People believe lab animals have less mental capacity than other animals, research shows

By Kevin Vezirian, Maître de conférences, Université Savoie Mont Blanc
Brock Bastian, Professor, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Laurent Bègue-Shankland, Professeur de psychologie sociale, membre honoraire de l’Institut universitaire de France (IUF), directeur de la MSH Alpes (CNRS/UGA), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)

Many of us care for animals and feel empathy when they suffer. At the same time, many of us also accept their suffering and death when it happens in the name of science.

How do people manage this tension? Our latest research shows we do it by pretending lab animals have no inner lives or complex mental capacities.

Justified suffering?

More than 190 million animals are used in laboratory experiments around the world each year, according…

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