2001/12/01 by Anna Gunnthorsdottir · 3 citations
Environmental Science · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Animal and Plant Science Education #Environmental Education and Sustainability #Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
paper · doi:10.2752/089279301786999355
openalex publication_date 2001/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
This experimental study examines how framing an animal species as endangered affects its perceived attractiveness and how an animal's perceived attractiveness affects support for its conservation. Undergraduate students were shown a flyer from a fictitious environmental organization pleading for the protection of either a bat or an ape. The flyer contained either no picture, a picture of an attractive member of its species, or a picture of an unattractive member of its species. For both species, an animal's attractiveness substantially increased support for its protection. There was also more support for saving the species that was larger in size and more resembled humans. In a second experiment, participants rated an unattractive animal as more attractive if it was framed as endangered. There was no such effect for an animal originally perceived as attractive. The implications of the results for environmental policy and conservation support are discussed.