Emily Grover - Graduate Program Exit Seminar

A Graduate Program Exit Seminar by Emily Grover will be presented Monday, December 18th, 2017 at 9am in 333C Kottman Hall. Her presentation will be Investigating the Influence of Zoo Exhibit Design on Visitor Empathy for Wildlife

Abstract:

Zoos and aquaria are continually expanding upon their animal habitats and creating new experiences for their visitors. In addition to traditional interpretive signage, some institutions are incorporating innovative features such as videos and interactive elements into their exhibits. While there has been some research on how these new exhibit elements might impact visitor learning, to date, little research has been done on how different elements of exhibit design influence the emotional connections made between visitors and animals during a zoo visit. This study sought to investigate 1) zoo visitors’ empathy for charismatic and non-charismatic animals, 2) what types of exhibit elements visitors interact with, and 3) whether specific exhibit design elements can be used to influence visitor empathy for the two types of animals. It was hypothesized that these exhibit elements can influence visitor empathy for animals, and specifically, those elements with more “layers” or technological features such as videos or interactive elements will be more influential. It was also predicted that zoo visitors will have high levels of empathy for wildlife, especially for charismatic species. It was expected that there would be gender and age differences in empathy for wildlife as well. To test these hypotheses, participants were recruited at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to complete a survey measuring their empathy for two types of animals and their perception of each exhibit element’s contribution to their empathy for those two animals. Results from data analysis suggest that zoo visitors express high levels of empathy for wildlife and slightly greater empathy for charismatic species. They also suggest that different exhibit elements do influence visitor empathy for both charismatic and non-charismatic species, and visitors perceive the elements of theming and animal habitat to be most influential in promoting empathy for wildlife. Additional findings and implications from this research will be discussed.