The Psychology of Speciesism and its Intersections with Racism and Sexism

Séminaire organisé par le Laboratoire InterUniversitaire de Psychologie. Personnalité, Cognition, Changement Social (LIP/PC2S).

Despite being animals, humans distance themselves physically and mentally from (most) other animals and prioritize human interests. We exploit other animals to feed, clothe, and entertain ourselves, to name just a few animal exploitation practices. Such discrimination against other species, or speciesism, is the central focus of the presentation. Drawing on recent scientific findings, I address the psychological connections between speciesism and prejudices such as racism and sexism. Our findings show that those who support animal exploitation also tend to endorse sexist and racist views and rely on the belief in group dominance and human supremacy to justify systems of inequality and oppression.  Furthermore, I will present new research with cross-cultural data showing that in addition to group-dominance motives, desires for maintaining cultural stability, order and social conformity can be a powerful ideological motive to defend cultural practices of animal exploitation. Finally, I will consider how sexist views and traditional masculinity may distort attitudes towards those who care about animals and refrain from animal product consumption (i.e., vegans).

Kristof Dhont, PhD, is a Reader in Psychology and Director of Graduate Studies (Research) in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent. He is the founder and director of SHARKLab, dedicated to the study human intergroup and human-animal relations. He currently serves as Associate Editor for the journal Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR) and as President of the Society for the Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR Society).

A destination des membres du LIP/PC2S, ce séminaire - en anglais - est ouvert à tous dans la limite des places disponibles.