What People Think About Animal Thinking

The question of how nonhuman animals think is pervasive in the scientific and popular media, yet there is a lack of agreement between animal cognition research and how this information emerges in popular discourse. This study investigated how people conceive of animal thinking, in order to inform the development of an exhibit on animal minds. The study used qualitative interviews of visitors to the New York Hall of Science and Staten Island Zoo followed by a quantitative, online consumer survey of American museum visitors. Results demonstrated that visitors varied in their perceptions of animal thinking, but appear to be open to new ideas about how animals might think. Most recognized survival strategies as thinking in wild animals, but had reservations about discussions of empathy, deception, and awareness. Pets were commonly attributed to have higher cognitive capacities for thinking than food or other domestic animals. Participants were more likely to focus on an overall concept of animal thinking rather than different cognitive dimensions