ATTITUDES AND DISPOSITIONAL OPTIMISM OF ANIMAL RIGHTS DEMONSTRATORS

Mail-in surveys were distributed to animal activists attending the 199 6 March for the Animals. Age and gender demographic characteristics of the 209 activists who participated in the study were similar to those of the 1990 March for the Animals demonstrators. Most goals of the an imal rights movement were judged to be moderately to critically import ant, although beliefs about their chances of being realized varied con siderably. Movement tactics judged to the least effective included the liberation of laboratory animals and the harassment of researchers. E ducation was seen as being a particularly important instrument of futu re social change. Demonstrators' scores on the Life Orientation Test - a measure of dispositional optimism - were significantly greater than scores of comparison groups of college students and of patients await ing coronary bypass surgery. There was a significant positive relation ship between levels of optimism and activists' perceptions of the achi evement of movement objectives.