Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States
Conservation of snakes is influenced by humans’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward these often-maligned animals. We investigated public attitudes toward snakes through an online survey of undergraduate students (n = 743) at a large public university in a southeastern U.S. state. We used behavi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Conservation Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2022.1016514/full |
| _version_ | 1797997262552432640 |
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| author | Audrey K. Vaughn Lincoln R. Larson M. Nils Peterson Lara B. Pacifici |
| author_facet | Audrey K. Vaughn Lincoln R. Larson M. Nils Peterson Lara B. Pacifici |
| author_sort | Audrey K. Vaughn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conservation of snakes is influenced by humans’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward these often-maligned animals. We investigated public attitudes toward snakes through an online survey of undergraduate students (n = 743) at a large public university in a southeastern U.S. state. We used behavioral intent (i.e., how a person would react if they encountered a snake) to assess tolerance of different snake species. We also examined various predictors of tolerance including demographic attributes and a variety of cognitive (e.g., knowledge, value orientations) and affective (e.g., emotions) social-psychological variables. Tolerance of snakes varied based on whether the snake was venomous or non-venomous: about 36% of students said they were likely to kill venomous snakes they encountered, compared with 9% who said they would kill non-venomous snakes and 21% of students who said they would kill snakes whose identity was uncertain. However, most students (54%) could not distinguish between venomous and non-venomous species. Value orientations and emotions were strong predictors of tolerance for snakes, suggesting snake outreach and management strategies should account for both cognitive and affective antecedents of behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:29:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b942257460e4352b4a4ed3778b2253c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-611X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:29:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Conservation Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b942257460e4352b4a4ed3778b2253c2022-12-22T04:29:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Conservation Science2673-611X2022-10-01310.3389/fcosc.2022.10165141016514Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United StatesAudrey K. Vaughn0Lincoln R. Larson1M. Nils Peterson2Lara B. Pacifici3Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesDepartment of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesConservation of snakes is influenced by humans’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward these often-maligned animals. We investigated public attitudes toward snakes through an online survey of undergraduate students (n = 743) at a large public university in a southeastern U.S. state. We used behavioral intent (i.e., how a person would react if they encountered a snake) to assess tolerance of different snake species. We also examined various predictors of tolerance including demographic attributes and a variety of cognitive (e.g., knowledge, value orientations) and affective (e.g., emotions) social-psychological variables. Tolerance of snakes varied based on whether the snake was venomous or non-venomous: about 36% of students said they were likely to kill venomous snakes they encountered, compared with 9% who said they would kill non-venomous snakes and 21% of students who said they would kill snakes whose identity was uncertain. However, most students (54%) could not distinguish between venomous and non-venomous species. Value orientations and emotions were strong predictors of tolerance for snakes, suggesting snake outreach and management strategies should account for both cognitive and affective antecedents of behavior.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2022.1016514/fullattitudesbehaviorsemotionshuman-wildlife conflictknowledgereptiles |
| spellingShingle | Audrey K. Vaughn Lincoln R. Larson M. Nils Peterson Lara B. Pacifici Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States Frontiers in Conservation Science attitudes behaviors emotions human-wildlife conflict knowledge reptiles |
| title | Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States |
| title_full | Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States |
| title_fullStr | Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States |
| title_short | Factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern United States |
| title_sort | factors associated with human tolerance of snakes in the southeastern united states |
| topic | attitudes behaviors emotions human-wildlife conflict knowledge reptiles |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2022.1016514/full |
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