CASE: Children's Attitudes toward Speciesism Explained (replication)

Speciesism is the belief that all other animal species are inferior to humans, often perceiving animals as resources for human benefit (Dhont et al., 2019; Horta, 2010). While most adults view human lives as more valuable than animal lives (Amiot & Bastian, 2015; Awad et al., 2018; Caviola et al., 2019, 2022), children tend to display a weaker preference for humans over animals (Wilks et al., 2021; Paruzel-Czachura et al., 2024). Previous studies in this area have employed diverse methodologies that may have influenced the results. For instance, Wilks et al. (2021) presented stimuli on tablets, while Paruzel-Czachura et al. (2024) used LEGO toys to represent humans and animals. These approaches, while innovative, might not have been taken seriously by children, potentially affecting the validity of their responses. To address these limitations and expand research beyond WEIRD populations (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic; Henrich et al., 2010), we conducted two studies in non-industrialized societies—Tanzania and Papua New Guinea. We used printed icons of animals and humans on paper for cultural appropriateness and simplicity of stimuli. Both studies failed to replicate the findings observed in WEIRD samples. Building on this work, the present study returns to a WEIRD context, aiming to replicate these findings in Poland using the same culturally adjusted and straightforward methodology employed in Tanzania and Papua New Guinea. This allows us to assess whether the observed effects hold in a WEIRD population when using a simplified approach.