Children and adults across 15 countries believe in human uniqueness of mind: a cross-cultural investigation of cross-species mind perception
The way humans relate to other animals is fundamentally shaped by whether we perceive ourselves as unique, with feelings and thoughts not shared by other animals. How beliefs about animals' ability to feel and think develop across cultures remains largely unexplored. We asked children and adolescents (4-17 years, N = 1025) and adults (N = 190) from 33 urban and rural communities across 15 countries whether animals have thoughts or feelings (judgments of presence), and whether those thoughts or feelings are human-like (judgments of similarity). Bayesian analyses revealed that participants generally ascribed non-human animals the ability for thoughts and feelings. However, they universally denied that animals have human-like thoughts, with these beliefs emerging early in development across all societies and remaining stable across the lifespan. There was more cultural variation found in whether participants attributed human-like feelings to animals. Human mental exceptionalism appears to be a human universal and is restricted to human-like thoughts. Implications for human-animal relationships and ethical considerations for the treatment and conservation of other animals are discussed.
Authors
- Roman Stengelin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-4613)
- Leïla Abbas
- Daniel B. M. Haun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3262-645X)
- Ardain Dzabatou
- Federica Amici (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3539-1067)
- Patricia Kanngießer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1068-3725)
- Luke Maurits (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3130-4256)
- Thomas Stodulka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9142-0814)
- Putu Oka Ngakan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1383-2661)
- Katja Liebal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2447-8327)
- Andrew Junker
- Ferdiansyah Thajib (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4797-0827)
- Wanting Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3627-6669)
- Sebastian Tempelmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2071-6658)
- Susan Hanisch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8273-6481)
- Dustin Eirdosh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3836-1501)
- Kadek Sonia Piscayanti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7017-7202)
- Zhen Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9231-8395)
- Tongtong Meng
- M. Junker
- Sarah M. Pope (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7835-4058)
- Risma Illa Maulany (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5061-6725)
- Karri Neldner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8237-5679)
- Berilhes Borges Garcia
- Noemi Thiede (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0192-1691)
- Ljubica Petrović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0160-6775)
- Jahnavi Sunderarajan
- Najlaa Abbas
- Safaa Mahmoud
- Sandra Masaquiza
- Arianna Abis
- Disney Tjizao
- Dennis Shishala
- Blanca Striegler
- Janina Weyrowitz
- Felipe Villa Larens
- Mirella Christy Rehatalanit
- Linus Useb
- Giovanna Barragán Pardo
- Doriana Sportelli
- Negar Ashgari
- Iino Masato
- Kardelen Mutlu
- Maria Inés Sandoval Sernaque
- Lena Woidich
- Junior Peña Chumacero
- Tom Herrnsdorf
- Tom Hovehne
- Ebru Peközer
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Environmental Psychology
- Published
- 2025-11-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102861
- Primary Topic
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00