How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo

Previous research regarding behaviors of zoo visitors near exhibits has shown that they can influence animals’ well-being. What is unclear is whether people’s views concerning the purpose of zoos or their beliefs might influence their perception of what is acceptable behavior when visiting the zoo....

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Skylar L. Muller, Samantha L. Bissell, Kristen M. Cunningham, Rosemary Strasser
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Animal Behavior and Cognition 2021
Materias:	zoo visitor effects human-animal relationships empathy conservation education entertainment Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/13f0668303dc4efbaff4f79a0ca20d96
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:13f0668303dc4efbaff4f79a0ca20d96
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:13f0668303dc4efbaff4f79a0ca20d962021-11-03T19:38:37ZHow Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo10.26451/abc.08.04.12.20212372-50522372-4323https://doaj.org/article/13f0668303dc4efbaff4f79a0ca20d962021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.animalbehaviorandcognition.org/uploads/journals/35/AB_C_Vol8(4)_Muller_et_al.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/2372-5052https://doaj.org/toc/2372-4323Previous research regarding behaviors of zoo visitors near exhibits has shown that they can influence animals’ well-being. What is unclear is whether people’s views concerning the purpose of zoos or their beliefs might influence their perception of what is acceptable behavior when visiting the zoo. In this study, we used naturalistic observation to examine zoo visitor behavior near specific exhibits. We also surveyed visitors regarding the purpose of zoos, their perception of animals and the zoo, and if they have seen inappropriate behavior in other zoo visitors. We observed visitors engaging in various inappropriate behaviors such as hitting the glass and trying to provoke the animals. These same inappropriate behaviors were also reported by visitors in our survey, indicating an awareness of what behaviors might be disruptive to animals. Visitors who reported similarities between humans and animals reported more inappropriate behaviors in others partially due to having more empathy for animals. When asked to consider the purpose of the zoo, education and conservation were ranked as being the most important, entertainment and research the least important priorities. However, of those who identified entertainment as most important, this group also reported humans to have less similarity with animals and reported less inappropriate behaviors in other visitors. Our findings suggest that zoo visitors’ views regarding the purpose of zoos and perceived human similarities to animals influence what they considered inappropriate behavior around captive zoo animals. This study provides the first exploration concerning the perception of visitors regarding other visitor behaviors directed towards zoo animals.Skylar L. MullerSamantha L. BissellKristen M. CunninghamRosemary StrasserAnimal Behavior and Cognitionarticlezoo visitor effectshuman-animal relationshipsempathyconservation educationentertainmentZoologyQL1-991ENAnimal Behavior and Cognition, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 619-631 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	zoo visitor effects human-animal relationships empathy conservation education entertainment Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	zoo visitor effects human-animal relationships empathy conservation education entertainment Zoology QL1-991 Skylar L. Muller Samantha L. Bissell Kristen M. Cunningham Rosemary Strasser How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo
description	Previous research regarding behaviors of zoo visitors near exhibits has shown that they can influence animals’ well-being. What is unclear is whether people’s views concerning the purpose of zoos or their beliefs might influence their perception of what is acceptable behavior when visiting the zoo. In this study, we used naturalistic observation to examine zoo visitor behavior near specific exhibits. We also surveyed visitors regarding the purpose of zoos, their perception of animals and the zoo, and if they have seen inappropriate behavior in other zoo visitors. We observed visitors engaging in various inappropriate behaviors such as hitting the glass and trying to provoke the animals. These same inappropriate behaviors were also reported by visitors in our survey, indicating an awareness of what behaviors might be disruptive to animals. Visitors who reported similarities between humans and animals reported more inappropriate behaviors in others partially due to having more empathy for animals. When asked to consider the purpose of the zoo, education and conservation were ranked as being the most important, entertainment and research the least important priorities. However, of those who identified entertainment as most important, this group also reported humans to have less similarity with animals and reported less inappropriate behaviors in other visitors. Our findings suggest that zoo visitors’ views regarding the purpose of zoos and perceived human similarities to animals influence what they considered inappropriate behavior around captive zoo animals. This study provides the first exploration concerning the perception of visitors regarding other visitor behaviors directed towards zoo animals.
format	article
author	Skylar L. Muller Samantha L. Bissell Kristen M. Cunningham Rosemary Strasser
author_facet	Skylar L. Muller Samantha L. Bissell Kristen M. Cunningham Rosemary Strasser
author_sort	Skylar L. Muller
title	How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo
title_short	How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo
title_full	How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo
title_fullStr	How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo
title_full_unstemmed	How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo
title_sort	how do you behave at the zoo? a look at visitor perceptions of other visitors' behavior at the zoo
publisher	Animal Behavior and Cognition
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/13f0668303dc4efbaff4f79a0ca20d96
work_keys_str_mv	AT skylarlmuller howdoyoubehaveatthezooalookatvisitorperceptionsofothervisitorsbehavioratthezoo AT samanthalbissell howdoyoubehaveatthezooalookatvisitorperceptionsofothervisitorsbehavioratthezoo AT kristenmcunningham howdoyoubehaveatthezooalookatvisitorperceptionsofothervisitorsbehavioratthezoo AT rosemarystrasser howdoyoubehaveatthezooalookatvisitorperceptionsofothervisitorsbehavioratthezoo
_version_	1718445379636166656

How Do You Behave at the Zoo? A Look at Visitor Perceptions of Other Visitors' Behavior at the Zoo

Ejemplares similares