Wake-Up Call With Bill Lundun & Gerry Snyder

Jeff Loucks - Snakes

Jeff Loucks professor of Psychology (Developemental Psychology)
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A study of morethan 100 kindergarten-age children suggests kids tend to think of snakesdifferently than they do other animals and that hearing negative orobjectifying language about the slithery reptiles might contribute to that wayof thinking.
The study also suggests it takesminimal intervention to “inoculate” a child against snake negativity.
The findings, published in Anthrozoös, are important for multiplereasons, explains co-author Jeff Loucks of Oregon State University.
Snakes are reviled in many humancultures but little is known about howchildren develop feelings of fear and vilification toward an animal that plays animportant role in the balance of many ecosystems.
At least 450 of the more than 4,000identified snake species are facing elevated risk of extinction, according tothe International Union for Conservation of Nature, but public support forprotecting them and restoring their habitat is weak – probably because of ageneral societal hatred of snakes.
“Childhood is a critical time forshaping someone’s attitudes and behaviors toward animals,” Loucks said. “Snakeshave a very negative reputation in Western societies and are commonlymisunderstood.”
Loucks, professor of teaching inOSU’s College of Liberal Arts, cites earlier research that shows snakes triggersome level of anxiety in 54% of all people and that the average American has anegative attitude toward snakes.
“Data indicate that it’s common forU.S. drivers to go out of their way to run over a snake,” he said.
Loucks and study leader DenéeBuchko of the University of Regina sought to find the roots of that antipathyand the roles language and education play in its development. The three-partproject involved 5-year-olds, their parents, pictures of snakes and descriptivelanguage that might suggest snakes were more like other animals than inanimateobjects or vice-versa.
The scientists used a techniqueknown as an induction task to assess how similar kids thinksnakes are to humans, to other non-human animals and to non-living things.
“Beforewe gave them this task, we had parents look through a picture book of snakeswith their child, and we also read children a story book about a day in thelife of a snake,” Loucks said. “The story book either referred to the snakesmore like an object – with ‘it’ pronouns and not referencing feelings orthoughts – or more like a person, with ‘she’ pronouns and references to thoughtsand feelings.”
The researchers found that whenparents used negative language when talking about snakes, children wereencouraged to think about snakes as being different from humans. They alsofound that the objectifying language in the storybook had the same effect.
“Something unexpected, though, wasthat kids generally thought that snakes were similar to other non-humananimals,” Loucks said. “So, we did a second study with different subjects, tookaway the picture book and the storybook and just gave kids the induction task.In this case, they did not think that snakes were similar to humans or otheranimals.”
With another set of subjects, Louckand Buchko brought back the picture book and the storybook, and again theyfound that kids thought snakes were similar to other animals but not to humans,replicating the findings from the first part of the research.
“It seems as though 5-year-oldkids, from Western cultures anyway, tend to think that snakes are verydifferent from other animals, and negative and objectifying language mightcontribute to that,” Loucks said. “But some exposure to snakes and learningabout their biological needs can act as an inoculation against negativeattitudes toward snakes, which can help to engender care and respect for theseanimals.”
This research was supported by aNational Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant.

Legal Wednesday - Jeremy Rosenthal

Dave Moss - Eugene Symphony

Pet of the Week - NW Dog Project

Meet Alice!🥳
Alice is a young, small terrier mix with a tender heart and a nervousness about the world. She didn’t have much early socialization, so she’s still learning that humans can be kind, predictable, and safe. While she’s not quite comfortable with hands-on handling yet, Alice makes progress every single day—and it’s wonderful to watch her confidence slowly bloom. Alice is looking for a patient, understanding family who will let her move at her own pace and celebrate the small victories. She’ll benefit from working with a trainer who can help her learn the basics of life in a human world and continue building her trust and confidence through positive reinforcement.
She would love having another gentle, social dog in the home to show her the ropes and help her feel secure. With proper introductions, Alice could likely learn to live peacefully with cats as well. A home without chidren would be most ideal for her, 
Alice may not be the kind of dog who runs up for cuddles right away—but for the right family, earning her trust will be incredibly rewarding. If you have patience, compassion, and room in your heart for a shy pup learning to shine, Alice just might be your perfect match. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on Instagram (@nwdogproject) for updates! If you would like to be considered as Alice's forever home, be sure to submit an adoption application on our website!
Adoption fee includes; spay/neuter, microchip, microchip registration, dewormer, fecal testing, flea/tick prevention and age-appropriate vaccines.

Mike Clark - Eugene City Councilor

Kenny Gebhardt - RV Corral

"Kenny G" is the general manager of RV Corral (Hwy 99 in Eugene)
B-Van Sale all weekend long
Join Gerry Saturday 2/14 from 11-1 for a live broadcast

John Kruse - NW/American Outdoors Radio

John Kruse hosts weekend shows on KPNW Northwestern Outdoors is heard Saturday morning 6-7am, and 4-5pm Saturday Afternoon American Outdoors Radio 3-4pm Saturday.

Representative Ed Diehl

Rep Ed Diehl gives us an update on the Oregon legislative session and current polling in the race for the next Oregon governor. 

Lori Locke - 5 Star Concierge

Gary Conley - Conley Capitol