Extending perspective taking to nonhuman animals and artificial entities

Ali Ladak*, Matti Wilks, Jacy Reese Anthis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Perspective taking can have positive effects in a range of intergroup contexts. In two experiments, we tested whether these effects generalize to two yet-to-be-studied nonhuman groups: animals and intelligent artificial entities. We found no overall effects of either taking the perspective of a farmed pig or an artificial entity on moral attitudes, compared to instructions to stay objective and a neutral condition. However, in both studies, mediation analysis indicated that perspective taking positively affected moral attitudes via empathic concern and self-other overlap, supporting two mechanisms well-established in the literature. The lack of overall effects may be partly explained by positive effects of staying objective on moral attitudes that offset the positive effects of perspective taking via empathic concern and self-other overlap. These findings suggest that perspective taking functions differently in the context of nonhuman groups relative to typical intergroup contexts. We consider this an important area for future research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)274-302
JournalSocial Cognition
Volume41
Issue number3
Early online date1 Jun 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • perspective taking
  • morality
  • attitudes
  • human-animal relations
  • artificial intelligence

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