This is one of the posters we presented @ ECVP 2018. Subverting naive (mis)perception about animal intelligence is possible.

1. While the scientific community is accumulating evidence of remarkable mental abilities in non-human
species, people’s aptitudes toward animals are largely driven by naïve beliefs and cognitive biases.
Scientific studies have proved that we born endowed with a set of intuitive knowledge that supports our
interaction with the environment before linguistic skills shape our minds. We know that violations of such
intuitive expectations prompt information-seeking and hypothesis-testing behaviours, offering special
opportunities for starting a process of consciousness and reflection on our aptitudes toward animals.
Subverting the naïve (mis)perception of animal intelligence:
From the scala naturae to the Darwinian tree via a simple survey
Chiandetti C.1, Dissegna A. 1, Nakajima R. 2, & Fiorito G 3.
1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
2 Department of Art and Design, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota
3 Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dhorn, Naples, Italy
People’s naïve perception of the intelligence of other species is largely biased by cognitive and cultural
factors that also affect human actions on animals. In the present study, we demonstrated that these
misperceptions can be modified through a simple survey that actively prompts reflection and beliefs
reframing by violating naïve expectations. Surveys could potentially represent fast and culture-free
instruments to eradicate prejudices against other animal species, promoting awareness and scientific-
driven knowledge.
Results showed that, in the beginning, people placed organisms on an intuitive ladder with structurally
simpler animals on its lower part and more complex animals on its upper part, by associating structural
simplicity to lower mental capabilities. After watching the clip, the scored intelligence significantly
increased for all the considered species (p<.05) except for the dolphin (p=.48), indicating that people
subverted their misperception, exchanging the ladder with a Darwinian-tree-like representation.
To increase public awareness of animals' abilities, we devised a 4-phases survey:
THINK PHASE: the participant was asked to rate on a Likert scale (0-6) a certain target behaviour and the
perceived intelligence of a certain species;
SEE PHASE: he/she was shown the video clip in which exactly that species was performing the target
behaviour;
RE-THINK PHASE: he/she was asked to re-evaluate the perceived intelligence of the species;
DEBRIEF PHASE: we provided participants with a card and a QR code pointing to the website where to find
the results of the survey and the ratio of the experiment.
THINK: “Please rate how intelligent is being able to
estimate the size of an object”
THINK: “Please rate how intelligent is a hermit crab”
SEE: Video clip showing that hermit crabs can estimate the
size of a shell to determine if it is large enough to house it
RE-THINK: “Please rate how intelligent is a hermit crab”
THE HERMIT CRAB