Perceptions, attitudes, and outcomes of human-snake encounters:  A retrospective study of an online discussion community in Nigeria

Babalola, Omotola; Jegede, Henry Olanrewaju; Ogunro, Bamidele Nyemike

doi:10.13057/asianjethnobiol/y030101

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Negatively phrased statements were scored following a reverse code (Strongly Agree = 1 Agree = 2 Neutral = 3 Disagree = 3 Strongly Disagree = 5). ARP scores ranged from 8 to 40, where low scores (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) reflect unfavorable perceptions of rattlesnakes, intermediate ARP scores (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) reflect relatively neutral overall perception, and high scores (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40) illustrate highly favorable perceptions of I have an affinity towards rattlesnakes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite widespread and enduring persecution, rattlesnakes provide essential functions to the environment and benefits to humans, including (1) acting as mesopredators in food webs, (2) lowering zoonotic disease transmission risk by eating reservoirs such as rodents, and (3) their venoms represent a resource for current and future inspiration for drug development; [32][33][34][35]. The negative reputation of snakes inhibits conservation initiatives and may contribute to their decline [36]. Such extreme antipathy toward snakes generates unique challenges for conservation messaging due to the influence of emotions on individuals' perspectives and behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of relational and instrumental messaging on human perception of rattlesnakes

Allison,

Taylor,

Graham

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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We tested the effects of relational and instrumental message strategies on US residents’ perception of rattlesnakes—animals that tend to generate feelings of fear, disgust, or hatred but are nevertheless key members of healthy ecosystems. We deployed an online survey to social media users (n = 1,182) to describe perceptions of rattlesnakes and assess the change after viewing a randomly selected relational or instrumental video message. An 8–item, pre–and post–Rattlesnake Perception Test (RPT) evaluated perception variables along emotional, knowledge, and behavioral gradients on a 5–point Likert scale; the eight responses were combined to produce an Aggregate Rattlesnake Perception (ARP) score for each participant. We found that people from Abrahamic religions (i.e., Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and those identifying as female were associated with low initial perceptions of rattlesnakes, whereas agnostics and individuals residing in the Midwest region and in rural residential areas had relatively favorable perceptions. Overall, both videos produced positive changes in rattlesnake perception, although the instrumental video message led to a greater increase in ARP than the relational message. The relational message was associated with significant increases in ARP only among females, agnostics, Baby Boomers (age 57–75), and Generation–Z (age 18–25 to exclude minors). The instrumental video message was associated with significant increases in ARP, and this result varied by religious group. ARP changed less in those reporting prior experience with a venomous snake bite (to them, a friend, or a pet) than in those with no such experience. Our data suggest that relational and instrumental message strategies can improve people’s perceptions of unpopular and potentially dangerous wildlife, but their effectiveness may vary by gender, age, religious beliefs, and experience. These results can be used to hone and personalize communication strategies to improve perceptions of unpopular wildlife species.

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