Issue Summary
December 2025 (Vol. 65, Issue 4)

The Baby Animal Effect in Wildlife Conservation Advertising
Featuring baby animals in wildlife conservation advertising reliably increases empathy, this research shows, which in turn boosts conservation intentions and—even under the right conditions—donations. Across four studies using images of baby tigers, elephants, rhinos and lions, the authors demonstrate that baby animals evoke significantly stronger empathic responses than adult animals, and that this empathy is the key mechanism driving pro-conservation attitudes. The research further reveals an important boundary condition: baby-animal appeals are especially persuasive when paired with promotion-focused messaging (e.g., “help wildlife flourish”), but not when framed in a prevention-focused way (“stop wildlife crime”). In the final study, this promotion-focus pairing also increased actual donation amounts by enhancing both empathy and conservation intentions. The findings offer actionable guidance for nonprofits and social marketers—use baby animals and forward-looking, positive messaging to maximize emotional engagement and motivate meaningful support for wildlife protection.