Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Dogs are one of the most popular types of pets in the United States. Unfortunately, one of the risks associated with owning a dog is that it can go missing. This is why it is important for dog owners to provide their dogs with some form of identification, such as a collar with tags. However, collars are not always a foolproof solution. Fortunately, dog owners also have the option to microchip their dogs. Microchipping is a permanent, implantable form of identification that uses radiofrequency identification technology to store information. This means that if a dog becomes lost, then their owner’s information may be easily retrieved by scanning the microchip. Despite the obvious benefits, there is little data on dog microchipping trends. Therefore, this study used an experimental design to explore how gain and loss framed messages can influence people’s microchipping intentions, support for microchipping initiatives, and attitudes towards microchipping. Participants were assigned to one of three message conditions: gain, loss, or no message. The hypotheses predicted that those exposed to a gain or loss framed message would report greater microchipping-related intentions, greater support for microchipping initiatives, and more favorable attitudes toward microchipping compared to their no message counterparts, and that individual differences (i.e., closeness of owner’s relationship with the dog) would influence the efficacy of the messages. Although the study’s findings were non-significant, the data patterns provide useful insight into opinions surrounding microchipping practices. In addition, a much larger proportion (78.8%) of the sample reported that their dogs were already microchipped than originally predicted. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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