Running head: POULTRY, PARROTS, AND PEOPLE Poultry, Parrots, and People: Exploring Psyche Through the Lens of Avian Captivity A dissertation submitted by Elizabeth MacLeod Burton-Crow to Pacifica Graduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Depth Psychology with emphases in Community Psychology, Liberation Psychology, and Ecopsychology This dissertation has been accepted for the faculty of Pacifica Graduate Institute by: Dr. G. A. Bradshaw, Chair Dr. Craig Chalquist, Reader Dr. Jo-Ann Shelton, External Reader ProQuest Number:13425083 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 13425083 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 POULTRY, PARROTS, AND PEOPLE iii Abstract Poultry, Parrots, and People: Exploring Psyche Through the Lens of Avian Captivity by Elizabeth MacLeod Burton-Crow What was the last interaction you had with a bird? Was it a cordial conversation with a parrot or indirectly, as while devouring deviled eggs? The colorful ways in which avian and human lives are connected are as nuanced as they are pervasive. Perhaps this is unsurprising, given that globally, birds are held in captivity by the billions. Despite the massive scale at which our lives intersect, we often fail to recognize the psychological aspects of bird confinement. This project dives below the surface to examine the largely unconscious forces that underlie bird captivity by exploring psychosocial dynamics between poultry, parrots, and people. Employing a heuristic methodology, emergent themes are woven into a 30-minute film, A Bird Tail to develop conscientização, the cultivation of a critical awareness of how captivity shapes avian-human relationships, the psyches of individual humans and birds, and ultimately our collective, trans-species cultures. Told from the perspective of an avian alchemist, the film explicitly navigates across species lines through imagery and voice by providing a bird’s eye view of numerous challenges faced by captive-held birds, including death, disease, and trauma. A central purpose of this exploration is to bring these subsurface currents to light so that we as humans can begin to dissolve those psychological constructs and projections that prevent authentic cross-species connection and cause such profound harm. Keywords: birds, captivity, parrots, poultry, alchemy, trans-species psychology POULTRY, PARROTS, AND PEOPLE iv Dedication This work is dedicated to my family, the memory of those passed, and to the birds. POULTRY, PARROTS, AND PEOPLE v Acknowledgements There are several individuals without whom this project would not have been possible. It is prudent that I first acknowledge the birds who have colored my life, both past and present. Absent their willingness to be vulnerable in authentic cross-species connection, I never would have known the true depths of avian beauty. Theirs are the songs that kept me moving even when the road seemed dark and impassible. I would also like to acknowledge many human helpers. My husband, Kevin, and children, Emily and William, never wavered in cheering me on, patiently holding space for the work to unfold and sacrificing precious hours spent together. Ever supportive, my parents have been great champions—my father, Ian, and my mothers, Margaret, Andrea, and Karen—as have my brothers, Daniel, David, and Peter. My grandmother Julia provided a guiding light, sharing her own thesis with me just a few years ago along with inspiration to follow in her footsteps. I also found kindred spirits in my father’s mother and grandmother, who seemed to share a love for birds though we never got to meet. Gay Bradshaw pushed me forward and lent a sympathetic ear, over the years becoming more than just the chair of my committee but also a dear friend. My readers, Craig Chalquist and Jo-Ann Shelton, provided a ballast that kept this work out of the echo chamber. I would like to acknowledge my cohort at Pacifica, with special thanks to Deb Bridge for the nightly check-ins that kept our dissertations alive in the eleventh hour. Finally, my gratitude to those who lent creative support throughout the years, including the musicians who generously provided music for my film. Without each and every one of you, this dream would not have come to fruition. Thank you, it means more than I can adequately express. POULTRY, PARROTS, AND PEOPLE vi Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures.................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Introduction to the Research Topic ................................................................................. 1 Autobiographical Origins of the Researcher’s Interest in the Topic ............................... 7 The Researcher’s Predisposition to the Topic ............................................................... 19 Relevance of Topic for Depth Psychology ................................................................... 22 Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 24 Statement of the Research Problem and Question ........................................................ 29 The research problem ................................................................................................ 29 The research question ................................................................................................ 29 Chapter 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................ 30 Literature Relevant to the Topic.................................................................................... 32 Parrots. ....................................................................................................................... 41 Parrots in human society. ....................................................................................... 44 Parrot social ethology, morphology, and natural history. ...................................... 55 Parrot psyche. ......................................................................................................... 63 Poultry. ...................................................................................................................... 69 Poultry in human society. ...................................................................................... 72 Poultry social ethology, morphology, and natural history. .................................... 93 Poultry psyche. ..................................................................................................... 105 Literature Relevant to the Researcher’s Theoretical Approach .................................. 115 The underlying dynamics of bird oppression. ......................................................... 117 POULTRY, PARROTS, AND PEOPLE vii The rise of positivist paradigms. .......................................................................... 117 Commodification from beak to tail. ..................................................................... 123 Reparative paradigms. ............................................................................................. 127 The Need for Research on Topic in Psychology ......................................................... 134 Chapter 3. Methodology and Procedures ........................................................................ 137 Research Approach ..................................................................................................... 137 Research Methodology ................................................................................................ 142 Participants .................................................................................................................. 147 Materials ...................................................................................................................... 148 Research Procedures ................................................................................................... 148 Procedures for gathering data. ................................................................................. 148 Procedures for analyzing data. ................................................................................ 149 Ethical Considerations................................................................................................. 151 Limitations and Delimitations of the Study ................................................................ 155 Organization of the Study ........................................................................................... 156 Chapter 4. Presentation of Findings ................................................................................ 158 Discussion of Findings ...............................................................................................