TY - JOUR

T1 - Public attitude formation regarding animal research

AU - Lund, Thomas Bøker

AU - Lassen, Jesper

AU - Sandøe, Peter

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - A number of attitudinal studies have examined support for the use of animals in research. However, on the whole they have come to rather different conclusions. In our reasearch, which is based on focus group discussions held in Denmark, we attempted to explain this variation by examining the way the relevant attitudes are formed. Although our participants had only limited knowledge of, and interest in, animal use in research, they were perfecly capable of developing reasoned attitudes to it by drawing on evaluative considerations concerning animal use in general. Furthermore, the evaluation of animal research involves a distinct experience of value conflict - between the possible human benefits, on the one hand, and a concern for costs to the animal, on the other. Different ways of dealing with this conflict gives rise ti different attitudinal stances on animal research: Disapprovers, Reserved, and Approvers. These stances, and their supporting lines of argument, are rather robust, as they are grounded in stable underlying values. However, at the same time they leave room for variable evaluations of different types of animal experiment. This facilitates shifts between approval and disapproval, especially for the Reserved who experience ambivalence. Future quantitative analyses should take into consideration that attitutes in the field of animal experimentation can be viewed (and measured) both at an underlying value-based level and at a context-specific level.

AB - A number of attitudinal studies have examined support for the use of animals in research. However, on the whole they have come to rather different conclusions. In our reasearch, which is based on focus group discussions held in Denmark, we attempted to explain this variation by examining the way the relevant attitudes are formed. Although our participants had only limited knowledge of, and interest in, animal use in research, they were perfecly capable of developing reasoned attitudes to it by drawing on evaluative considerations concerning animal use in general. Furthermore, the evaluation of animal research involves a distinct experience of value conflict - between the possible human benefits, on the one hand, and a concern for costs to the animal, on the other. Different ways of dealing with this conflict gives rise ti different attitudinal stances on animal research: Disapprovers, Reserved, and Approvers. These stances, and their supporting lines of argument, are rather robust, as they are grounded in stable underlying values. However, at the same time they leave room for variable evaluations of different types of animal experiment. This facilitates shifts between approval and disapproval, especially for the Reserved who experience ambivalence. Future quantitative analyses should take into consideration that attitutes in the field of animal experimentation can be viewed (and measured) both at an underlying value-based level and at a context-specific level.

U2 - 10.2752/175303712X13479798785896

DO - 10.2752/175303712X13479798785896

M3 - Journal article

VL - 25

SP - 475

EP - 490

JO - Anthrozoos

JF - Anthrozoos

SN - 0892-7936

IS - 4

ER -