Friendly fins and cartoon grins might change how we see sharks | California State University Long Beach
Source: https://www.csulb.edu/news/article/friendly-fins-and-cartoon-grins-might-change-how-we-see-sharks
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:11
Friendly fins and cartoon grins might change how we see sharks | California State University Long Beach
Skip to main content
Open
Menu
Image
Friendly fins and cartoon grins might change how we see sharks
Published April 10, 2026
By
Andrew Edwards
Boundless Opportunity
Pictures, like words, can mold opinions. Psychology student Benjamin Krochman has “always had a soft spot for marine animals,” thanks to photo-filled library books that introduced him to the wonders of sharks and whales as a child.
Now, he is researching whether cartoon art can help science communicators make a case for protecting oft-misunderstood sea creatures.
“I was thinking about how narrative influences the way we root for these animals,” said Krochman, a fourth-year transfer student at Cal State Long Beach.
Image
CSULB student Benjamin Krochman is a psychology major with a lifelong interest in marine life.
Krochman is leading a new phase of CSULB research uniting the
Stress & Technology Applied Research (STAR) Lab
and
CSULB Shark Lab
. Researchers have learned that people who appreciate the cognitive abilities of sharks and stingrays are more likely to favor conservation.
Now, Krochman wants to learn if cartoon-like shark mascots can improve the creatures’ public image. Bears, for example, already benefit from good PR. Apex predators in the forest, they can also appear in the guise of Paddington and other friendly characters.
“We know that you would not want to get into an altercation with a bear, but we have in our culture the idea of a teddy bear,” Krochman said.
Image
Elbee has represented The Beach and its students since 2020.
Meeting in a controlled environment, Krochman shows volunteers photos of sharks, as well as cartoon versions like The Beach’s own mascot –
Elbee
. He adds another dimension by providing some participants with data showing sharks do not pose much danger to humans. Others see an exaggerated risk profile.
Krochman asks all participants if they would donate to shark conservation, support pro-shark policies at the ballot box or want to learn more about the animals. The STAR and Shark labs have a shared goal of helping the public understand that sharks and stingrays are important to coastal ecosystems and worthy of protection.
Familiarity breeds respect
Research involving the STAR and Shark labs exists at an intersection between human and animal brains.
STAR Lab Director Gabriella Hancock was the lead author of a 2023 paper, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, revealing that when people have high opinions of sharks’ and stingrays’ abilities to make decisions, their enthusiasm for conservation goes up.
“The more people believe that they had the ability to think, to reason, to feel, the more willing they were to support their conservation,” she said.
The 2023 paper was the first of its kind to query how perceptions of animals’ cognitive abilities may influence views on conservation. It cites studies showing positive opinions of shark and stingray cognition can be well-founded. Yellow stingrays have exhibited learning abilities in the lab. In the wild, white sharks have been observed avoiding areas where they themselves are at risk from other predators.
CSULB researchers in 2024 published additional research in the same journal. This study showed people who have encountered sharks or stingrays in the ocean would be more likely to enter the water within a day of either animal being seen near the beach.
Image
Image
Outreach strategies
The notion of “swimming with sharks” is a common metaphor for danger, but Shark Lab Director Chris Lowe, also a co-author on research including STAR Lab, said real-life beachgoers are often near the animals without being in much trouble. In all of 2025, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File tallied only 105 shark-versus-human bites for the entire planet.
The Shark Lab informs audiences that sharks are not mindless predators. Its Instagram profile has videos about
baby sharks’ tendency to migrate to warmer waters
and
sharks’ dietary preferences for fish, squid and marine mammals
– not humans.
"We’re constantly referring to the fact that sharks are cognitive. They’re making decisions,” Lowe said. They’re reducing that fear factor and getting people to be a little more open.”
The Shark Lab also uses
comic books
, with realistic animal illustrations, to teach young readers about marine safety and ecology. If new research shows cartoonish sharks can be effective mascots, science communicators would have a new way of reaching audiences.
Krochman plans to follow up his bachelor’s degree by completing a master’s in human factors psychology at The Beach. He plans to focus on how technology can help people living with disabilities while continuing to research the psychology of habitat conservation.
“I’ve been super grateful just to be able to have access to conduct my own research, and that’s an opportunity that Long Beach has given me,” he said.
Image
Plush toys at Aquarium of the Pacific show even white sharks and hammerheads can be portrayed as having a soft side.
Support active minds and healthy oceans
The Stress & Technology Applied Research (STAR) Lab conducts research focused on elevating human performance, and CSULB Shark Lab contributes to making California’s coastline a safer environment for humans and wildlife.
You can support the former’s work by
making a gift to the Psychology Department
, making a note to direct your philanthropy to the STAR Lab. Beach supports can also
make a direct gift to the Shark Lab
.
More stories about Beach students engaged in research
Mapping language: CSULB researchers seek California's 'coolest' Spanish
At CSULB, researchers trace climate threat rising beneath California
Engineering, psychology meet at CSULB to develop a future for 'flying cars'
CSULB psychology students tackle maternal stress, one family at a time
Digging In: CSULB students combine science and archaeology to investigate ancient Greek lives
Related Articles
This is a carousel. Use next and previous buttons to navigate.
April 22, 2026
Inside CSULB's workshops with IKEA, where students put design to the test
Typically, you might go to a big furniture store to learn about furniture options, home accessories…
March 13, 2026
From the streets to The Beach: Visiting L.A. troupe shakes up CSULB dance class
As hip-hop music throbbed throughout the campus Dance Center on Thursday, CSULB dance students…
February 23, 2026
Mapping language: CSULB researchers seek California's 'coolest' Spanish
Survey says: Los Angeles area Spanish speakers proclaim they converse in the Golden State’s coolest…
February 20, 2026
Downtown lab immerses students in creativity of design
A cavernous space in downtown Long Beach that used to house the old Gold’s Gym has become a…
February 17, 2026
'The VITA experience' yields tax return prep for accounting students
Cal State Long Beach business student Christopher Park and his team of volunteers offer local…
January 27, 2026
How CSULB students used winter break to embrace the global classroom
For many Cal State Long Beach students, winter break is a time for transformative journeys around…
January 5, 2026
Engineering, psychology meet at CSULB to develop a future for 'flying cars'
Gazing into a computer-generated cityscape, a Cal State Long Beach student pilots a course to the…
December 18, 2025
D.C. internship gives CSULB's Panetta Scholar a closer look at how government works
Andre Achacon had already stepped into the political arena as an activist and Cal State Long Beach…
December 8, 2025
CSULB student troupe turns improv into a training ground for saying 'no'
Donovan Dueck sat in the audience, watching a tense dramatization of a toxic relationship, when he…
November 24, 2025
CSULB students train autonomous robots for real-world rescue
Image
Keaton Safu
Keaton Safu was 9 when…
October 27, 2025
CSULB students revive literary journal, get a taste of digital publishing
Students reviving Genre, the campus’ literary journal, are ushering a piece of Cal State Long Beach…
October 24, 2025
New CSULB-LB Unified teacher residency program helps make dream of becoming a teacher a reality
Tess Walker was preparing for a wakeup time of 4 a.m. and a long daily commute for a position that…
Skip to main content
Open
Menu
Image
Friendly fins and cartoon grins might change how we see sharks
Published April 10, 2026
By
Andrew Edwards
Boundless Opportunity
Pictures, like words, can mold opinions. Psychology student Benjamin Krochman has “always had a soft spot for marine animals,” thanks to photo-filled library books that introduced him to the wonders of sharks and whales as a child.
Now, he is researching whether cartoon art can help science communicators make a case for protecting oft-misunderstood sea creatures.
“I was thinking about how narrative influences the way we root for these animals,” said Krochman, a fourth-year transfer student at Cal State Long Beach.
Image
CSULB student Benjamin Krochman is a psychology major with a lifelong interest in marine life.
Krochman is leading a new phase of CSULB research uniting the
Stress & Technology Applied Research (STAR) Lab
and
CSULB Shark Lab
. Researchers have learned that people who appreciate the cognitive abilities of sharks and stingrays are more likely to favor conservation.
Now, Krochman wants to learn if cartoon-like shark mascots can improve the creatures’ public image. Bears, for example, already benefit from good PR. Apex predators in the forest, they can also appear in the guise of Paddington and other friendly characters.
“We know that you would not want to get into an altercation with a bear, but we have in our culture the idea of a teddy bear,” Krochman said.
Image
Elbee has represented The Beach and its students since 2020.
Meeting in a controlled environment, Krochman shows volunteers photos of sharks, as well as cartoon versions like The Beach’s own mascot –
Elbee
. He adds another dimension by providing some participants with data showing sharks do not pose much danger to humans. Others see an exaggerated risk profile.
Krochman asks all participants if they would donate to shark conservation, support pro-shark policies at the ballot box or want to learn more about the animals. The STAR and Shark labs have a shared goal of helping the public understand that sharks and stingrays are important to coastal ecosystems and worthy of protection.
Familiarity breeds respect
Research involving the STAR and Shark labs exists at an intersection between human and animal brains.
STAR Lab Director Gabriella Hancock was the lead author of a 2023 paper, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, revealing that when people have high opinions of sharks’ and stingrays’ abilities to make decisions, their enthusiasm for conservation goes up.
“The more people believe that they had the ability to think, to reason, to feel, the more willing they were to support their conservation,” she said.
The 2023 paper was the first of its kind to query how perceptions of animals’ cognitive abilities may influence views on conservation. It cites studies showing positive opinions of shark and stingray cognition can be well-founded. Yellow stingrays have exhibited learning abilities in the lab. In the wild, white sharks have been observed avoiding areas where they themselves are at risk from other predators.
CSULB researchers in 2024 published additional research in the same journal. This study showed people who have encountered sharks or stingrays in the ocean would be more likely to enter the water within a day of either animal being seen near the beach.
Image
Image
Outreach strategies
The notion of “swimming with sharks” is a common metaphor for danger, but Shark Lab Director Chris Lowe, also a co-author on research including STAR Lab, said real-life beachgoers are often near the animals without being in much trouble. In all of 2025, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File tallied only 105 shark-versus-human bites for the entire planet.
The Shark Lab informs audiences that sharks are not mindless predators. Its Instagram profile has videos about
baby sharks’ tendency to migrate to warmer waters
and
sharks’ dietary preferences for fish, squid and marine mammals
– not humans.
"We’re constantly referring to the fact that sharks are cognitive. They’re making decisions,” Lowe said. They’re reducing that fear factor and getting people to be a little more open.”
The Shark Lab also uses
comic books
, with realistic animal illustrations, to teach young readers about marine safety and ecology. If new research shows cartoonish sharks can be effective mascots, science communicators would have a new way of reaching audiences.
Krochman plans to follow up his bachelor’s degree by completing a master’s in human factors psychology at The Beach. He plans to focus on how technology can help people living with disabilities while continuing to research the psychology of habitat conservation.
“I’ve been super grateful just to be able to have access to conduct my own research, and that’s an opportunity that Long Beach has given me,” he said.
Image
Plush toys at Aquarium of the Pacific show even white sharks and hammerheads can be portrayed as having a soft side.
Support active minds and healthy oceans
The Stress & Technology Applied Research (STAR) Lab conducts research focused on elevating human performance, and CSULB Shark Lab contributes to making California’s coastline a safer environment for humans and wildlife.
You can support the former’s work by
making a gift to the Psychology Department
, making a note to direct your philanthropy to the STAR Lab. Beach supports can also
make a direct gift to the Shark Lab
.
More stories about Beach students engaged in research
Mapping language: CSULB researchers seek California's 'coolest' Spanish
At CSULB, researchers trace climate threat rising beneath California
Engineering, psychology meet at CSULB to develop a future for 'flying cars'
CSULB psychology students tackle maternal stress, one family at a time
Digging In: CSULB students combine science and archaeology to investigate ancient Greek lives
Related Articles
This is a carousel. Use next and previous buttons to navigate.
April 22, 2026
Inside CSULB's workshops with IKEA, where students put design to the test
Typically, you might go to a big furniture store to learn about furniture options, home accessories…
March 13, 2026
From the streets to The Beach: Visiting L.A. troupe shakes up CSULB dance class
As hip-hop music throbbed throughout the campus Dance Center on Thursday, CSULB dance students…
February 23, 2026
Mapping language: CSULB researchers seek California's 'coolest' Spanish
Survey says: Los Angeles area Spanish speakers proclaim they converse in the Golden State’s coolest…
February 20, 2026
Downtown lab immerses students in creativity of design
A cavernous space in downtown Long Beach that used to house the old Gold’s Gym has become a…
February 17, 2026
'The VITA experience' yields tax return prep for accounting students
Cal State Long Beach business student Christopher Park and his team of volunteers offer local…
January 27, 2026
How CSULB students used winter break to embrace the global classroom
For many Cal State Long Beach students, winter break is a time for transformative journeys around…
January 5, 2026
Engineering, psychology meet at CSULB to develop a future for 'flying cars'
Gazing into a computer-generated cityscape, a Cal State Long Beach student pilots a course to the…
December 18, 2025
D.C. internship gives CSULB's Panetta Scholar a closer look at how government works
Andre Achacon had already stepped into the political arena as an activist and Cal State Long Beach…
December 8, 2025
CSULB student troupe turns improv into a training ground for saying 'no'
Donovan Dueck sat in the audience, watching a tense dramatization of a toxic relationship, when he…
November 24, 2025
CSULB students train autonomous robots for real-world rescue
Image
Keaton Safu
Keaton Safu was 9 when…
October 27, 2025
CSULB students revive literary journal, get a taste of digital publishing
Students reviving Genre, the campus’ literary journal, are ushering a piece of Cal State Long Beach…
October 24, 2025
New CSULB-LB Unified teacher residency program helps make dream of becoming a teacher a reality
Tess Walker was preparing for a wakeup time of 4 a.m. and a long daily commute for a position that…