The influence of individual differences and local ecological conditions on emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, and harm avoidance towards nonhuman animals

Increased interest in the study of the relationships between human and nonhuman animals over the past few decades has often focused on what factors shape people’s attitudes and treatment towards nonhuman animals. Some scholars have focused on features of the nonhuman animals (cuteness, intelligence, and utility) and how those features predict human behavior while others have concentrated more on possible human individual differences that influence their attitudes and positive or negative actions towards nonhuman animals. In this study, with 978 participants from five different cross-cultural study sites (Arizona, California, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Spain), we utilized three superordinate categories of animal species representing three “Concentric Circles” surrounding our own (from Kith-Kin, to Domestic, to Wild Animals) to investigate the influence of individual differences and local ecological conditions on empathy and harm avoidance scores across these categories. Specifically, these variables were as follows: (1) a set of variables representing the cross-cultural study sites; (2) a second set of sociodemographic predictors; (3) a developmental Animal Exposure factor; (4) a Dark Inventory factor; (5) an Interpersonal Aggression factor; (6) a KithKin-Empathy factor, measuring emotional and cognitive empathy towards Kith-Kin animals; (7) a Domestic-Empathy factor, measuring emotional and cognitive empathy towards Domestic animals; (8) a Wild-Empathy factor, measuring emotional and cognitive empathy towards Wild animals; and (9) a Harm Avoidance factor. A Cascade Model approach allowed us to integrate many factors (individual differences and local ecological conditions) together in explaining empathy and harm avoidance that have previously been examined only in mutual isolation.