Data from: 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
functional definition of emotions. Researchers are optimistic that tools
either currently exist or will exist in the future to rigorously address
these questions (>85%) and that animal behavior, as a field, should
do more to encourage emotions research (71%). We discuss implications for
publication bias and future work in this area as well as ethical
considerations regarding animal care and use.