| This study explored the relationship between high school students' perceptions of animal mentation and liking of animals with agreement on animal use in medical research and entertainment. Higher judgments of animal mentation and liking were predicted to correlate with lower agreement on animal use. This pattern was believed to occur more prominently in older students than younger ones.;Overall, these hypotheses were supported except for liking which correlated negatively with only agreement in medical use. In general, older students agreed more to animal use than the younger students, especially for medicine. Younger students agreed more to animal use in entertainment than medicine.;Complexity of ethical arguments to justify animal use was also investigated. Older students were found to use more reasons, elaboration of reasons, and rebuttals in their arguments than the younger students. Overall, cognitive-developmental differences were evident between older and younger students concerning animal perceptions and opinions on animal use. |
