Henri, D. C. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2023

Animal psychology research changes public attitudes, but not tolerance, towards a wild carnivore beyond non-psychological information

Studies on wild animal psychology are growing in popularity due to the important role they play in understanding how wildlife is responding to human-driven environmental changes. However, communicating psychological information to the general public could undermine specific conservation objectives by encouraging greater persecution of a species (e.g., "bold" predators). Through a national-level survey (n = 1,364 participants), we tested whether communicating information about the boldness and problem-solving abilities of a wild carnivore, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), influences peoples tolerance of them. Half of participants were given information on fox psychology (either a video or a press release about fox boldness and problem-solving), the other half were given content related to animal ecology (either a video or a press release about fox habitat use). Afterwards, all participants completed the same 24-item questionnaire evaluating their tolerance of foxes. Although the participants given information about fox psychology were more likely to report a perceived attitude change due to the content they were given, their attitudes relating to fox tolerance remained unaffected regardless of content or format. We encourage further research to understand how communicating different types of information might influence, either positively or negatively, peoples tolerance of a species as more studies on wild animal psychology are published, and the publics awareness of how animal psychology relates to human-wildlife interactions becomes more widespread. HighlightsO_LIStudies on wild animal psychology are growing in popularity C_LIO_LIThe impact of animal psychology research on public attitudes is unclear C_LIO_LIWe tested if fox psychology research influences public tolerance C_LIO_LIPeople given fox psychology information reported greater attitude change C_LIO_LIThis perceived change did not impact peoples overall tolerance of foxes C_LI

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2022

I Am A Scientist: Overcoming implicit bias in STEM through explicit representations of diversity in lectures

The lack of diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is a significant issue for the sector. Many organisations and educators have identified lack of representation of historically marginalised groups within teaching materials as a potential barrier to students feeling that a STEM career is something that they can aspire to. A key barrier to addressing the issue is providing accessible and effective evidence-based approaches for educators to implement. In this study, we explore the potential for adapting presentation slides within lectures to humanise the scientists involved, presenting their full names and photographs alongside a Harvard style reference. We adopt a questionnaire based methodology, and survey 161 undergraduates and postgraduates at a UK civic university. We first establish that students project implicit biases onto a hypothetical reference, with over 50% of students assuming the scientist was male and Western. We then explore what students think of the humanised slide design, concluding that most students see it as good pedagogical practice, with some students positively changing their perceptions about diversity in science. We were unable to compare responses by ethnicity, but find evidence that female and non-binary students are more likely to see this as good pedagogical practice, perhaps reflecting white male fragility in being exposed to initiatives designed to highlight diversity. We conclude that humanised powerpoint slides are a potentially effective tool to highlight diversity of scientists within existing research-led teaching, but highlight that this is only a small intervention that needs to sit alongside more substantive work to address the lack of diversity in STEM.

scientific communication and education↗