Humans rule! The effects of creatureliness reminders, mortality salience and self‐esteem on attitudes towards animals

Abstract

This research paper presents findings from an experimental investigation of the attitudes that people hold towards animals when they are reminded of the fact that humans and animals are creatures alike. We tested the hypothesis that mortality salience (MS) would lead participants reminded of human creatureliness to evaluate animals more negatively, especially when they reported lower self-esteem. Student participants were randomly assigned to conditions in which MS was made salient and thoughts about human creatureliness were manipulated. Participants then reported their attitudes towards animals. Lending support to the hypothesis of this study, MS led participants with lower self-esteem to rate animals more negatively, when they were reminded of human-animal similarity. The implications of these results for understanding people's attitudes towards animals were discussed.

Death Be Not Profane: Mortality Salience and Euphemism Use

“…These studies have explored varied distancing behaviors, including those previously noted and others, such as reduced perceived beauty and negative evaluations of wilderness scenes (Koole & Van den Berg, 2005); reluctance among women to perform breast self-examinations (Goldenberg et al, 2008); negativity toward animals (Beatson & Halloran, 2007); and objectification of the female body (Grabe, Routledge, Cook, Andersen, & Arndt, 2005). Although consistent with previous findings, the current study is the first to demonstrate the denial of creatureliness in communicative behavior.…”

“…Distinguishing ourselves from animals has been suggested by many as a component of the way in which cultural worldviews protect humans from existential anxiety (Beatson & Halloran, 2007;Cox, Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, & Weise, 2007;Goldenberg, Arndt, Hart, & Routledge, 2008;Goldenberg, Cox, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 2002;Goldenberg, Goplen, Cox, & Arndt, 2006;Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 2000;Goldenberg et al, 2001;Goldenberg et al, 1999;Koole & Van den Berg, 2005). In the noted studies, participants for whom mortality was made salient exhibited increased denials of human creatureliness relative to control participants, suggesting that thoughts of death caused them to desire distance from their animal natures in an attempt to thwart awareness of physical finitude.…”

“…Viewed through the lens of terror management theory, the angst produced by the psychological awareness of our inescapable biological condition must be managed through espousing a belief system about the nature of the physical and social world (i.e., cultural worldview) (Beatson & Halloran, 2007) and sustaining the wherewithal to live up to the standards of value prescribed by that worldview.…”

The Effects of Mortality Salience on Disgust Sensitivity Among University Students, Older Adults, and Mortuary Students

“…In addition, priming the similarity between humans and other animals prior to the presentation of disgusting stimuli increased the accessibility of death related thoughts [13]. Further, mortality salience in conjunction with priming human-animal similarity led participants with low levels of trait self-esteem to evaluate animals in general more negatively [33].…”

Finding everland: Flight fantasies and the desire to transcend mortality

“…Reminders of impending mortality (mortality salience; MS) have led participants to show increased derogation of animals and a preference for portraying humans as separate from other animals (Beatson & Halloran, 2007;Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, & Greenberg, 2001), and the priming of animal-human similarities has produced increased accessibility of death-related thoughts (Cox, Goldenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2007). This research strongly suggests we have a desire to perceive ourselves as transcending the biological limits of mere animality, and this desire is rooted in the fear of death.…”