Abused Puppies Get More Sympathy Than Adult Crime Victims
By Rachael Rettner, Senior writer | August 10, 2013 08:19am ET
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Puppies may be better at garnering empathy than people are, in some cases, a new study finds.
Credit: Puppies photo via Shutterstock
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People have more empathy for abused puppies and dogs than they do for adult humans who have been abused, a new study suggests.
However, empathy for abused children was about the same as that for puppies and dogs, the study found.
Researchers surveyed 240 college students and asked them to read one of
four versions of a fictional news article about a brutal beating. The
wording in articles was the same, except for the identity of the victim,
which was either: an infant, an adult in his 30s, a puppy or a 6-year
old dog. Participants then rated their level of empathy for the victim.
Participants had higher levels of empathy for the abused child, puppy
and dog than they did for the abused adult, the study found. [See
7 Surprising Health Benefits of Dog Ownership]
The researchers had hypothesized that younger victims would receive
more empathy, regardless of species. Instead, they found "Age makes a
difference for empathy toward human victims, but not for dog victims,"
the researchers wrote in their study abstract, which will be presented
this week at the American Sociological Association meeting in New York.
"The fact that adult human crime victims
receive less empathy than do child, puppy, and full-grown dog victims
suggests that adult dogs are regarded as dependent and vulnerable, not
unlike their younger canine counterparts and kids," study researcher
Jack Levin, a sociology and criminology professor at Northeastern
University in Boston, said in a statement.
"It appears that adult humans are viewed as capable of protecting
themselves, while full-grown dogs are just seen as larger puppies,"
Levin said.
The researchers said they suspect they would find similar results if they looked at
empathy levels for other abused pets, such as cats. "These are animals to which many individuals attribute human characteristics," Levin said.
Women in the study were more empathetic than men towards human and
animal victims. Studies show that women are generally more empathetic
than men, Levin said. "The reason may be partially biological, given the
role of females in childbirth and childrearing activities," he said.
Because the new study involved only college-age students, it's not
clear if the results apply to people who are significantly older or
younger.
Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner.
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Summary & Highlighter Key:
Green: Conclusion
Blue: Purpose
Yellow: Procedure
Pink: Results
Orange: Hypothesis
If you watch the news, you might hear a story about animal abuse. At the same, you might hear a story about a person getting mugged or hurt. A new study shows that the common population is more likely to be empathetic towards an abused dog, rather than an injured person of their own species. Researchers hypothesized that younger victims, whether animal or human, would receive more empathy. Then, experiments were conducted; 240 college students read a fictional article on someone getting abused. The victims varied between an infant, puppy, or 30 year old man. Levels of empathy were rated by students afterwards. The researchers' hypothesis was half right, according to the data; empathetic emotions were affected by age, but only with humans. This data may show that dogs are seen about as vulnerable as an infant, no matter the age.
Questions:
1) Does gender affect the level of empathy?
2) Does the animal species affect the level of empathy?
3) How can this project be expanded?
Source:
Rettner, R. (2013, August 10). Abused puppies get more sympathy than adult crime victims . Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/38800-abused-puppies-sympathy-adult-victims.html?
