Maurer, Lauren N.

Previous research into people's perceptions of animals suggests that people view animals most favorably when they perceive them as being mentally like humans. This thesis examined whether animals perceived as threatening are still seen to be mentally similar to humans, but more likely to experience mental states associated with anger and aggression. Using three separate measures of people's perceptions of animals, including one designed for this study, it was found that participants did indeed view the mental lives of animals differently when those animals were perceived to be threatening. Examination of the effect of the animal chosen showed that some animals are inherently seen as more threatening and less-human like. The implications of these findings for animal conservation efforts, reduction of human-animal conflict, and anthropomorphism in the study of animal cognition were discussed.