Anthropomorphized species as tools for conservation: utility beyond prosocial, intelligent and suffering species

Root‐Bernstein, Meredith; Douglas, Leo R.; Smith, Amy M.; Veríssimo, Diogo

doi:10.1007/s10531-013-0494-4

Cited by 102 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Numerous authors suggest the use of anthropomorphized narratives as a conservation tool to increase the charismatic representation and empathy for individual species (Chan ; Root‐Bernstein & Armesto ; Root‐Bernstein et al. ), but we found little evidence that anthropomorphism is used to promote plant conservation.…”

Section: Appropriate Anthropomorphization Of Plantscontrasting

confidence: 71%

“…Although clearly a potential conservation tool, careful consideration needs to be given to current human interactions with the individual species and the anthropomorphic projections ascribed (Karlsson ; Root‐Bernstein et al. ) because negative conservation outcomes are also possible (Root‐Bernstein et al. ).…”

Section: Appropriate Anthropomorphization Of Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Balding

Williams

2016

Conservation Biology

240

146

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Plant conservation initiatives lag behind and receive considerably less funding than animal conservation projects. We explored a potential reason for this bias: a tendency among humans to neither notice nor value plants in the environment. Experimental research and surveys have demonstrated higher preference for, superior recall of, and better visual detection of animals compared with plants. This bias has been attributed to perceptual factors such as lack of motion by plants and the tendency of plants to visually blend together but also to cultural factors such as a greater focus on animals in formal biological education. In contrast, ethnographic research reveals that many social groups have strong bonds with plants, including nonhierarchical kinship relationships. We argue that plant blindness is common, but not inevitable. If immersed in a plant-affiliated culture, the individual will experience language and practices that enhance capacity to detect, recall, and value plants, something less likely to occur in zoocentric societies. Therefore, conservation programs can contribute to reducing this bias. We considered strategies that might reduce this bias and encourage plant conservation behavior. Psychological research demonstrates that people are more likely to support conservation of species that have human-like characteristics and that support for conservation can be increased by encouraging people to practice empathy and anthropomorphism of nonhuman species. We argue that support for plant conservation may be garnered through strategies that promote identification and empathy with plants.

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Section: Appropriate Anthropomorphization Of Plantscontrasting

confidence: 71%

Section: Appropriate Anthropomorphization Of Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Balding

Williams

2016

Conservation Biology

240

146

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“…Context influences notions of what is ''cute'' (Cho 2012) as well as the effects of anthropomorphism (Root-Bernstein et al 2013;Tam 2015). Because individual experience and cultural norms teach us how to relate to kin, there could be problematic variability in the way kinship is understood cross-culturally.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The anthropomorphic appeal is to be used with care, however, as we anthropomorphize negative qualities as well as positive ones (thus, ''greedy'' otters). Anthropomorphizing particular species can also lead to support for eliminating competing species, or create ''expectations of human-like social behavior that non-human species cannot satisfy'' (Root-Bernstein et al 2013, p. 1585.…”

Section: Kinship Appealsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship appeals and conservation social marketing

Qirko

2017

Biodivers Conserv

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Increasing environmental problems and the need to obtain public support to help address them make effective appeals in conservation fundraising campaigns indispensable. However, social marketing messages based on data, characteristics of focal species, selfinterest, and moral responsibility tend to work best on targeted, and so limited, audiences. As conservation organizations reach out to broader audiences, they will require strategies that appeal to more potential donors. This paper argues that use of kinship symbolism to describe non-human species should make conservation marketing campaigns more effective. Evolutionary theories of altruism predict the power of kinship-recognition cues in encouraging and reinforcing sacrifice in non-kin, unreciprocated contexts, and these cues can be manipulated in marketing campaigns to protect threatened species and resources. People often behave altruistically toward ''fictive'' kin, and the labeling of non-humans as kin in many traditional, small-scale societies appears to be associated with environmental resource management. Characterizing non-human species, and even non-living resources, as kin to humans in marketing campaigns may promote a willingness to contribute to conservation-related causes.

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“…Conservation scientists will also need to become more comfortable with the use of anthropomorphism to build a more favourable image of a species (e.g. Root-Bernstein et al, 2013). Relatedly, the potential impacts of extinction on the wider conservation effort must be considered, given that many flagships are already endangered species.…”

Section: The Future Of Conservation Marketingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitive outreach in the 21st century: Why we need conservation marketing

Wright

Veríssimo

Pilfold³

et al. 2015

Ocean & Coastal Management

147

138

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a b s t r a c tAddressing impacts from human activities requires the change of current practices. However, reaching a target audience about conservation issues and influencing their behaviour is not easy in a world where people are continually bombarded with information, and distractions are permanently available. Although not typically considered to be part of the conservation science toolbox, marketing techniques were designed in the commercial sector to identify and influence human preferences and behaviour by placing target audiences at the core of the marketing process. It thus seems reasonable that the same marketing principles and tools could and should be used to address pressing conservation issues. In this manuscript, we provide an introduction to the main objectives of marketing and illustrate how these can be applied to conservation and animal welfare issues. To that end we offer two examples: Project Ocean, where a major UK retailer joined forces with the Zoological Society of London to influence consumer behaviour around seafood; and Blackfish, which coupled social media with an award-winning documentary to create a discussion around the welfare of large cetaceans in captivity. Without the ability to influence human behaviour, a conservationists' role will likely be limited to that of describing the loss of biodiversity and the decline of the environment. We thus hope that conservation practitioners can embrace marketing as a fundamental component of the conservation toolbox.

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Anthropomorphized species as tools for conservation: utility beyond prosocial, intelligent and suffering species

Cited by 102 publications

References 41 publications

Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Kinship appeals and conservation social marketing

Competitive outreach in the 21st century: Why we need conservation marketing

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