Psychological Reports, 1990, 66, 1391-1394. @ Psychological Reports 1990
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEIR PETS ' R. M. KIDD V A . Medical Center, Martinez
AND
A. H. KIDD
Mills College, Oaklond
Summary.-50 high school students, 25 boys and 25 girls, were individually interviewed using a series of open-ended questions to analyze the cognitive, affective, and behavioral factors in adolescents' attitudes toward their pets. It was hypothesized that cognitive elements would progress from the concrete operations stage to the formal operations stage, that empathy and perspective taking would continue developing, and that behavioral elements would be closely related to realistically assessed characteristics of pets. Although the data supported the second and third hypotheses, only 30 (60%) of the subjects had reached the formal operations stage of cognition. An unexpected finding was that a higher percentage of high school students than of the grade schooI students previously studied in 1985 indicated closeness to and love for their pets. Further research was suggested.
In 1985, Kidd and Kidd reported on 300 interviews which investigated the cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements in children's attitudes toward pets. Data showed that for children from ages 3 to 13 yr., the cognitive elements progressed from preoperational to concrete operations, that in a majority of the older children, the affective elements progressed from egocentricity to empathy and perspective-taking, and that behavioral elements changed from situational cues to caring behaviors based on reahstic assessment of pets' characteristics. Children's attitudes toward pets had not progressed to the formal operations stage by age 13 yr. One-fourth of the 13-yr.-olds showed a tendency to withdraw from pets at the start of adolescence and to believe in physical punishment as the most efficient way to alter pets' behavior. Very few seemed able to use positive reinforcement. Given such attitudes in early adolescence, it seemed important to interview additional subjects from ages 14 through 18 to study these trends more fully. 6 was therefore hypothesized: (1) that cognitive elements would progress from the concrete operations stage (defined as the ability to conceptualize about concrete objects) found at age 13, to the formal operations stage (defined as the ability to consider a number of possibilities which might explain a pet's behaviors and to appraise alternative hypotheses about a pet's abilities), (2) that empathy and perspective-taking would continue developing in high school students, and (3) that behavioral elements, especially an understanding of pets' illnesses and misbehaviors, would be closely related to realistically assessed characteristics of pets. 'Request reprints from A. H. Kidd, Department of Psychology, Mills College, Oakland, CA 94613.
1392
R. M. KIDD
&
A. H. KIDD
METHOD Subjects were 25 boys and 25 girls attending high schools and from pet-owning families. The youth were primarily from the middle dass with an ethnic distribution of 86% Caucasian, 10% black, and 4% Asian. The same open-ended questions to investigate the cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements of children's attitudes toward pets used in the previous study were asked (Kidd & Kidd, 1985). Principals of public, private, and parochial schools were contacted, and those indicating willingness to cooperate were given parental information and permission forms to distribute. After receiving parental permissions, subjects were interviewed. All subjects were eager to be interviewed, and the fiial sample was representative of the population except for the limited number of Asians (see Kidd & Kidd, 1985). Numerical answers were tallied after all interviews were completed. The data were then analyzed by z tests for the significance of the a f e r e n c e between proportions.
RESULTS Of all subjects, 25 (50%) owned dogs and 17 (34%) owned cats. Significantly more boys than girls owned dogs (z = 5.00, p < .01) and significantly more girls than boys owned cats (z=4.00, p
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEIR PETS ' R. M. KIDD V A . Medical Center, Martinez
AND
A. H. KIDD
Mills College, Oaklond
Summary.-50 high school students, 25 boys and 25 girls, were individually interviewed using a series of open-ended questions to analyze the cognitive, affective, and behavioral factors in adolescents' attitudes toward their pets. It was hypothesized that cognitive elements would progress from the concrete operations stage to the formal operations stage, that empathy and perspective taking would continue developing, and that behavioral elements would be closely related to realistically assessed characteristics of pets. Although the data supported the second and third hypotheses, only 30 (60%) of the subjects had reached the formal operations stage of cognition. An unexpected finding was that a higher percentage of high school students than of the grade schooI students previously studied in 1985 indicated closeness to and love for their pets. Further research was suggested.
In 1985, Kidd and Kidd reported on 300 interviews which investigated the cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements in children's attitudes toward pets. Data showed that for children from ages 3 to 13 yr., the cognitive elements progressed from preoperational to concrete operations, that in a majority of the older children, the affective elements progressed from egocentricity to empathy and perspective-taking, and that behavioral elements changed from situational cues to caring behaviors based on reahstic assessment of pets' characteristics. Children's attitudes toward pets had not progressed to the formal operations stage by age 13 yr. One-fourth of the 13-yr.-olds showed a tendency to withdraw from pets at the start of adolescence and to believe in physical punishment as the most efficient way to alter pets' behavior. Very few seemed able to use positive reinforcement. Given such attitudes in early adolescence, it seemed important to interview additional subjects from ages 14 through 18 to study these trends more fully. 6 was therefore hypothesized: (1) that cognitive elements would progress from the concrete operations stage (defined as the ability to conceptualize about concrete objects) found at age 13, to the formal operations stage (defined as the ability to consider a number of possibilities which might explain a pet's behaviors and to appraise alternative hypotheses about a pet's abilities), (2) that empathy and perspective-taking would continue developing in high school students, and (3) that behavioral elements, especially an understanding of pets' illnesses and misbehaviors, would be closely related to realistically assessed characteristics of pets. 'Request reprints from A. H. Kidd, Department of Psychology, Mills College, Oakland, CA 94613.
1392
R. M. KIDD
&
A. H. KIDD
METHOD Subjects were 25 boys and 25 girls attending high schools and from pet-owning families. The youth were primarily from the middle dass with an ethnic distribution of 86% Caucasian, 10% black, and 4% Asian. The same open-ended questions to investigate the cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements of children's attitudes toward pets used in the previous study were asked (Kidd & Kidd, 1985). Principals of public, private, and parochial schools were contacted, and those indicating willingness to cooperate were given parental information and permission forms to distribute. After receiving parental permissions, subjects were interviewed. All subjects were eager to be interviewed, and the fiial sample was representative of the population except for the limited number of Asians (see Kidd & Kidd, 1985). Numerical answers were tallied after all interviews were completed. The data were then analyzed by z tests for the significance of the a f e r e n c e between proportions.
RESULTS Of all subjects, 25 (50%) owned dogs and 17 (34%) owned cats. Significantly more boys than girls owned dogs (z = 5.00, p < .01) and significantly more girls than boys owned cats (z=4.00, p
