What Is It Called When Animals Talk In Stories
Anthropomorphism in children'south literature
What happens when a child's early impressions of animals are primarily stories of animals talking and wearing clothes? Recent research suggests books with anthropomorphized animal characters "lead to less learning and influence childrens' conceptual cognition about animals."
I hope this new inquiry does non pb to a frenzy over anthropomorphizing or new recommendations to parents to limit these kinds of books, which are often wondrous and magical and have instilled a love of books in children for generations. Merely it does heighten important questions: If a child grows upwardly with the imaginative stories and characters such as Peter Rabbit, Winnie-the-Pooh and Curious George, and isn't provided opportunities to learn realistic creature behavior, what happens to their view of animals and more than importantly, how they treat animals?
When it comes to fiction, children are overwhelmingly exposed to more books where animals are anthropomorphized equally opposed to interim like real animals. The recent inquiry results show that "the linguistic communication used to describe animals in books has an effect on children's tendency to attribute human-like traits to animals, and that anthropomorphic storybooks affect younger children'due south learning of novel facts about animals. These results indicate that anthropomorphized animals in books may non merely lead to less learning but too influence children'due south conceptual knowledge of animals." (Ganea et al. 2014)
How children conceptualize animals probable carries over into their adulthood. If children aspect homo-like behaviors or emotions onto not-human animals, they may miss opportunities to larn what animals are really trying to communicate or what they demand – especially if they do non grow upwards with animals at habitation and accept very picayune opportunity to learn nigh animal beliefs, peculiarly domestic animal behavior, in school. And if they do, it is rarely in the form of fiction: Reading fiction provides the added benefit of allowing the reader to practice taking the perspectives of characters, thereby reinforcing learning (and empathy) through the process of trying to piece together an authentic agreement of motives underlying behaviors. Children with a confused conceptualization of animals may as well get adults who, rather than over-anthropomorphize, become the other extreme and fail to run into animals as having emotions or anything else in common with humans, which may pb to animal cruelty and neglect. Humans, afterwards all, are animals and share a lot in common with other animals, especially mammals.
Ane of the books nosotros employ in our RedRover Readers program, "Duncan and Dolores," shows a archetype example of a young girl failing to understand her cat, who she tries to play with by dressing him up. With help from an older sister, the girl learns to "listen" to what the cat wants. Without this guidance in that location would have been a missed opportunity for the girl to develop a positive relationship with another living being. When we read this book to children, we show the pictures of the cat, Duncan, interim similar a cat, running away from the girl, and enquire, "How do you think Duncan is feeling? How do you know?"
Tips for parents and educators
Incorporating more realistic books about animals into a kid's library is a great start to balance their exposure to anthropomorphism. All of the books used in the RedRover Readers program depict accurate animal behavior in some way, although the line often becomes blurry. In one book, "So, What's It Like To Be A True cat?" the cat talks and dances – but he is talking about realistic cat behaviors. It'due south a groovy volume to use to to ask children questions like, "Why do you call back the author has the cat talking?" and "Why would a male child interview a cat?"
Request children questions is another way to assistance children develop a solid, salubrious conceptual cognition of animals. This is a strategy we use in the RedRover Readers program. By request children what they think about the behaviors and emotions characters are displaying, teachers and parents can help children learn how to compare and contrast what is imaginative and what is real. Ask immature children if they recall a existent domestic dog or elephant would talk or habiliment dress and also ask them to recollect like a real dog or a real elephant. Learn about animal beliefs with your children or students. Tell them, "Scientists believe dogs dream," and and so ask, "What practice you call up dogs would dream well-nigh?" Inquire, "Why do you lot think writers similar to make animals act like people?"
For more question strategies, download RedRover Readers: Guide to Reading to Build Empathy
Source: https://redrover.org/2014/04/01/whats-wrong-talking-animals-childrens-books/
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