Abstract
Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence that visits to zoos and aquariums produce long-term positive effects on people's attitudes toward other animals. In this paper, we address whether this conclusion is warranted by analyzing the study's methodological soundness. We conclude that Falk et al. (2007) contains at least six major threats to methodological validity that undermine the authors' conclusions. There remains no compelling evidence for the claim that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, education, or interest in conservation in visitors, although further investigation of this possibility using methodologically sophisticated designs is warranted.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 126-138 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Society and Animals |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2010 |
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Keywords
- Aquarium
- Attitude
- Conservation
- Education
- Marine park
- Methodology
- Validity
- Zoo
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- veterinary(all)
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
Do zoos and aquariums promote attitude change in visitors? A critical evaluation of the american zoo and aquarium study. / Marino, Lori; Lilienfeld, Scott O.; Malamud, Randy; Nobis, Nathan; Broglio, Ronald.
In: Society and Animals, Vol. 18, No. 2, 01.04.2010, p. 126-138.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Do zoos and aquariums promote attitude change in visitors? A critical evaluation of the american zoo and aquarium study
AU - Marino, Lori
AU - Lilienfeld, Scott O.
AU - Malamud, Randy
AU - Nobis, Nathan
AU - Broglio, Ronald
PY - 2010/4/1
Y1 - 2010/4/1
N2 - Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence that visits to zoos and aquariums produce long-term positive effects on people's attitudes toward other animals. In this paper, we address whether this conclusion is warranted by analyzing the study's methodological soundness. We conclude that Falk et al. (2007) contains at least six major threats to methodological validity that undermine the authors' conclusions. There remains no compelling evidence for the claim that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, education, or interest in conservation in visitors, although further investigation of this possibility using methodologically sophisticated designs is warranted.
AB - Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence that visits to zoos and aquariums produce long-term positive effects on people's attitudes toward other animals. In this paper, we address whether this conclusion is warranted by analyzing the study's methodological soundness. We conclude that Falk et al. (2007) contains at least six major threats to methodological validity that undermine the authors' conclusions. There remains no compelling evidence for the claim that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, education, or interest in conservation in visitors, although further investigation of this possibility using methodologically sophisticated designs is warranted.
KW - Aquarium
KW - Attitude
KW - Conservation
KW - Education
KW - Marine park
KW - Methodology
KW - Validity
KW - Zoo
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77950540329&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77950540329&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/156853010X491980
DO - 10.1163/156853010X491980
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77950540329
VL - 18
SP - 126
EP - 138
JO - Society and Animals
JF - Society and Animals
SN - 1063-1119
IS - 2
ER -