Anthrozoös

A multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals

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Empathy and attitudes to animals

N. Taylor & T.D. Signal

To cite this article: N. Taylor & T.D. Signal (2005) Empathy and attitudes to animals,
Anthrozoös, 18:1, 18-27

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 Empathy and attitudes to animals
N.Taylor and T. D. Signal
School of Psychology and Sociology, Central Queensland University,
Rockhampton,Australia

Abstract
There is increasing support for the idea that human attitudes to animals
may be indicative of human–human empathy. This has implications for
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the treatment of empathy deficits and related anti-social behaviors. The

purpose of the present study was to explicitly investigate links between
human–human empathy and attitudes to animals. The Interpersonal
Reactivity Index (IRI) and Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) were adminis-
tered to 194 undergraduate Sociology and Psychology students. A sig-
nificant correlation between empathy levels, gender, companion animal
ownership and attitudes to animals was found. Implications of these find-
ings are discussed.
Keywords: AAS, Animal Attitude Scale, attitudes to animals, empathy,
Interpersonal Reactivity Index, IRI

A nimals play an important part in the cultural, political and social arena
of modern societies. Membership of animal protection organizations
continues to grow (Garner 1998; Munro 2001) and books and arti-
cles concerning the philosophical place of animals continue to be pub-
lished (e.g., Regan 2004). Governments are lobbied to change or create
laws to protect animal welfare; perceived infringements of animal welfare
remain news (e.g., live animal exports) and more and more people the
world over indicate that companion animals play an important role in their
lives and families (e.g., Arluke and Sanders 1996). The health benefits of
companion animals are slowly being recognized (e.g., Beck and Katcher
1996; Herrald, Tomaka and Medina 2002), as are the therapeutic qualities
of both wild and domestic animals (e.g., Anderson 1995; Beck and Katcher
2003). In short, animals are a part of the social fabric. Despite this, social
scientists have been reticent at best, and oppositional at worst, to studying
human–animal relationships (Arluke 2003). This is slowly changing with
a dedicated cohort of multi-disciplinary scholars beginning to look at

Address for correspondence: Dr. Nicola Taylor, School of Psychology and Sociology, Central
Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland 4702, Australia. Ph: +61 07 4930 9433: e-mail:
[email protected].

18 Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 Taylor & Signal

 specific aspects of human–animal relations and human–animal interaction
(Arluke and Sanders 1996; Taylor 1999; Benton 2003).
Within this growing body of literature, links between antisocial behav-
ior and violence to animals are becoming apparent (e.g., Arluke et al.
1999). Specifically, links between lack of human-directed empathy, vio-
lence towards animals and violence towards humans are beginning to
emerge (e.g., Ascione and Arkow 1999). Empathy has been proposed as a
mediating factor in aggression to both humans and animals, with a number
of authors suggesting links between deficits in empathy and antisocial
behavior in children, adolescents, and adults in both clinical and non-clin-
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ical populations (e.g., Hastings et al. 2000; Warden and Mackinnon 2003).
Furthermore, it has been suggested that animal-directed empathy may gen-
eralize to human-directed empathy (Ascione 2001). Hence, humane edu-
cation is being posited as one particularly effective mechanism whereby a
lack of human-directed empathy may be remedied by teaching animal-
welfare appropriate attitudes (Ascione 1992; Ascione and Weber 1996;
Barker et al. 2000).
Factors known to affect attitudes towards animals include personality
(Broida et al. 1993; Mathews and Herzog 1997), gender and sex role ori-
entation (Herzog, Betchart and Pittman 1991; Hills 1993), religious and/or
political stance (Bowd and Bowd 1989; Kimball 1989), ethical ideology
(Galvin and Herzog 1992), companion animal ownership (Paul and Serpell
1993), and other demographic variables such as age and race (Kellert
1988). For example, previous research has suggested that the presence of
a companion animal during childhood may lead to an increased sensitivi-
ty to the feelings and attitudes of others (Serpell 1996). Paul and Serpell
(1993) found an association between childhood companion animal keep-
ing and increased concern about animal and human welfare, as did Paul
(2000). In contrast to this, Daly and Morton (2003) in a survey of 137 chil-
dren, failed to find any differences in empathy levels between pet owners
and non-owners. Their results also showed no correlation between empa-
thy and attachment to pets as measured by the Companion Animal
Bonding Scale.
Therefore the links between companion animal ownership and meas-
ures of empathy and attitudes to animals deserve further attention. Given
the potential importance of attitudes towards animals and humane educa-
tion in designing strategies for remedying deficits in empathy and therefore
anti-social behavior, it is important that specific links between empathy
and attitudes to animals be quantified along with potential variables that
may impact this relationship.
Taylor & Signal Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 19
 Mathews and Herzog (1997) go some way to achieving this in their
report on a questionnaire-based investigation of links between a general
personality measure (The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, 16PF)
and the Animal Attitude Scale. According to their analyses, the correlations
found between personality and attitudes to animals were generally low and
non-significant, with the exception of two sub-scales which measured sen-
sitivity and imagination. While this study (and others using the AAS, e.g.,
Herzog, Betchart and Pittman 1991) provide a starting place for this kind
of investigation, empathy is treated within them as a by-product of other
personality traits rather than as an attribute in its own right.
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Various definitions of empathy exist (e.g., Hogan 1969), however,

most recent definitions of empathy involve a multidimensional empathy
construct (e.g., Davis 1980; Cohen and Strayer 1996; Alterman et al.
2003). These center on two components; understanding (cognitive) and
sharing (affective) another’s emotional state (Eisenberg and Strayer
1987). Cohen and Strayer (1996) expand this by defining the affective
component as having emotional responses in line with another’s emo-
tion, and the cognitive, as the ability to recognize and understand anoth-
er’s emotion. Empathy in the current study will be defined as the ability
to understand and share in another’s emotional state (Eisenberg and
Strayer 1987)
Empathy has been measured in a number of ways in the literature, one
of the most commonly used, and arguably the most comprehensive
(Alterman, et al. 2003) self-report measure is the Interpersonal Reactivity
Index (IRI), developed by Davis (1980). The IRI, itself a multidimension-
al measure of empathy, has been used successfully to assess empathy lev-
els within a variety of clinical and forensic populations (e.g., Lee and
Prentice 1988; Gurtman 1992; Alterman et al. 2003). Whilst detractors
argue that alternative methods of assessing empathy (e.g., role-play, sce-
nario and physiological measures) may be more appropriate, it has been
shown that self-report measures are superior in a number of ways, e.g.,
efficiency and accuracy (e.g., Miller and Eisenberg 1988). Whether empa-
thy is a learned ability or a more fixed personality trait is still a topic of
debate in the literature (e.g., Daly and Morton 2003). The IRI has been
constructed with the view that empathy is influenced by environmental
events and personal experience and as such has been used to track the
development of empathy over time in children and adolescents (Hatcher et
al. 1994). A particular strength is its four-factor structure which allows the
measurement of quantifiably different aspects of empathy (which may or
may not develop at different developmental stages).
20 Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 Taylor & Signal
 Given the potential that establishing these links may have for early
intervention and prevention of antisocial behavior (for example via
humane education interventions) (Ascione and Weber 1996), it stands to
reason that links between empathy and attitudes to animals need to be
more explicitly investigated. Hence, the purpose of this current paper is to
specifically investigate potential links between human–human empathy
and attitudes to animals. However, it is important to note at this point that
determining causal links between empathy and attitudes to animals is
beyond the scope of this paper.
A significant, positive link between empathy and attitudes to animals
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generally was anticipated, and it was also expected that gender differences
would be observed within these measures. It was further anticipated that
companion animal ownership (both now and in childhood) would affect
both empathy and attitudes to animals, as measured by the IRI and AAS.
Methods
Participants
One hundred and ninety-four (161 female, 33 male) undergraduate
Sociology and Psychology students from Central Queensland University,
Australia, participated in this project. Students were informed of this proj-
ect during class time and via an online notice-board. Participation was vol-
untary and students were given the opportunity to complete the
questionnaire in their own time, thus creating a convenience sample. Age
of participants ranged from 18 to 56 years; the average age was 28 years.
Approximately 87% of respondents identified themselves as living in a
regional area of Australia, 10% as living in an urban area and 3% were cur-
rently residing outside of Australia.
Materials
Animal Attitude Scale (AAS)
The AAS is a 20-item, 5-point Likert scale-based questionnaire with respon-
dents giving responses ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree to
statements regarding attitudes to animals. Sample items include “Wild ani-
mals should not be trapped and their skins made into fur coats,” “Basically
humans have the right to use animals as they see fit,” and “The use of ani-
mals in rodeos and circuses is cruel.” The scale has high internal consisten-
cy (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91; Mathews and Herzog 1997) and has previously
been used successfully (e.g., Herzog, Betchart and Pittman 1991). However,
validity has not been specifically assessed. A high score on this scale indi-
cates pro-welfare attitudes (H. Herzog, personal communication 2004).
Taylor & Signal Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 21
 Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
The Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis 1980), one of the
most commonly used and, according to Alterman et al. (2003), the most
comprehensive measure of empathy, is a 28-item self-report measure con-
sisting of four sub-scales. Items within the IRI are answered using a five-
point scale, ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Examples
of these items include “I often have tender, concerned feelings for people
less fortunate than me,” “I sometimes find it difficult to see things from the
‘other guy’s’ point of view,” and “Sometimes I don’t feel very sorry for
other people when they are having problems.”
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The IRI consists of four sub-scales: Empathic Concern (EC - measur-

ing feelings of warmth, compassion and concern for others); Perspective
Taking (PT - assessing an individual’s ability to adopt other-orientated per-
spectives); Fantasy (FS - assessing tendencies to identify with fictional
characters), and Personal Distress (PD - measuring feelings of discomfort
resulting from another’s misfortune) (Alterman et al. 2003). All of these
have been found to have acceptable internal consistency and high test-
retest reliability (Davis 1980). Subsequent analyses have found the four
sub-scales to be highly correlated with other measures of empathy
(Alterman et al. 2003), although several studies have suggested the use of
either the EC scale alone (Cohen and Strayer 1996) or a combined ECPT
scale, as the validity of the PD sub-scale within a central measure of empa-
thy has been questioned (Alterman et al. 2003).
Results
Raw data from 194 participants was entered into SPSS (v11.5). Negatively
worded items in the IRI and AAS were recoded before the following analy-
ses were conducted. Missing data resulted in 171 valid entries for the AAS
and 191 for the IRI and sub-scales.
Pearson product-moment correlations between the sub-scales of the IRI
and AAS scores are presented in Table 1. Positive correlations indicate a ten-
dency for higher levels of an IRI sub-scale to be related to higher scores on the
AAS, indicating a pro-animal attitude. Moderate significant correlations (at the
0.01 level) were found between Empathic Concern and the AAS. Further
analysis of this relation by gender showed a significant correlation (at the 0.01
level) between AAS and EC for female participants only (r = 0.31), with males
having a non-significant correlation of 0.28 between these variables.
An independent groups t-test was conducted and a significant gender
difference was found in the AAS scores (t = -3.376, p < 0.001), with females
scoring higher (M = 71.9, n = 144) than males (M = 65.1, n = 27).
22 Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 Taylor & Signal
 Table 1. Correlations between Interpersonal Further independ-
Reactivity Index sub-scales and the Animal Attitude
Scale. ent group t-tests were
conducted to examine
IRI AAS the effect of current
Empathic Concern (EC) 0.333** companion animal own-
Perspective Taking (PT) 0.065
ership and family com-
panion animal owner-
Personal Distress (PD) 0.106
ship (in childhood) on
Fantasy Scale (FS) 0.091 AAS scores. Those
who identified them-
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** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) selves as currently

owning a companion
animal (n = 129) had significantly higher AAS scores (t = 2.011, p < 0.05)
than those who did not currently have a companion animal (n = 42). In
contrast, there was no significant difference in AAS scores between those
who had companion animals while growing up and those who did not.
A multiple, stepwise regression was conducted to assess the impor-
tance of gender and the IRI sub-scales on individual differences in attitudes
to animals. AAS scores were entered as the dependent variable with gen-
der, EC, PT, PD, FS and total IRI entered as independent variables. The
analysis indicated that two variables, EC and gender, were significant pre-
dictors of AAS scores. Together these variables accounted for 13.7% of the
variance in the AAS scores (adjusted r2 = 0.137, F(1,166) = 14.29, p <
0.0001). The IRI sub-scale EC (beta = 0.331, t = 4.53, p < 0.0001) account-
ed for more variance (10.9%) than gender (beta = 0.198, t = 2.7, p < 0.01).
Discussion
The aim of this project was to investigate potential links between
human–human empathy and attitudes to animals using the IRI and the
AAS. A moderate but significant correlation was found between empathy
and the AAS. The psychological literature has indicated that the EC sub-
scale of the IRI is a good general empathic construct (Cohen and Strayer
1996; Alterman, et al. 2003). This proved to be the only IRI sub-scale with
a significant relation with scores on the AAS, which corroborates the find-
ings of Furnham, McManus and Scott (2003). This indicates that those
with higher EC scores have a more welfare-orientated attitude to animals.
This correlation (0.33) is stronger than that reported by Mathews and
Herzog (1997) between the AAS and a more general personality measure.
This suggests that when considering empathy as a specific construct, rather
than subsumed within general personality, there is a substantive link
Taylor & Signal Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 23
 between it and attitudes to animals. Therefore this result supports the
premise of using humane education (to promote animal-welfare appropri-
ate attitudes) as an early intervention measure to break cycles of antisocial
behavior by engendering human–human empathy. It also demonstrates a
need for further research in this area.
As has been found in previous research (e.g., Herzog, Betchart and
Pittman 1991), females scored significantly higher overall in the AAS than
males, indicating a more pro-animal welfare attitude. When analyzing the
interrelations between the IRI sub-scales and the AAS by gender, only
females showed a significant correlation between the EC sub-scale and the
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AAS. This may reflect the general finding that females score higher on
measures of empathy than males (Alterman et al. 2003), and may go some
way to explaining the higher participation of women in animal protection
movements (Groves 1997). However, it is important to point out that aver-
age AAS scores of both male and female participants fell well into the pro-
animal welfare side of the scale (possible scores on the AAS range from
20 to 100, female M = 72, male M = 65). It should also be noted that there
were appreciably fewer male than female participants in our study; future
research should address this imbalance.
Mathews and Herzog (1997) found that gender was the most signifi-
cant predictor of AAS scores. Interestingly, the EC sub-scale explained the
most variability in AAS scores in the current study, suggesting again that
empathy levels (as measured by the EC sub-scale) are intrinsically linked
to AAS scores.
As expected, our analysis of companion animal ownership indicated
that those currently living with a companion animal had significantly high-
er AAS scores than those living without. What was not expected was the
finding that whether an individual had a companion animal throughout
their childhood did not result in any significant differences, which contra-
dicts earlier research (e.g., Paul 2000). However, as noted for gender, it
must be acknowledged that the numbers of individuals who did not either
currently have a companion animal or did not have one while growing up
were relatively small. Again this indicates an area in need of future
research. For example, Paul and Serpell (1993) suggest that awareness of
the experiences that underlie attitudes to animal welfare may aid in the
development of effective humane education interventions and programs.
A limitation of the current study is that all respondents were universi-
ty students, who may not be representative of the wider community or spe-
cific interest groups such as those within animal protection communities.
However, this is one of the few large-scale studies to specifically investi-
24 Anthrozoös, 18 (1) . 2005 Taylor & Signal
 gate animal attitudes within Australia, and particularly regional Australia
(for exceptions see Bowd and Bowd 1989).
In conclusion, the results from this study indicate that there is a sig-
nificant link between human–human empathy and attitudes to animals,
which may outweigh previously found gender differences. This, combined
with the findings regarding the effect of companion animal ownership on
both empathy and attitudes to animals, is a worthy area for further study.
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