Dogs and Cats and Their Relationships with Humans as Depicted in Picture Books

Abstract

Attitudes toward animals are influenced by childhood experiences with animals. One source of such experiences is provided by picture books. Because the representations of animals in picture books affect attitudes toward animals, it is important to examine how animals are depicted in picture books in order to improve human-animal interactions. Since dogs and cats are particularly familiar to children, it is easy for children to apply representations in picture books to real dogs and cats. This study quantitatively investigated how dogs and cats are depicted in picture books. Several elements were extracted from the pictures in the picture books and their state was recorded. The analysis included comparisons of depictions of dogs and cats, human presence and absence, and story settings in 2040 picture books that contained depictions of dogs or cats. The results revealed that dogs and cats were anthropomorphized or humanized much less often in picture books in which humans appeared than in those in which humans did not appear. Dogs were often drawn on the ground outside, and cats were often shown in elevated positions or indoors. For dogs, there were many depictions of walks, often in urban settings. In general, the analysis of the depictions suggests that children may feel boundary between human and dog/cat based on the picture books. The analysis of the walking scenes suggests that the reality of dogs may be conveyed to children. In addition, the analysis of the positions of dogs and cats suggests that traditional representation of them and their relationships with humans may be conveyed to children in such books.