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. 2024 Apr 26;37:6. doi: 10.5334/irsp.932

Table 3.

Summary of study design and materials.


Study 1 Replication Animals
8 out of the following 32 (within-subject):
  • 20 mammals: Bull, Pig, Goat, Kangaroo, Rabbit, Deer, Horse, Wolf, Dolphin, Dog, Cat, Elephant, Lion, Monkey, Gorilla, Rat, Antelope, Squirrel, Mole, Sloth

  • 3 birds: Sparrow, Chicken, Pigeon

  • 2 fish: Fish, Shark

  • 3 crustaceans: Prawn, Crab, Lobster

  • 1 amphibian: Frog

  • 1 reptile: Turtle

  • 1 mollusk: Snail

  • 1 insect: Housefly


DV1: Mental Capacities
The degree to which each animal possessed 10 mental capacities
(1 = Definitely does not possess, 7 = Definitely does possess; α = .81–.91 for different animals)
10 mental capacities: hunger, fear, pleasure, pain, rage, self-control, morality, memory, emotion recognition, planning
DV2: Animal Edibility
“Would you choose to eat this animal” and “Would you eat this animal if asked to?”
(1 = Definitely would not, 7 = Definitely would)
DV3: Negative affect
“How bad would you feel if you ate this animal?”
(1 = Not at all, 7 = Extremely)
DV4: Moral concern
“How morally wrong would it be to eat this animal”
(1 = Not at all, 7 = Extremely)

Study 2 Replication IV (Within-Subjects): Animal Use Condition
Food condition: Description that the animal will be taken to an abattoir and butchered as a meat product for human consumption.
Nonfood condition: Description that the animal will be moved to other paddocks and will spend most of its time eating grass with other animals.

DV: Perceived Animal Mental Capabilities
“To what extent does this animal possess the following mental capacities?” for 15 mental capacities (pleasure, fear, rage, joy, happiness, desires, wishes, planning, goals, pride, pain, hunger, tasting, seeing, hearing)(1 = Definitely does not possess; 7 = Definitely does possess; α = .88–.91 for different animals)