2025/10/17 by Michael A. Kisley · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Veterinary · Neuroscience · #Human-Animal Interaction Studies #Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
paper · doi:10.1080/08927936.2025.2568292
openalex publication_date 2025/10/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Beliefs about nonhuman animal emotions influence a wide range of attitudes and behaviors that are impactful on human–animal interaction and animal welfare. However, research in this area lacks a dedicated, psychometrically validated scale to assess such beliefs. The present research aimed to develop and validate the Beliefs about Animal Emotions Scale (BAES), a multidimensional instrument for assessing people’s beliefs about the emotional capacity and experience of animals. In study 1, exploratory factor analysis (n = 363, United States) of an initial item pool yielded a 3-factor, 23-item structure reflecting (1) beliefs about the complexity and authenticity of animal emotions, (2) the extent to which such beliefs depend on animals’ human similarity, and (3) the moral relevance of animal emotions. These subscales demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.85–0.94). In study 2, confirmatory factor analysis in a United Kingdom sample (n = 474) supported the three-factor structure with adequate model fit (χ2/df = 2.53; TLI = 0.96, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.06). In study 3, two additional US samples (ns = 94, 111) completed the BAES alongside existing psychological measures to test scale validity. BAES subscales exhibited large correlations with belief in animal minds (rs = 0.53–0.58), providing evidence of convergent validity. Correlations with social desirability, moral expansiveness, affective empathy, and anthropomorphism were generally small or nonsignificant, supporting discriminant validity. All three subscales were also significantly associated with attitudes about animal use (rs = 0.47–0.61), supporting criterion validity. Across three studies, the BAES demonstrated stable structure and psychometric integrity and shows promise to provide a validated tool for future research regarding how beliefs about animal emotions impact ethical judgment, behavior, policy engagement, and animal welfare practices and outcomes.