Attitudes toward conservation of different avian species are influenced and can be predicted by multiple aesthetic perception factors

Aesthetic perception attributes of ‘beautiful’, ‘cute’, ‘afraid’ and ‘boring’ were collected as quantitative rankings in a survey to determine attitudes toward avian conservation among 65 High School Students. Students were asked to rank each bird separately by attribute in an image set of ten birds, shown in random order. At the end of the survey, the students ranked the birds for conservation worthiness. The first 5 ranked birds (rank=1 through 5) were those selected for conservation. The rank order in conservation popularity among attributes placed ‘boring’ with the greatest (positive) correlation (r = 0.82, p < 0.01), followed by ‘afraid’ (r= - 0.47, p=0.17), with the (greatest) negative correlation. The effect size of comparison between the selected group of birds for conservation vs. the unselected birds was large for the rating of ‘beautiful’ (Cohen’s d=0.87, 95%CI=(0.58, 1.15)). Student gender showed a statistically significant interaction effect (F(1,62)=4.54, p=0.037) in the strength of association between the rating of ‘beautiful’ and conservation decisions. The results showed that the more interesting (not boring) a bird species was, whether it be selectively beautiful/cute or inducing fear (afraid) – but not both – the higher the overall ranking (deemed conservation worthy) it received from the participants. Conversely, the birds that did not generally rank high tended to be those which were neither too beautiful and/or cute, and which also simultaneously incited milder (as opposed to intense) feelings of dread or fear, and/or furthermore; ranked relatively high on the ‘boring’ category. Several avian species that have recently become extinct or are on the verge of becoming so seemed to fall into this latter category. Conservation efforts for this category of extinction-prone avian species should hence prioritize information about their unique lifestyle and behavior such as foraging, song, nest-building, courtship rituals, migration and other quirks – over their physical attributes – to obtain favorable public support and thus, funding.