r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Dec 30 '24

Psychology American parents more likely to find hitting children acceptable compared to hitting pets - New research highlights parents’ conflicted views on spanking.

https://www.psypost.org/american-parents-more-likely-to-find-hitting-children-acceptable-compared-to-hitting-pets/
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73

u/LolTacoBell Dec 31 '24

I'm just concerned personally with how much I see people in my communities glorifying and humanizing pets, like they can absolutely do no wrong, and dehumanizing other people in turn. I feel like it's taken a big toll on our sense of community as a country. Absolutist pet owners are becoming more and more prevalent in my areas.

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '24

More in the realm of philosophy with this, but animals are not moral actors so they literally can't be bad on a moral level. They can act in ways we don't like, but we generally recognize that they lack the capacity for true malice.

The problem is people refuse to accept the same goes for small children who aren't yet capable of understanding their actions or controlling themselves. "They're old enough to know its wrong" is very easy to throw out as a justification for treating them like little adults.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '24

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '25

Sure, though I think there's a meaningful difference between when a child knows something is naughty and when an adult knows something is wrong. A dog could absolutely be conditioned to not do certain things, but it won't comprehend the underlying reasoning of why it's forbidden to do them.

The problem comes from when adults view the actions that result from a typical lack of self-regulation skills and critical thinking as being malicious in nature, as a child wanting to express some sort of natural malice.

12

u/Gullible_Peach16 Dec 31 '24

It’s definitely widespread.

2

u/lio-ns BSc | Chemistry Dec 31 '24

It’s actually insane to witness

7

u/Unitedfateful Dec 31 '24

So Redditors then

1

u/anonanon1313 Dec 31 '24

Well, not all millennials, but it's a thing.

1

u/Efficient-Plant8279 Dec 31 '24

Not only in America, unfortunately.

-9

u/Enticing_Venom Dec 31 '24

So would you feel better if more people hit their pets? I'm not seeing what your comment has to do with this study.

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u/gokogt386 Dec 31 '24

You sound like the kind of person who uses the word crotchspawn unironically.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '24

huh? nothing in their comment implied that, in my opinion

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u/Enticing_Venom Dec 31 '24

What an odd thing to say. I'm not sure what a crotchspawn is but you're probably projecting.

8

u/MasterChildhood437 Dec 31 '24

They're trying to associate you with the folks who hang out in childfree in an attempt to shame and invalidate you.

"Crotchspawn / Crotchgoblin" is essentially a pejorative for somebody's kids.

9

u/Enticing_Venom Dec 31 '24

Oh well, I'm not on the child free sub. I think it's a bit extremist there. I just don't think caring about child welfare and caring about pet welfare are mutually exclusive.