Increased perception of the experience dimension of the animal mind reduces instrumental violence against animals

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cris.lastimport.scopus2025-08-29T03:11:20Z
dc.abstract.enIn this study, we investigated whether the perception of animal experience capacities, enabling individuals to recognize animals as moral patients, decreases instrumental violence against animals. Additionally, we aimed to distinguish this effect from the influence of perceptions of agency capacities, referred to as anthropomorphization. To achieve this, we conducted an online experimental study (N = 471, 54% women). Participants performed a manipulation task that increased their perception of the experience dimension of the animal mind and completed online questionnaires as part of a manipulation check to measure acceptance and intentions of instrumental violence against animals. Regression and mediation analyses revealed that increasing perception of the experience dimension of animal mind decreases instrumental violence against animals, particularly intentions to commit such violence, and this effect is unique and distinct from the effect of perception of the agency dimension, i.e., anthropomorphization. The key capacities in lowering violence were homeostatic emotions (pain, fear, hunger, and thirst) which indicate suffering that humans would want animals to avoid. However, when people perceive homeostatic emotions, increased perception of more complex capacities (anger, joy, pleasure, personality) and anthropomorphization do not result in an additional reduction in violence. We interpret these results to mean that people limit violence by using perception of animal experience capacities as pre-violation justification. These findings expand our knowledge about the functions of perception of experience capacities and demonstrate that people diminish animal experience capacities not only to rationalize violence but also as pre-violation justification to facilitate instrumental violence against animals.
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Projektowania w Warszawie
dc.contributor.authorPotocka, Agnieszka
dc.contributor.authorBielecki, Maksymilian
dc.contributor.editorMumtaz Alam
dc.date.access2023-11-30
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-20T07:35:23Z
dc.date.available2023-12-20T07:35:23Z
dc.date.created2023-11-30
dc.date.issued2023-11-30
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>In this study, we investigated whether the perception of animal experience capacities, enabling individuals to recognize animals as moral patients, decreases instrumental violence against animals. Additionally, we aimed to distinguish this effect from the influence of perceptions of agency capacities, referred to as anthropomorphization. To achieve this, we conducted an online experimental study (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 471, 54% women). Participants performed a manipulation task that increased their perception of the experience dimension of the animal mind and completed online questionnaires as part of a manipulation check to measure acceptance and intentions of instrumental violence against animals. Regression and mediation analyses revealed that increasing perception of the experience dimension of animal mind decreases instrumental violence against animals, particularly intentions to commit such violence, and this effect is unique and distinct from the effect of perception of the agency dimension, i.e., anthropomorphization. The key capacities in lowering violence were homeostatic emotions (pain, fear, hunger, and thirst) which indicate suffering that humans would want animals to avoid. However, when people perceive homeostatic emotions, increased perception of more complex capacities (anger, joy, pleasure, personality) and anthropomorphization do not result in an additional reduction in violence. We interpret these results to mean that people limit violence by using perception of animal experience capacities as pre-violation justification. These findings expand our knowledge about the functions of perception of experience capacities and demonstrate that people diminish animal experience capacities not only to rationalize violence but also as pre-violation justification to facilitate instrumental violence against animals.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.granttitleThis work was supported by the Animal Advocacy Research Fund by Animal Charity Evaluators awarded to Agnieszka Potocka (Principal Investigator)
dc.description.issue11
dc.description.physical1-15
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume18
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0295085
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/237
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295085
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enviolence against animals
dc.subject.enmoral patient status
dc.subject.enhuman–animal relationships
dc.subject.enhuman–animal interaction
dc.subject.enanimal mind
dc.subject.enanthropomorphization
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleIncreased perception of the experience dimension of the animal mind reduces instrumental violence against animals
dc.title.journalPLOS ONE
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle