The impact of subtle anthropomorphism on gender differences in learning conservation ecology in Indonesian school children

Education plays an important role in developing positive conservation behavior in future generations. We promote the use of subtle anthropomorphism within a children's storybook as an effective method of increasing ecological knowledge of a target primate species. We delivered an education programme to 170 children in Indonesia from wherein we tested ecological knowledge across gender toward the species before and after exposure to a mildly anthropomorphized storybook. Following the programme, participants of both genders significantly increased their use of accurate ecology terms (Z = −3.01, p = 0.003). Anthropomorphic terms are markedly altered from human adjectives in females and verbs in males toward accurate ecological terms. If used correctly and in correspondence with accurate ecological representations of a species, subtle anthropomorphism can aid in increasing empathy and knowledge in education programmes.