The Phyloempathic Hierarchy: Differential Human Empathy for Different Animal Species
Empathy for animal suffering can be powerful, but it varies across animal species. In fact, some people empathize as much (or more) with the suffering of certain animals than they do with human suffering. Beginning with Paulhus and Dean, we review research comparing empathic reactions to a diverse a...
Guardado en:
| Autor principal: | |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Capítulo de libro |
| Lenguaje: | inglés |
| Publicado: |
IntechOpen
2022
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/84273 |
| Etiquetas: |
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| Sumario: | Empathy for animal suffering can be powerful, but it varies across animal species. In fact, some people empathize as much (or more) with the suffering of certain animals than they do with human suffering. Beginning with Paulhus and Dean, we review research comparing empathic reactions to a diverse array of animal species, as well as to selected humans. Those authors coined the term phyloempathic hierarchy to describe the differential empathy that humans feel toward different species. Sophisticated scaling techniques were applied to determine the unique drivers of empathic responses. Overall, four animal characteristics (the “Big Four”) appeared to drive empathic responses: (1) Perceived intelligence, (2) size, (3) esthetic appeal, and (3) lack of harmfulness. Ranking high were monkeys, elephants, dogs, and cats. Younger versions of the same species (e.g., kittens vs. cats) elicited even more empathy. Sharks, cockroaches, and snakes drew the least empathy. Those results have been replicated across 40 years of research from many laboratories and many countries. This hierarchy presents a challenge to relying on empathy in decisions regarding the treatment of animals. Bottom line: The phyloempathic hierarchy resembles but deviates from the phylogenetic hierarchy. |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | 978-1-80356-611-5 |
| DOI: | 10.5772/intechopen.107832 |