{"title":"Compassion questionnaire for animals: Scale development and validation","authors":"Bassam Khoury , Rodrigo C. Vergara","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102470","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>No measure of compassion for animals exists. Previous scales measured empathy or attitudes towards animals. In line with previous compassion questionnaires for self (CQS) and others (CQO), the proposed Compassion Questionnaire for Animals (CQA) aims to operationalize compassion for animals by grounding it in affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness dimensions, each representing a set of skills that can be cultivated through training and practice.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Based on the proposed theoretical approach, the CQA items were developed through consultations with a panel of eight graduate students. A large study was conducted to validate the CQA, investigate the relationship between empathy/compassion for other human beings and compassion for animals, and test the role of gender and age in compassion for animals.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Results suggested the presence of three dimensions along with a global latent variable. Psychometric characteristics of the CQA and its subscales were robust. These findings were additionally supported by convergent and discriminate evidence; as such, the CQA presented strong associations with measures of empathy for animals and nature relatedness. In addition, empathy and compassion for other human beings and for animals were found to be moderately associated. Gender and age were found to be related to compassion for animals, with women and older individuals displaying higher levels of compassion.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The CQA is the first scale that operationalizes compassion for animals as a set of affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness skills/abilities with important theoretical and practical implications. Limitations as well as theoretical and practical implications of the CQA are thoroughly discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48439,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Psychology","volume":"100 ","pages":"Article 102470"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494424002433","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
No measure of compassion for animals exists. Previous scales measured empathy or attitudes towards animals. In line with previous compassion questionnaires for self (CQS) and others (CQO), the proposed Compassion Questionnaire for Animals (CQA) aims to operationalize compassion for animals by grounding it in affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness dimensions, each representing a set of skills that can be cultivated through training and practice.
Methods
Based on the proposed theoretical approach, the CQA items were developed through consultations with a panel of eight graduate students. A large study was conducted to validate the CQA, investigate the relationship between empathy/compassion for other human beings and compassion for animals, and test the role of gender and age in compassion for animals.
Results
Results suggested the presence of three dimensions along with a global latent variable. Psychometric characteristics of the CQA and its subscales were robust. These findings were additionally supported by convergent and discriminate evidence; as such, the CQA presented strong associations with measures of empathy for animals and nature relatedness. In addition, empathy and compassion for other human beings and for animals were found to be moderately associated. Gender and age were found to be related to compassion for animals, with women and older individuals displaying higher levels of compassion.
Conclusions
The CQA is the first scale that operationalizes compassion for animals as a set of affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness skills/abilities with important theoretical and practical implications. Limitations as well as theoretical and practical implications of the CQA are thoroughly discussed.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Environmental Psychology is the premier journal in the field, serving individuals in a wide range of disciplines who have an interest in the scientific study of the transactions and interrelationships between people and their surroundings (including built, social, natural and virtual environments, the use and abuse of nature and natural resources, and sustainability-related behavior). The journal publishes internationally contributed empirical studies and reviews of research on these topics that advance new insights. As an important forum for the field, the journal publishes some of the most influential papers in the discipline that reflect the scientific development of environmental psychology. Contributions on theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of all human-environment interactions are welcome, along with innovative or interdisciplinary approaches that have a psychological emphasis. Research areas include: •Psychological and behavioral aspects of people and nature •Cognitive mapping, spatial cognition and wayfinding •Ecological consequences of human actions •Theories of place, place attachment, and place identity •Environmental risks and hazards: perception, behavior, and management •Perception and evaluation of buildings and natural landscapes •Effects of physical and natural settings on human cognition and health •Theories of proenvironmental behavior, norms, attitudes, and personality •Psychology of sustainability and climate change •Psychological aspects of resource management and crises •Social use of space: crowding, privacy, territoriality, personal space •Design of, and experiences related to, the physical aspects of workplaces, schools, residences, public buildings and public space
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
分享
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
扫码关注我们
