Empathic Differences in Men Who Witnessed Animal Abuse

Daly, Beth; Morton, L. L.

doi:10.1163/15685306-12341461

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Thus, women who are more responsive to illegal anti-ecological behaviors are those who are better able to understand what others feel, to show concern for their feelings and to experience guilt and remorse. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that animal abuse is negatively related to high scores on callousness-unemotional traits and lack of empathy (Daly and Morton, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Hartman et al (2019) found that the cognitive dimension of empathy, understood as perspective taking, is linked to animal abuse, with those who score lower, abusing animals the most. However, in the study of Daly and Morton (2018), it is the lack of affective empathy that is associated with coldness and indifference towards animal and people in need of help. Empathy has been related to attitudes to animals and animal abuse but not yet to reactions to animal abuse, though it may be reasonable to expect such a relationship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bystanders’ reactions to animal abuse in relation to psychopathy, empathy with people and empathy with nature

et al. 2023

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Social and academic interest in animal abuse has recently increased thanks to greater awareness of the importance of biodiversity in promoting sustainability. The redefinition of human-animal relationships, in the context of the fight against speciesism and the defense of veganism, has also contributed to this greater attention. Moreover, public awareness of animal rights has strengthened social reactions to violence against animals, though there are still some social sectors that are indifferent to these changes. Thus, better knowledge of the psychological mechanisms underlying reactions to animal abuse could contribute to better informal, social control of such abuse. The main aim of this study is to analyze the relationships between psychopathy, empathy with people, and empathy with nature arising from people’s reactions to protected and domestic animal abuse and illegal dumping. Also, as previous studies have shown differences between men and women, both in animal abuse and in personality traits, thus gender is taken into account when analyzing these relationships. A total of 409 people, resident in a highly environmentally protected territory, participated in this study. They were aged between 18 and 82 years old and 49.9% women. Participants were asked about assigned punishments, as well as the probability of intervening personally and/or calling the police, in relation to ten scenarios, based on press releases, describing one of three types of transgression of environmental laws: abuse of protected animals, abuse of domestic animals or illegal dumping. They also responded to Spanish adaptations of the Inventory of Callous Unemotional Traits, the Basic Empathy Scale, the Dispositional Empathy with Nature Scale, and the Social Desirability Scale. Each participant was randomly given ten scenarios corresponding to just one transgression type but all the personality scales. Results show that people’s reactions were greater for abuse of domestic than protected animals or for illegal dumping, irrespective of gender. Empathy with nature was related to the reaction against animal abuse more than empathy with people and psychopathy. Results are discussed highlighting the need for future research into similarities and differences between animal abuse and other types of environmental offences, which have many victims but no single being suffering.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bystanders’ reactions to animal abuse in relation to psychopathy, empathy with people and empathy with nature

et al. 2023

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“…From the aforementioned results, the Chinese public not only consider farm animals to be emotional and sentient but are also sympathetic toward farm animals suffering from inhumane treatment. The public's affective attitudes toward farm animal welfare originate from the human ability to empathize with animals (Daly and Morton, 2018 ). This is the ability to understand and feel animal situations and their psychology, which is a universal and innate ability of human beings (Yang and Dong, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare

Jiang

Tang²,

Cui³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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A comprehensive understanding of current Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare and the relevant influencing factors is essential for improving farm animal welfare and promoting further development of animal husbandry. The attitudes of 3,726 respondents in China were investigated using paper and online questionnaires. Three components (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) of attitudes toward farm animal welfare were assessed using 18 items designed based on the literature review. Influential factors of attitudes toward farm animal welfare were explored via tobit regression. The results revealed that the Chinese public not only considers farm animals to be emotional and sentient but are also sympathetic toward farm animals that suffer inhumane treatment. Although they have limited knowledge about farm animal welfare, the public believes improving farm animal welfare is beneficial, especially for food safety and human health. The Chinese public prefers regulation policies to incentive policies for improving farm animal welfare. The main factors influencing attitudes toward farm animal welfare included gender, age, education, monthly household income, area of residence, farm animal raising experience, and attention to farm animal welfare events. The effect of these influencing factors on attitudes varied. These findings provide a basis for improving Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare. The implications of formulating and implementing effective policies to improve the Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare were discussed.

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“…For instance, a study done by Daly & Morton (2018, p. 8) on a group of male students who had a history of animal cruelty showed that "individuals who had witnessed abuse showed generally higher scores on three scales of cognitive empathy". According to this research, animal abusers seem to exhibit a much clearer understanding of cruelty as inappropriate behavior than others and are able to detect it better in tests (Daly & Morton, 2018). Some of the earlier studies by Daly & Morton also suggested that "abuse of animals is not necessarily consistent with a lack of empathy; rather, the dissociation between cognitive and affective measures of empathy typifies more serious types of abuse (witnessing multiple killings)" (Daly & Morton, 2008, p. 252).…”

Section: Animal Abuse Lack Of Empathy and Antisocial Behaviormentioning

confidence: 81%

Criminological aspects of animal abuse

Vrečko

2019

Kriminol. soc. integr. (Online)

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Taking into consideration the complexity of animal cruelty, problems with its varying definitions which depend on legal frameworks, social norms, cultural and public perceptions and many possible approaches to the issue of animal cruelty, this paper will focus only on active cruelty (acts of commission), i.e. the intention to harm an animal and cause pain and suffering. It will study the phenomenon as a multi-indicator for violence. Regardless of whether animal abuse is treated as a criminal offence or a misdemeanor or if it is absent from the legal framework altogether, it represents a complex phenomenon present in both children and adults. This abuse affects families and a wide range of social institutions, not only harming animals but also indicating various inter-personal types of violence and individual behavioral disorders. This paper explores intersectional and interdisciplinary research on animal abuse, its connection to subsequent adult or concurrent domestic violence and child abuse, contributing factors such as defense mechanisms and the roles of empathy and remorse. Understanding animal cruelty as a part of human violence and as a sign of serious concern for the welfare of both animals and humans is a first step towards building sustainable social policies.

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Empathic Differences in Men Who Witnessed Animal Abuse

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Bystanders’ reactions to animal abuse in relation to psychopathy, empathy with people and empathy with nature

Bystanders’ reactions to animal abuse in relation to psychopathy, empathy with people and empathy with nature

Factors influencing Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare

Criminological aspects of animal abuse

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