Sarah Knight
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3
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About
Dr. Sarah Knight is a leading scholar in the psychology of human-animal interactions, a field she has helped define through her incisive work on the ethical and cognitive dimensions of how people perceive and treat animals. Her research primarily explores the psychological factors—including moral disengagement, speciesism, and cognitive dissonance—that shape public opinion on animal use, from scientific research to farming. In her landmark chapter, "Science versus Human Welfare? Understanding Attitudes toward Animal Use," co-authored with Aldert Vrij, she dissected the justifications people employ to reconcile their concern for animals with their support for practices that harm them. This foundational work, part of the highly cited volume *All Creatures Great and Small: New Perspectives on Psychology and Human-Animal Interactions* (2009), which she co-edited with Harold Herzog, has garnered over 3 citations and remains a touchstone for researchers examining the gap between attitudes and behavior. Knight’s contributions have been instrumental in bridging social psychology, anthrozoology, and animal welfare policy, offering a nuanced framework for understanding why people love some animals while exploiting others. Her insights continue to inform debates on animal ethics and conservation psychology.
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