Qualitative methods in psychology after the animal turn: human-animal and multi-species relations

Abstract

This article makes the case for the value of qualitative methods in advancing our understanding of human-animal relations and multispecies relations in psychology, introducing the first special issue of a journal dedicated to qualitative psychology and the field of human-animal studies. It offers a thematic summary of the articles organized into four sections. Each section includes a reflection on the methods adopted in the context of broader developments in human-animal studies. To do so, Gorman’s conceptualisation of mutualistic, parasitic, mutualist and commensal relations is utilised, as a basis for deciding whether the methods adopted allow us to consider ‘who benefits and how’ from the human-animal and multispecies relationships scrutinised in this issue. Particularly in showcasing qualitative methods that centre the experience and agency of animals where they have traditionally been discounted, it is concluded that this special issue constitutes a significant moment in the development of psychology as a discipline.