Aims and Scope

Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR) publishes scientific research on a wide range of topics related to how people perceive, treat, and interact with non-human animals. This topic is understood within the general context of the pro-animal (vegan) social movement that is rapidly gaining popularity and exposure worldwide. At a broader level, this movement is understood within the context of intersectional social justice concerns related to the treatment of animals, as well as increasing concerns about the impact of animal treatment on the environment, antimicrobial resistance and pandemic risk, and health. The journal would be open to studies from several existing, interrelated areas of scholarship, including moral and social psychology, attitudes and persuasion, diet and health, human-animal relationships, individual differences, and sustainability and environmental psychology.

Potential topics include but are not limited to

  1. Psychological, health, ethical, environmental, and social impacts of different forms of human-animal interaction (e.g., the consumption of plant-based vs. animal-derived products, personal interspecies relationships, animal agriculture)
  2. Attitudes and impressions of cultured meat
  3. Effectiveness of programs and interventions targeting diverse domains of human-animal relations (e.g., consumption; entertainment; conservation; etc.)
  4. Development of human-animal attitudes and behaviors over time or across the lifespan
  5. Cross-cultural similarities and differences in human-animal intergroup relations
  6. Attitudes among omnivores about vegans, vegetarians, or flexitarians

Scientific Focus

PHAIR aims to disseminate the science of human-animal intergroup relations, not serve as an outlet for advocacy. Thus, while the contents of the journal will often concern themselves with issues related to advocacy or pro-animal rights positions, interpretations of empirical findings must be as objective as possible, and hew closely to the data. We have implemented several strategies to curtail bias, including specific criteria in our authorship and editorial guidelines, and the use of an Ombudsperson team who will review all of the papers published in PHAIR for bias at the end of each year.

No Article Processing Charges

With the help of our publisher Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR) is an open-access journal, free of charge to authors and readers.