Poster #13 - The effect of anthropomorphic input on children’s learning and attitudes toward snakes

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Snakes are one of the most commonly feared animals among children and adults worldwide (Costello & Angold, 1995). Given the rarity of people’s actual threatening encounters with snakes in industrialized societies, particularly within early childhood when such fears are just beginning to emerge, it is unlikely that fear of snakes is typically acquired through direct experience, but may be acquired indirectly through negative information. Research suggests that parents and children report being more afraid of and also use more negative language when talking about snakes than other animals (Conrad et al., 2021; Reider et al., 2022). While the literature has focused on whether we can reduce fear of snakes by reducing negative language provided to children (e.g., Reider et al., 2022), it remains unclear whether positive language can also reduce children’s fear and foster positive attitudes and learning outcomes about snakes. Thus, the main goal of the proposed study is to examine whether providing factual information about snakes and the use of anthropomorphic input (e.g., the use of pronouns and proper names as well as emotional and mentalizing terms) leads to positive changes in children’s learning and attitudes toward snakes. In this study, children (target n= 88, 4- to 6-year-old children) completed measures of their baseline knowledge and fear of snakes. Children were then randomly assigned to hear a neutral or anthropomorphic factual story about a snake. In the neutral story condition, children learned about a generic snake—including information about where it lives, what it eats, and how it behaves. In the anthropomorphic story condition, children learned the same set of facts about the snake using proper names, pronouns, and the inclusion of anthropomorphic qualities. Following the story, children completed a memory interview about what they learned from the story, and answered questions about whether they believe snakes have anthropomorphic qualities. Finally, children completed a moral ranking task, in which they were shown 9 animals (1 human, 1 non-human mammal, 1 bird, 1 fish, 1 amphibian, 3 reptiles, 1 invertebrate) and were asked to rank the animals in the order from most priority to least priority to help. Parents also completed the moral ranking task, as well as questionnaires related to children’s and parent’s experience with snakes, children’s experience with nature, parent’s fear of snakes, and demographic information. We hypothesized that children in the anthropomorphic condition will show reduced fear toward snakes after hearing the story compared to children in the neutral condition. We also hypothesized that children in the anthropomorphic condition will be more likely to attribute anthropomorphic qualities to snakes and will be more likely to prioritize snakes compared to children in the neutral condition. We expected no differences in the amount children learn across conditions. These findings will shed light on the ways we can manipulate how information is provided to children to form accurate knowledge and attitudes toward commonly feared creatures. Data collection is 80% complete and we will have all data collected and analyzed by the date of the conference.

Authors

• Lori Beth Reider, Rutgers University - Newark
  Presenting Author

• Vanessa LoBue, Rutgers University