The Moral Foundations of Care and Authority and the Perception of Animal Mind in Relation to Violence Against Animals

ABSTRACT

Violence against animals, derived from human domination over them, is limited by the moral judgment of perpetrators and by public opinion. The current study investigated whether the moral foundations of Care and Authority and the perception of animal mind are associated with instrumental violence against animals, as well as the function of perception of animal mind in the context of this phenomenon. To this end, 504 participants from Poland completed paper-based questionnaires that measured acceptance and participation in instrumental violence against animals, moral foundations, and perception of the experience dimension of animal mind. The results of structural equation modeling, performed using four smaller sub-models, suggest that Care and Authority are predictors of instrumental violence against animals, with Care being negatively predictive and Authority being positively predictive (either as the acceptance of or participation in such violence). Perception of the experience dimension of animal mind is negatively associated with instrumental violence and plays an indirect role in the relationship between morality and violence as a mutual mediator of Care and Authority. These findings suggest that perception of animal mind is a mechanism that is activated during the moral judgment of intention and behavior by changing the moral status of animals. Moreover, Care and Authority were significant as direct predictors of instrumental violence. Thus, the availability of these moral foundations in society is important for animal welfare during farm-animal husbandry, pet breeding, transport, training, and treatment. These findings broaden our knowledge about the intuitive, rather than only the deliberative, paths responsible for violence against animals.