Exploring the role of our contacts with pets in broadening concerns for animals, nature, and fellow humans: a representative study.

ABSTRACT: While pet ownership is normative in many occidental countries, whether humans' proximal contacts with pets have implications for attitudes and behaviors toward other (non pet) animals, nature, and fellow humans, has received limited empirical attention. In a large representative sample, we investigate whether pet ownership and positive contact with pets are associated with more positive attitudes and heightened concerns for non-pet animals, nature, and human outgroups. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among Canadian adults (619 pet owners, 450 non-pet owners). Pet owners reported more positive attitudes toward non-pet animals (e.g., wild, farm animals), higher identification with animals, more positive attitudes toward human outgroups, higher biospheric environmental co

SUBMITTER: Amiot CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10564771 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature