When it comes to feeling empathy, many people choose dogs over other people.
Sociologists & anthropologists from Northeastern University and the University of Colorado did a study so see people's responses. According to the study, when a report of an animal is in the headlines of a newspaper, the response level is much higher when compared to headlines about a human.
We also found more empathy for victims who are human children, puppies, and fully-grown dogs than for victims who are adult humans. Age makes a difference for empathy toward human victims, but not for dog victims.
Survey one:
A British charity conducted its own dog-versus-person empathy experiment. They ran the same ad with two different pictures.
The ad read "Would you give £5 to save Harrison from a slow, painful death?" Version one was a picture of the real Harrison Smith, an eight-year-old boy diagnosed with Duchenne (Muscular Dystrophy). And the other ad featured the same text, except with a stock photo of a dog.
When the ads both ran on a UK website, the one featuring the dog attracted twice as many click as the one with the boy (230, compared to 111).”
Why is it that humans feel more empathy for dogs?
People who fit this study’s outcomes will often view animals as innocents and humans as not having the same purity, When I ask them why they will spend money on their dog’s health, fitness, nutrition, yet not on themselves, the overwhelming answer I get is because my dog deserves it.
In another survey:
A fake newspaper clipping about an attack on a person (version A) or a dog (version B) was presented to 240 students. Three such test reports were presented:
- A human victim was beaten by an unknown assailant & left with broken legs and multiple lacerations;
- An infant victim was beaten by an unknown assailant & left with broken legs and multiple lacerations;
- A puppy or adult dog was beaten by an unknown assailant & left with broken legs and multiple lacerations.
When asking the students their opinions, the major factor that played was the age of the victim, rather than the species. The empathy level for the puppy and baby human were very similar, while the adults came last.
The empathy levels, in order of importance:
- The puppy
- The infant baby
- The Adult dog
- The human adult
The majority of people who took the survey didn’t see their dogs as animals, but more as their “fur babies” and family members, alongside their children.
The study goes to show how people often think of their pets as part of their family.
Source: uk.businessinsider.com