Animal emotions and consciousness: A preliminary assessment of researchers’ perceptions and biases and prospects for future progress

Scientists and philosophers have long struggled with the question of whether non-human animals experience emotions or consciousness. Yet, it is unclear where the scientific consensus on these topics lies today. To address this gap, we administered a survey of professional animal behavior researchers to assess perceptions regarding (1) taxonomic distribution of emotions and consciousness in non-human animals, (2) respondents’ confidence in this assessment, and (3) attitudes towards pitfalls and potential for progress when addressing these questions. Respondents (n=100) ascribe emotionality and consciousness to a broad swath of the animal taxonomy, including non-human primates, other mammals, birds, and cephalopods. Respondents’ attribution of these phenomena was strongly with their confidence in their assessments (R2 > 0.9), with respondents assuming an absence of emotions and consciousness when they were unsure. We also identify an emergent consensus of the components involved in a f..., , , # Data from: Animal emotions and consciousness: Researchers’ perceptions, biases, and prospects for future progress

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bvq83bkjw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bvq83bkjw)

## Description of the data and file structure

Documentation accompanying \"Animal Emotions and Consciousness: A Preliminary Assessment of Researchers’ Perceptions and Biases and Prospects for Future Progress.\"

Authors: Matthew N Zipple1, Caleb Hazelwood2, Mackenzie F Webster3, Marcela E Benítez*4

1Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853

2Department of Philosophy, Duke University, Durham NC, 27701

3Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322

4Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322

*correspondence to: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

This set of files contains one r script along with 5 data files needed to support it. T..., Prior to beginning the survey, participants were informed that their responses would be published but only after being anonymized. Participants were also informed that they could end the survey at any time, and we would not publish responses from partial survey completion.

Each individual was assigned a non-informative, anonymous identifier prior to analysis and publication. No personally identifiable information is included in the published data.,