TY - JOUR
T1 - Mindless furry test-tubes
T2 - Categorizing animals as lab-subjects leads to their mind denial
AU - Vezirian, Kevin
AU - Bègue, Laurent
AU - Bastian, Brock
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/9
Y1 - 2024/9
N2 - Despite caring for animals, most people use products tested on lab-animals daily, and rarely consider the implications of their choices for animal testing. We experimentally examined across four preregistered and high-powered online studies (total N = 3405) whether categorizing animals as being lab-subjects, in a context where people are also reminded of the implications of their own consumer choices, could lead to their mind denial. Findings confirmed that participants consistently denied mind to animals used for product testing compared to those same animals presented outside of this context. Manipulating the perceived suffering experienced by laboratory animals and the responsibility of individuals, however, did not affect the extent of mind denial. Our findings suggest, consistent with previous work, that categorizing animals as ‘furry test-tubes’ changes how we perceive them, in order to rationalize their use for testing the products we consume on a daily basis.
AB - Despite caring for animals, most people use products tested on lab-animals daily, and rarely consider the implications of their choices for animal testing. We experimentally examined across four preregistered and high-powered online studies (total N = 3405) whether categorizing animals as being lab-subjects, in a context where people are also reminded of the implications of their own consumer choices, could lead to their mind denial. Findings confirmed that participants consistently denied mind to animals used for product testing compared to those same animals presented outside of this context. Manipulating the perceived suffering experienced by laboratory animals and the responsibility of individuals, however, did not affect the extent of mind denial. Our findings suggest, consistent with previous work, that categorizing animals as ‘furry test-tubes’ changes how we perceive them, in order to rationalize their use for testing the products we consume on a daily basis.
KW - Animal-testing
KW - Categorization
KW - Denial of mind
KW - Human-animal relations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85193213680&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104629
DO - 10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104629
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85193213680
SN - 0022-1031
VL - 114
JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
M1 - 104629
ER -