Heritage or Cruelty? The Conflict of Values Among Supporters and Protesters of Bullfighting Traditions

Abstract

Bullfighting has always been a controversial topic in Spain. Spaniards either support it or repulse it, not many seem indifferent when being asked about their opinion about bullfighting traditions. However, little is known about the reasoning behind the attitudes towards bullfighting. This thesis aims to review some of the results of previous bullfighting studies and try to find out the underlying values in the Spaniards that support bullfighting or protest against it. For this purpose, I used a survey as a quantitative method, which included open questions that served as qualitative data. It was elaborated after the literature review of different social psychology theories with particular emphasis on Schwartz´s Theory of Cultural Value Orientations, and it was distributed through social networks. 1640 Spaniards participated in the survey during the 35 days it was available online. By checking the survey distribution and analysing the data obtained with SPSS, I found out that: I) Spaniards with profiles in social networks against bullfighting were very active in sharing the survey and had a keen interest to prove that most Spanish people are against bullfighting. II) Women are more likely to be against bullfighting than men. III) Most Spaniards agree with the membership of Spain in the European Union, and some would be supportive of a European regulation of bullfighting events. IV) Spaniards who identify with left-wing political parties are more likely to be against bullfighting. V) Most Spaniards identify with egalitarianism, intellectual autonomy and harmony values and tend to think about the common interest, especially those against bullfighting. VI) Spaniards who get economic benefits out of bullfighting activities are more likely to support bullfighting compared to those who do not get economic benefits out of bullfighting