive function (r = 0.30; p = 0.04) but was not significantly correlated with depression (r = 0.04, p = 0.77) or salivary CRP (r = –0.04, p = 0.80). Compared with non-pet owners, pet owners had better executive function but similar depression and salivary CRP levels. Reasons for these findings are unclear. Significant positive correlation be- tween pet attachment and executive function suggests further investigation in this area. Future studies with larger samples and a longitudinal design are needed to investigate the biobehavioral changes over time in relation to pet ownership, level of attachment to pets, and executive func- tion in homebound older adults.

Simple SummaryWhen people try to make sense of the world they often use categorisations, which are seen as a basic function of human cognition. People use specific attributes to categorise animals with young children using mostly visual cues like number of legs, whereas adults use more comprehensive attributes such as the habitat that the animal lives in. The aim of the present study was to investigate how adolescents categorise different types of animals. A card sorting exercise in combination with a survey questionnaire was implemented. Adolescents were asked to group images of a variety of common British farm, pet, and wild animals that were printed on cards. Furthermore, adolescents were asked to rate a number of animals regarding their utility, likability, and fear, which served as affective responses. Results show that adolescents primarily use an animal’s perceived utility as a means for their categorisation along with their affective feelings towards those animals. In other words, adolescents group animals into farm, pet, and wild animals with one exception, birds. Birds, regardless of their role in society (pet, farm, or wild animal), were mostly grouped together. The results are important to understand adolescents’ perception of animals, which may explain the different attitudes and behaviours towards animals.Categorisations are a means of investigating cognitive maps. The present study, for the first time, investigates adolescents’ spontaneous categorisation of 34 animal species. Furthermore, explicit evaluations of 16 selected animals in terms of their perceived utility and likeability were analysed. 105 British adolescents, 54% female, mean age 14.5 (SD = 1.6) participated in the study. Results of multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques indicate 3-dimensional data representation regardless of gender or age. Property fittings show that affect and perceived utility of animals explain two of the MDS dimensions, and hence partly explain adolescents’ categorisation. Additionally, hierarchical cluster analyses show a differentiation between farm animals, birds, pet animals, and wild animals possibly explaining MDS dimension 3. The results suggest that utility perceptions predominantly underlie adolescents’ categorisations and become even more dominant in older adolescents, which potentially has an influence on attitudes to animals with implications for animal welfare, conservation, and education.

Previous research found evidence for a liking bias in moral character judgments because judgments of liked people are higher than those of disliked or neutral ones. This article sought conditions moderating this effect. In Study 1 (N = 792), the impact of the liking bias on moral character judgments was strongly attenuated when participants were educated that attitudes bias moral judgments. In Study 2 (N = 376), the influence of liking on moral character attributions was eliminated when participants were accountable for the justification of their moral judgments. Overall, these results suggest that although liking biases moral character attributions, this bias might be reduced or eliminated when deeper information processing is required to generate judgments of others’ moral character.

Species-specific concentrations of perfluoroalkyl contaminants in farm and pet animals in Japan

John Divers and Alex Miller [2] and Paul Horwich [3] agree that, even on a minimalist theory of truth-aptitude, a sentence is to count as truth-apt only if it has the appropriate syntax and only if it can be used to give the content of a belief: specifically, the belief of someone who sincerely utters the sentence. They also agree that if belief and desire are distinct existences if no belief is a desire; or if, as I would prefer to say, there are no 'besires' [1], [9] (from here on, I will put my own terminological preference to one side) then it may be impossible to reconcile the claim that moral sentences are truth-apt with the claim that moral judgement has a necessary connection of sorts with the will. As I see it, this is enough to show that they are wrong when they say that minimalism about truth aptitude immediately precludes the distinctive expressivist claim that moral judgements are not truth-apt. For, in these terms, what the expressivists are saying is just that, even though the sentences we utter when we make moral judgements have the appropriate syntax, they do not express beliefs. Why? Because, by the expressivist's lights, moral judgements have a connection with the will that they could not have if they were expressions of beliefs. Thus, according to these expressivists, moral judgements express our desires and not our beliefs; moral sentences are therefore not truth-apt. As such, expressivism relies on a premiss about the relationship between belief and desire. In short, expressivists think that Hume was right: belief and desire are distinct existences. Anti-Humean theorists of motivation reject this premiss. They argue that human beings are capable of enjoying beliefs-that-are-desires, and, accordingly, they insist that moral judgements express these hybrid psychological states. Since moral judgements therefore do have an appropriate connection with beliefs the anti-Humeans conclude that, notwithstanding the connection between moral judgement and the will, moral sentences are truth-apt after all. Note that as I have so far characterized these two parties to the traditional debate in meta-ethics the expressivists and the anti-Humean theorists of motivation both sides accept the minimalist's theory of truthaptitude. What they disagree about is not this, but rather whether or not moral sentences are truth-apt by the lights of the minimalist's theory. As I see it, this is a disagreement within the minimalist camp as to how to construct a philosophy of mind; a disagreement about whether there are any beliefs-that-are-desires. And this is precisely what John Divers and

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant social disruptions for youth caused by lockdowns, school closures, and a lack of in-person social interactions. Companion animals are prevalent in United States households and may provide a source of emotional support and motivation for youth to engage in adaptive coping behaviors during social challenges. The goals of this study were to assess if dog owners, non-dog pet owners, and non-pet owners differed in stress levels, positive affect, and use of adaptive coping strategies such as increased time outdoors, regular walking, and healthy behaviors. This study used data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM (ABCD) Study, a large, nationally representative dataset of American youth. In a cross-sectional sample of 6,069 adolescents, there were significant, but small, relationships between owning a non-dog pet and lower levels of positive affect, and both dog owners and non-dog pet owners reported higher perceived stress compared with non-pet owners. Dog ownership was associated with higher odds of using healthy coping strategies compared with non-pet owners, but this relationship was not significant when controlling for demographic variables. Dog owners reported higher odds of having a walking routine and spending time outdoors compared with non-pet owners. Overall, the results suggest no buffering effect of pet ownership on youth mental wellbeing, but dog ownership is associated with some healthy coping behaviors linked to walking.

반려인 1500만 시대, 반려동물과의 쾌적한 공생은 단순한 트렌드를 넘어 하나의 현상으로 자리 잡고 있다. 특히, 주거의 영역에서 볼 때, 인간을 중심으로 계획된 기존의 주거공간은 반려동물과 쾌적한 생활을 영위하기 힘든 다양한 문제들이 존재한다. 따라서 반려동물, 반려인, 이웃 거주민(반려인 또는 비 반려인)이 함께 공생하며, 정신적, 육체적으로 건강한 삶의 질을 추구하고, 나아가서는 이웃과도 갈등 없이 생활할 수 있는 쾌적한 주거환경을 형성하도록 하는 다양한 주거계획의 요소의 연구 및 적용이 필요하다. 이에 반려동물 친화형 공동주택의 사례의 분석을 통해 공동주거에 특화된 반려동물 친화형 주거계획 요소를 정립하고 그 특성 및 유형을 분석하였다. 그 결과 반려동물 친화형 주거계획 요소를 실내, 실외, 설비계획으로 분류할 수 있었으며, 실내계획 요소가 절반 이상으로 실내에 대한 고려가 중요하게 이루어졌다. 또한, 반려동물 친화형 주거계획 요소를 중요도 순으로 분류하여, 필수요소 4가지와 더불어 필요요소, 선택요소로 구분 할 수 있었다. 마지막으로 반려동물친화형 공동주거계획의 유형을 반려동물 배려형, 거주자 편의형, 커뮤니티 강화형으로 분류하였으며 각 특징을 분석하였다. 이와 같은 반려동물 친화형 공동 주거계획의 요소 및 유형분류, 특성분석 결과는 앞으로 공간 및 인테리어, 가구, 설비 등의 다양한 관련 연구의 바탕이되는 이론적인 토대로서 활용될 것이다.In the current era when about 15 million people live together with companion animals, the pleasant symbiosis with companion animals is settled down as a phenomenon beyond a simple trend. Especially, in the aspect of residence, the existing human-centered residential space shows various problems with enjoying such pleasant life with companion animals. Thus, it would be necessary to research/apply various elements of housing plan for coexisting with companion animals, pet owners, and neighbors(pet owners or non-pet owners), seeking for the quality of mentally/physically-healthy life, and forming the pleasant residential environment without any conflicts with neighbors. Thus, this study established the elements of companion animal-friendly housing plan specialized in apartment housing by analyzing the cases of companion animal-friendly apartment housing, and then analyzed the characteristics and types. As a result, the elements of companion animal-friendly housing plan were classified into interior planning, outdoor planning, and facility planning, and the interior planning elements were more than half, so the consideration of interior planning was handled as important. Also, classifying the elements of companion animal-friendly housing plan following the order of importance, they were divided into four essential elements, necessary elements, and selective elements. Lastly, the types of companion animal-friendly apartment housing plan were classified into companion animal consideration type, resident convenience type, and community reinforced type, and then the characteristics of each type were analyzed. Such results of classifying the elements/types of companion animal-friendly apartment housing plan, and analyzing the consequential characteristics could be used as the theoretical basis of various relevant researches on interior design, furniture, and facilities in the future.

BackgroundZoonotic diseases are partly associated with pets. However, data is sparse on pet owners’ compliance with preventive recommendations. Also, research focuses on self-reports, which are subject to overestimation biases, i.e., assessing one’s actual performance to be better than it is. One reason is task difficulty: people tend to overestimate their performance on hard tasks. Regarding handwashing, compliance after touching animals should be harder for pet vs. non-pet owners due to the number of opportunities. This study tests for differences in self-reported handwashing between pet and non-pet owners, and explores reasons for non-compliance. Thus, it aims to provide insights on how to improve self-report behavioral assessment methods in public health and One Health research.MethodsData from cross-sectional computer-assisted telephone surveys of the general population in Germany aged 16–85 years in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019 were analyzed (N = 15,559; response rate: 45.9%). Handwashing frequency was operationalized for nine indications using the item “How often do you wash your hands in each of the following situations: ‘never/almost never‘, ‘seldom‘, ‘mostly‘, ‘always/almost always‘?”, with the latter defining compliance. In 2017 and 2019, those reporting to ‘never/almost never‘ or ‘rarely‘ wash hands were questioned regarding possible reasons. Chi²-tests, Cohen’s d’s and multiple logistic regressions were used.ResultsPet and non-pet owners differed in self-reported handwashing compliance primarily in the indication “After touching animals” (35.5% vs. 55.7%, effect size: d = 0.45). For other indications (e.g., “After using the toilet”), differences were insignificant (≤|3.6%|, d ≤ 0.11). Additionally, 79% of pet owners who rarely or almost never washed their hands after touching animals felt it is not necessary (non-pet owners: 67.1%; d = 0.34). Reporting to not have an appropriate washing facility available was rarer among pet owners (44.5% vs. 63%, d = 0.41). Differences regarding other reasons were trivial (d ≤ 0.16), including “It takes too long” (16.9 vs. 13.3%; p = .138 in multiple regression).ConclusionsStudy limitations include that due to unknown true compliance, over- and underestimations have to be inferred. Yet, that the only substantial difference between pet and non-pet owners pertained to „After touching animals” suggests such effects. While pet owners obviously adjust for task difficulty, the likely residual overestimation should be reduced by measures using script-based covert recall or survey items with response categories constructed to better resemble subjective compliance ratios.

The issue of the motivations behind the decision as to whether or not to join protest actions has been investigated by many scholars. In particular, recent studies have considered violations of one’s own moral convictions and identification with the protest group as the main predictors of collective actions. The present research will focus on the three orientations to the political system identified by Kelman and Hamilton (1989), which consider distinct reasons behind the attachment to the political system and explain the motivations behind supporting or opposing the institutions. The aim is to examine whether these three orientations have an effect on collective action (through moral convictions, politicized identification, anger, and efficacy) considering social protests both against and in favor of the status quo. Specifically, the political orientations should explain why individuals hold a given attitude (positive or negative) towards a policy position, hold it with moral conviction, and decide to join a protest action. The results of three studies confirm the relevance of considering political orientations. Depending on the aim of the protest, each political orientation has a distinct effect on collective action.

ABSTRACTPublic concern for farm animal welfare is increasing in the UK, as is evidenced by recent legislation. Calls have been made to enhance awareness of food, farming, and farm animal welfare among school children, yet educators have very little research available to aid meaningful design of farm animal welfare education. Our research used an interdisciplinary approach to investigate Scottish children’s welfare knowledge of and perspectives on farm animals. The study set out to explore: a) children’s knowledge of the welfare needs of cows, lambs, and chickens, b) beliefs about farm animal sentience, the extent to which children empathized with farm animals, and d) the impact of first-hand experience on attitudes toward farm animals. Data were collected from six focus groups; there were interviews with children aged 6 to 11 years and these allowed both developmental and gender comparisons. While children were not indifferent to the welfare and treatment of farm animals, the study identified very large gaps in their knowledge of the welfare needs of farm animals. While children endorsed animal sentience and readily took the perspective of cows, chickens, and sheep, empathy was cognitive rather than affective. Most children had had little contact with farm animals and perceived of them in a more abstract way than they did pet animals. Our study highlights the potential of direct interaction with farm animals to enhance children’s welfare concern and compassion for farm animals. Findings also identified an interest in discussing the ethical aspects of killing animals for human consumption among children aged 10 years and older.

BackgroundWhile companion animals have been previously identified as a direct source of companionship and support to their owners, their role as a catalyst for friendship formation or social support networks among humans has received little attention. This study investigated the indirect role of pets as facilitators for three dimensions of social relatedness; getting to know people, friendship formation and social support networks.MethodsA telephone survey of randomly selected residents in four cities, one in Australia (Perth; n = 704) and three in the U.S. (San Diego, n = 690; Portland, n = 634; Nashville, n = 664) was conducted. All participants were asked about getting to know people within their neighborhood. Pet owners were asked additional questions about the type/s of pet/s they owned, whether they had formed friendships as a result of their pet, and if they had received any of four different types of social support from the people they met through their pet.ResultsPet owners were significantly more likely to get to know people in their neighborhood than non-pet owners (OR 1.61; 95%CI: 1.30, 1.99). When analyzed by site, this relationship was significant for Perth, San Diego and Nashville. Among pet owners, dog owners in the three U.S. cities (but not Perth) were significantly more likely than owners of other types of pets to regard people whom they met through their pet as a friend (OR 2.59; 95%CI: 1.94, 3.46). Around 40% of pet owners reported receiving one or more types of social support (i.e. emotional, informational, appraisal, instrumental) via people they met through their pet.ConclusionThis research suggests companion animals can be a catalyst for several dimensions of human social relationships in neighborhood settings, ranging from incidental social interaction and getting to know people, through to formation of new friendships. For many pet owners, their pets also facilitated relationships from which they derived tangible forms of social support, both of a practical and emotionally supportive nature. Given growing evidence for social isolation as a risk factor for mental health, and, conversely, friendships and social support as protective factors for individual and community well-being, pets may be an important factor in developing healthy neighborhoods.

Morality, concern for the welfare of others, is an important criterion of how individuals treat others, including justice, fairness, and rights. Moral judgment is the process of evaluating the behavior of others and oneself according to social norms. Morality might affect social cooperation with others by entailing the belief that someone should be rewarded or punished. The ultimatum game is a classic paradigm that can be used to study the fairness behavior of social cooperation. Previous studies have shown that some social factors (e.g., social distance, social exclusion, and social evaluation) influence fairness behavior in the ultimatum game. Using the event-related potential (ERP) technique to examine the neural basis of the ultimatum game, studies found that feedback-related negativity (FRN) was modulated by social factors. This effect indicates that the influence of social factors mainly appears in the early stage of outcome evaluation. However, the influence of moral judgment on social cooperation and its neural mechanism remains unclear. The present study focused on whether moral judgment would affect fairness consideration in the early outcome evaluation stage. For this purpose, we used moral sentences within the ultimatum game to assess the influence of moral judgment and fairness of offers on decision-making. A total of 25 participants who acted as respondents completed the ultimatum game with blood donors, murderers, and unidentified individuals as proposers. A moral sentence (e.g., He is a blood donor) was given as a reminder of the moral identity of the players before each round. Participants were told that other players would gain ￥50, and proposers would make an allocation offer. There were five types of allocation offers: ￥5, ￥10, ￥15, ￥20 or ￥25. Participants were asked to accept or reject the offers. At the same time, the ERP was locked to the onset of the offers. The acceptance rate of each offer was included in the behavioral data. The dependent variable was the acceptance rate of the five allocation offers and moral primes were the independent variable when performing one-way ANOVAs. Regarding ERP data, ￥5 and ￥10 were considered as unfair offers and ￥20 and ￥25 as fair offers in order to analyze the amplitudes of FRN and P300. Two-way repeated measures ANOVAs (moral judgment, three levels; offer fairness, two levels) were performed to compare ERP data. Behavioral results showed that the acceptance rate of unfair offers from blood donors was significantly higher than that of murderers. Furthermore, the acceptance rate of fair offers from murderers was significantly lower than that of blood donors and unidentified individuals. ERP results revealed that the FRN amplitude was more negative-going in response to unfair than to fair offers. The fairness of offers modulated FRN amplitude only regarding blood donors, but not for murderers and unidentified individual conditions. P300 was larger for fair offers compared to unfair offers and was not affected by moral judgment. These results indicate that when moral judgment conflicts with the fairness criterion, individuals might rely on moral judgment to make decisions. People may have a higher expectation of fairness from individuals with high moral standards, while unfair behaviors could induce strong negative emotions. FRN represents unfair behaviors that violate social norms and shows that the early outcome evaluation stage is also modulated by moral judgment, while the late stage is independent of moral judgment.

In December 2019, the new coronavirus outbreak forced many countries to quarantine in their own homes. It can cause a lot of stress. For example, the increasing number of infected people makes us anxious. This leads people to find ways to relieve stress. In this research, we analyzed whether raising animals could really help reduce stress. We collected information from pet owners and non-pet owners who are between 13 and 19 years old using an online questionnaire. Survey samples were selected through a volunteer sampling method with a total of 120 responses. We analyzed data using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results of the analysis showed different outcomes for stress in the teenage pet owners and non-pet owners during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was no different outcome in the aspect of attitudes toward pets between pet and non-pet owners. Our results revealed that the stress of non-pet owners was higher than the pet owners. Therefore, people who keep pets experience less stress from quarantine during the coronavirus outbreak than those who do not keep pets during quarantine. Our analysis revealed that the attitude toward pets of pet owners and the attitude toward pets of non-pet owners were very similar and still above the mean attitude toward pets of pet owners and non-pet owners are both at a good level.