Grief in context: Social perceptions of legitimacy, empathy, and norms after pet and human loss

Abstract Background: This experimental vignette study examined how people perceive grief responses following the loss of a companion animal versus a human friend. Methods: Participants were 315 US adults who were randomly assigned to read a scenario in which an individual named Alex had lost a cat, dog, or human friend either 1 week or 3 months earlier. They then rated the grief’s legitimacy, their empathic concern for Alex, and how socially acceptable the grief appeared. Results: We found that grief was perceived as more legitimate following the loss of a human friend compared to a pet and when the loss was more recent. Social norms followed a similar species-based pattern but showed no significant effect of time. Empathic concern showed a different pattern—while empathy was similar across species at 1 week after the loss, it was lower in response to dog grief at 3 months. No effects were moderated by participants’ gender identity, pet ownership, or history of pet loss. Conclusions: These findings suggest that grief following pet loss is often viewed as less valid and normative than grief for humans, even when empathic emotional responses are comparable, and highlight how species and time shape public perceptions of grief.