Does Human-Animal Similarity Lower the Need to Affirm Humans' Superiority Relative to Animals? A Social Psychological Viewpoint

This research integrates different social psychological theories to test whether human-animal similarity promotes affiliation with animals and lowers the need to affirm humans' superiority relative to animals. On the basis of theories of intergroup relations, terror management theory, and work conducted in the field of human-animal relations, we expected that higher human-animal similarity would decrease the need to affirm humans' superiority relative to animals, by triggering a greater sense of shared social identity. Two correlational studies (ns = 187 and 191) tested a mediation model whereby perceived human-animal similarity was expected to predict a lower need to differentiate the perceived status of humans from animals through a process of social identification with animals. Mediated regressions provided support for these associations. A repeated-measures experiment (n = 176) replicated these findings by systematically comparing objectively (phylogenetically) more vs. less similar animals and assessing perceived status and identification. Results are discussed in light of theories of intergroup relations, terror management theory, as well as recent advances in the field of social psychology and self and identity processes.