Attitudes and Dispositional Optimism of Animal Rights Demonstrators

Mail-in surveys were distributed to animal activists attending the 1996 March for the Animals. Age and gender demographic characteristics of the 209 activists who participated in the study were similar to those of the 1990 March for the Animals demonstrators. Most goals of the animal rights movement were judged to be moderately to critically important, although beliefs about their chances of being realized varied considerably. Movement tactics judged to be least effective included the liberation of laboratory animals and the harassment of researchers. Education was seen as being a particularly important instrument of future social change. Demonstrators' scores on the Life Orientation Test a measure of dispositional optimism were significantly greater than scores of comparison groups of college students and of patients awaiting coronary bypass surgery. There was a significant positive relationship between levels of optimism and activists' perceptions of the achievement of movement objectives. Over the past 20 years, the animal rights movement has become an established part of American sociopolitical culture. Efforts by animal activists have resulted in substantial changes in attitudes toward other species and in the enactment of legislation pertaining to their treatment. The number of Americans identifying themselves with the movement increased dramatically throughout the 1980's s as did the financial status of both moderate and more radical animal protection organizations (Guillermo, 1993; Jasper & Nelkin, 1992). One of the more notable events in the history of the contemporary animal rights movement was the 1990 March for the Animals in Washington, D.C. Attracting approximately 25,000 demonstrators, it was the first major show of strength of the animal rights movement in the United States. It also provided social scientists with an opportunity to study the psychology and sociology of animal activism. Plous (1991) and Jamison and Lunch (1992) used on-the-spot interviews to examine aspects of the demographics and attitudes of the demonstrators. We used mail-back surveys of individuals attending the march to examine the personal moral philosophies of animal activists and found that the demonstrators were more "absolutist" in moral orientation (more idealistic and less relativistic) than a comparison group of college students (Galvin & Herzog, 1992). Six years after this event, the National Alliance for Animals organized World Animal Awareness Week, which culminated in the 1996 March for the Animals. The second march, held on June 23, 1996, was intended as a follow up of the 1990 demonstration and was intended as a show of movement unity and strength. The 1996 march attracted only about 3,000 demonstrators (Lipton, 1996), considerably less than the earlier event. It is unclear whether the reduced participation was an indicator of decreased public interest in animal welfare issues (Herzog, 1996; Rowan & Shapiro, 1996). We used the 1996 march as a second opportunity to survey animal activists. We were particularly interested in the following aspects of the demographics and the attitudes of demonstrators: a. changes in the gender and age composition of animal activists since the 1990 march; b. the perceived importance of specific goals of the animal protection movement; c. activists' assessments of the likelihood that the goals would be achieved within 15 years; d. perceptions of the past and future effectiveness of various movement tactics; e. the relationship between dispositional optimism and perceptions of the future success of the animal protection movement.