While considerable research has been carried out to understand helping offered to other humans, relatively little research has focused specifically on the motivations underlying helping for animals. It is possible that the social psychological helping literature may help shed light on the question of human-animal helping, and may provide some ways to investigate this issue. To evaluate this possibility, we provided participants with a hypothetical situation involving an animal in need of help. Participants were asked to imagine that the situation is happening to them, and then to indicate the likelihood that they would provide the needed help. They were also asked to report on the thoughts and feelings that they would experience in that situation. Our results indicated that the same variables that have been used successfully in understanding the motivations underlying the help we offer to fellow humans (obligation, oneness, empathic concern) also successfully predict helping offered to non-humans. Also consistent with the social psychological research on helping motivations, both egoistic and altruistic motives appear to play a role in the helping decisions regarding animals. Thus, initial evidence suggests that this technique may be a valid way of examining the motivations underlying the helping that humans offer to animals.
{"title":"Human Helping of Animals: What Motivates It?","authors":"Lauren E. Highfill, Mark H. Davis","doi":"10.1079/hai.2020.0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2020.0015","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 While considerable research has been carried out to understand helping offered to other humans, relatively little research has focused specifically on the motivations underlying helping for animals. It is possible that the social psychological helping literature may help shed light on the question of human-animal helping, and may provide some ways to investigate this issue. To evaluate this possibility, we provided participants with a hypothetical situation involving an animal in need of help. Participants were asked to imagine that the situation is happening to them, and then to indicate the likelihood that they would provide the needed help. They were also asked to report on the thoughts and feelings that they would experience in that situation. Our results indicated that the same variables that have been used successfully in understanding the motivations underlying the help we offer to fellow humans (obligation, oneness, empathic concern) also successfully predict helping offered to non-humans. Also consistent with the social psychological research on helping motivations, both egoistic and altruistic motives appear to play a role in the helping decisions regarding animals. Thus, initial evidence suggests that this technique may be a valid way of examining the motivations underlying the helping that humans offer to animals.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"123 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85649848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Law enforcement officers and staff are known to experience elevated workplace stress, largely due to their increased exposure to traumatic incidents. This results in individuals experiencing trauma themselves and resultant compromised physical and mental health. Law enforcement officers are also known to be reluctant help-seekers and to increase participation in programs to promote employee well-being, initiatives are increasingly integrated into the day-to-day work routine of employees. An intervention showing promise with health care providers and college students but not yet used with law enforcement officers and staff has been to provide individuals access to therapy dogs to reduce stress. Seven therapy dogs along with their handlers were brought to an urban police precinct for 90-minutes each week for 8 weeks. A total of 251 visits (56% staff, 43% officers, < 1% unidentified) to the dog station were made with the average duration of visits being 11 minutes. A visual analogue scale was used to assess participants pre-to-post differences in stress and a paired Wilcoxon signed-ranked test indicated a significant effect of the intervention with mean stress decreasing from pre-to-post visit. Findings are discussed within the context of canine-assisted intervention and law enforcement well-being.
{"title":"Stress Reduction in Law Enforcement Officers and Staff through a Canine-Assisted Intervention","authors":"J. Binfet, Z. A. Draper, Freya L. L. Green","doi":"10.1079/hai.2020.0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2020.0011","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Law enforcement officers and staff are known to experience elevated workplace stress, largely due to their increased exposure to traumatic incidents. This results in individuals experiencing trauma themselves and resultant compromised physical and mental health. Law enforcement officers are also known to be reluctant help-seekers and to increase participation in programs to promote employee well-being, initiatives are increasingly integrated into the day-to-day work routine of employees. An intervention showing promise with health care providers and college students but not yet used with law enforcement officers and staff has been to provide individuals access to therapy dogs to reduce stress. Seven therapy dogs along with their handlers were brought to an urban police precinct for 90-minutes each week for 8 weeks. A total of 251 visits (56% staff, 43% officers, < 1% unidentified) to the dog station were made with the average duration of visits being 11 minutes. A visual analogue scale was used to assess participants pre-to-post differences in stress and a paired Wilcoxon signed-ranked test indicated a significant effect of the intervention with mean stress decreasing from pre-to-post visit. Findings are discussed within the context of canine-assisted intervention and law enforcement well-being.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87183641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Human-animal interaction has clear positive effects on people's affect and stress. But less is known about how animal interactions influence cognition. We draw parallels between animal interactions and exposure to natural environments, a research area that shows clear improvements in cognitive performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether interacting with animals similarly enhances cognitive performance, specifically executive functioning. To test this, we conducted two experiments in which we had participants self-report their affect and complete a series of cognitive tasks (long-term memory, attentional control, and working memory) before and after either a brief interaction with a dog or a control activity. We found that interacting with a dog improved positive affect and decreased negative affect (in one of the two experiments), stress, and anxiety compared to the control condition. However, we did not find effects of animal interaction on long-term memory, attentional control, or working memory. Thus, we replicated existing findings providing evidence that interacting with animals can improve affect, but we did not find similar improvements in cognitive performance. These results suggest that either our interaction was not of sufficient dose or timed appropriately to elicit effects on cognition or the mechanisms underlying effects of human-animal interaction on cognition differ from effects generated by other cognition-enhancing interventions such as exposure to nature. Future research should continue to increase knowledge of the connection between nature exposure and human-animal interaction studies to build our understanding of cognition in response to animal interactions.
{"title":"Effects of human-animal interactions on affect and cognition","authors":"J. Stevens, Elise R. Thayer","doi":"10.31234/osf.io/7v5nq","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/7v5nq","url":null,"abstract":"Human-animal interaction has clear positive effects on people's affect and stress. But less is known about how animal interactions influence cognition. We draw parallels between animal interactions and exposure to natural environments, a research area that shows clear improvements in cognitive performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether interacting with animals similarly enhances cognitive performance, specifically executive functioning. To test this, we conducted two experiments in which we had participants self-report their affect and complete a series of cognitive tasks (long-term memory, attentional control, and working memory) before and after either a brief interaction with a dog or a control activity. We found that interacting with a dog improved positive affect and decreased negative affect (in one of the two experiments), stress, and anxiety compared to the control condition. However, we did not find effects of animal interaction on long-term memory, attentional control, or working memory. Thus, we replicated existing findings providing evidence that interacting with animals can improve affect, but we did not find similar improvements in cognitive performance. These results suggest that either our interaction was not of sufficient dose or timed appropriately to elicit effects on cognition or the mechanisms underlying effects of human-animal interaction on cognition differ from effects generated by other cognition-enhancing interventions such as exposure to nature. Future research should continue to increase knowledge of the connection between nature exposure and human-animal interaction studies to build our understanding of cognition in response to animal interactions.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79110168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Past research has uncovered four common justifications for using animals as food — the 4Ns — that eating meat is Natural, Normal, Necessary, and Nice. The current research investigated the extent to which the 4Ns might apply more generally to other animal uses. Two studies examined the moral justifications people spontaneously offered for various animal uses, including household products, clothing, culling, and horse racing (Study1), and in zoos, TV/film, as pets, and for medical testing (Study 2). Participants offered reasons for why it is okay to use animals and the responses were coded by independent raters. The 4N categories accounted for the majority of justifications across most uses. There was great variability in justification categories offered for each use, and some uses generated justification categories not covered within the 4N scheme, including humane treatment, prioritization of human lives, and sustainability arguments. This research provides a large-scope investigation of animal use justifications that moves beyond meat consumption.
{"title":"Rationalizing the Many Uses of Animals: Application of the 4N Justifications Beyond Meat","authors":"Jared Piazza, L. Cooper, Shannon Slater-Johnson","doi":"10.1079/hai.2020.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2020.0004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 Past research has uncovered four common justifications for using animals as food — the 4Ns — that eating meat is\u0000 Natural, Normal, Necessary,\u0000 and\u0000 Nice.\u0000 The current research investigated the extent to which the 4Ns might apply more generally to other animal uses. Two studies examined the moral justifications people spontaneously offered for various animal uses, including household products, clothing, culling, and horse racing (Study1), and in zoos, TV/film, as pets, and for medical testing (Study 2). Participants offered reasons for why it is okay to use animals and the responses were coded by independent raters. The 4N categories accounted for the majority of justifications across most uses. There was great variability in justification categories offered for each use, and some uses generated justification categories not covered within the 4N scheme, including humane treatment, prioritization of human lives, and sustainability arguments. This research provides a large-scope investigation of animal use justifications that moves beyond meat consumption.\u0000","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78392258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present study investigated the effect of pet interaction on stress reduction and positive mood enhancement among pet-owners and non-owners. Sample of pet-owners (n = 90) and non-owners (n = 90) was taken from University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. Both, male and female participants were included in the sample. The instruments used were Short Stress State Questionnaire ( Helton, 2004 ), Brief Mood Introspection Scale ( Mayer & Gaschke, 1988 ) and Pet Interaction Observation Checklist. Data was statistically analyzed by one way Analysis of Variance and Independent Sample t-test. Reduction in stress and increase in positive mood were found for both pet-owners and non-owners for the pet interaction groups as compared to control groups. However, no significant differences were found between the dog interaction group and cat interaction group for both pet owners and non-owners. Moreover, pet-owners had lower scores on stress and higher scores on positive mood after pet interaction as compared to non-owners. Lastly, it was shown that individuals who interacted with pets for more than five minutes had lower scores on stress and higher scores on positive mood as compared to those who interacted for five minutes or less. The findings have implications for Animal Assisted Therapy for psychological well-being.
{"title":"Effect of Pet Interaction on Stress Reduction and Positive Mood Enhancement among Pet-Owners and Non-Owners","authors":"A. Khalid, Saadia Dildar","doi":"10.1079/hai.2019.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2019.0005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 The present study investigated the effect of pet interaction on stress reduction and positive mood enhancement among pet-owners and non-owners. Sample of pet-owners (n = 90) and non-owners (n = 90) was taken from University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. Both, male and female participants were included in the sample. The instruments used were Short Stress State Questionnaire (\u0000 Helton, 2004\u0000 ), Brief Mood Introspection Scale (\u0000 Mayer & Gaschke, 1988\u0000 ) and Pet Interaction Observation Checklist. Data was statistically analyzed by one way Analysis of Variance and Independent Sample t-test. Reduction in stress and increase in positive mood were found for both pet-owners and non-owners for the pet interaction groups as compared to control groups. However, no significant differences were found between the dog interaction group and cat interaction group for both pet owners and non-owners. Moreover, pet-owners had lower scores on stress and higher scores on positive mood after pet interaction as compared to non-owners. Lastly, it was shown that individuals who interacted with pets for more than five minutes had lower scores on stress and higher scores on positive mood as compared to those who interacted for five minutes or less. The findings have implications for Animal Assisted Therapy for psychological well-being.\u0000","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"GE-23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84615757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lana Kaiser, M. Edick, Katherine Smith Buckler, C. Heleski, S. Gorbis, Bonnie DePue, Liz Lewis, L. Kaiser
Hypothesis: The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of three different adaptive devices used to facilitate therapeutic horseback riding for riders with cerebral palsy (CP), the horses, and the assisting persons. The study hypothesis was that there is no difference in clinical benefit to the rider; stress or physical saddle pressure to the horse; or the level of exertion required from assisting persons when using any of the three adaptive devices. Population: Individuals with varying disability due to cerebral palsy who participated in a therapeutic horseback riding program at a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) Premier Accredited Center. Intervention: Therapeutic horseback riding sessions using one of three adaptive devices. Comparators: Two commonly used adaptive devices (English saddle and bareback pad with backrider), and one recently developed, less-used device (Independence saddle). Outcomes: Clinical benefit for the individual with Cerebral Palsy was evaluated using an osteopathic musculoskeletal exam score. Equine stress was evaluated using a horse stress behavior ethogram. Physical pressure under the saddle of the horse was evaluated using a Pliance Saddle pad under each adaptive device. Required level of exertion by assisting persons was measured using an assistant exertion score. Conclusion: Therapeutic riding using an English saddle, a backriding pad with backrider, or an Independence saddle, by individuals with various degrees of disability, does not cause excessive stress or result in excessive pressure to the horse. Using one assistive device over another also does not appear to change the likelihood of clinical benefit to the rider. However, exertion scores for assisting persons were lower when the Independence saddle was used compared to the English saddle or backriding pad. Adaptive devices that allow an individual with CP to improve function, ride more independently, provide some respite for the side walker and do not cause undue stress or frustration to the horse would be a great addition to the therapeutic regimen. Based on the results of this study, the Independence saddle is a viable alternative to the English saddle or the backriding pad for riders that would otherwise need extensive assisting person support in a therapeutic riding program.
{"title":"Impact of adaptive devices on horses, assisting persons, and riders with cerebral palsy in a therapeutic riding program","authors":"Lana Kaiser, M. Edick, Katherine Smith Buckler, C. Heleski, S. Gorbis, Bonnie DePue, Liz Lewis, L. Kaiser","doi":"10.1079/hai.2019.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2019.0001","url":null,"abstract":"Hypothesis: The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of three different adaptive devices used to facilitate therapeutic horseback riding for riders with cerebral palsy (CP), the horses, and the assisting persons. The study hypothesis was that there is no difference in clinical benefit to the rider; stress or physical saddle pressure to the horse; or the level of exertion required from assisting persons when using any of the three adaptive devices. Population: Individuals with varying disability due to cerebral palsy who participated in a therapeutic horseback riding program at a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) Premier Accredited Center.\u0000 Intervention: Therapeutic horseback riding sessions using one of three adaptive devices. Comparators: Two commonly used adaptive devices (English saddle and bareback pad with backrider), and one recently developed, less-used device (Independence saddle). Outcomes: Clinical benefit for the individual with Cerebral Palsy was evaluated using an osteopathic musculoskeletal exam score. Equine stress was evaluated using a horse stress behavior ethogram. Physical pressure under the saddle of the horse was evaluated using a\u0000 Pliance Saddle pad under each adaptive device. Required level of exertion by assisting persons was measured using an assistant exertion score.\u0000 Conclusion: Therapeutic riding using an English saddle, a backriding pad with backrider, or an Independence saddle, by individuals with various degrees of disability, does not cause excessive stress or result in excessive pressure to the horse. Using one assistive device over another also does not appear to change the likelihood of clinical benefit to the rider. However, exertion scores for assisting persons were lower when the Independence saddle was used compared to the English saddle or backriding pad. Adaptive devices that allow an individual with CP to improve function, ride more independently, provide some respite for the side walker and do not cause undue stress or frustration to the horse would be a great addition to the therapeutic regimen. Based on the results of this study, the Independence saddle is a viable alternative to the English saddle or the backriding pad for riders that would otherwise need extensive assisting person support in a therapeutic riding program.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"123 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89425386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review:\u0000 “The Education of Will: A Mutual Memoir of a Woman and Her Dog”\u0000 Patricia B. McConnell PhD CAAB (2017)","authors":"M. Jenkins","doi":"10.1079/hai.2019.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2019.0007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"65 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83969432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animals, including horses may be valuable partners in many activities, pedagogy and therapy. Contact between humans and animals can facilitate an oxytocin secretion that, as a consequence, may alleviates stress-responses, increases social orientation and that supports attachment and caregiving. These mechanisms can be utilized in animal-assisted therapy, for example, to enhance trust between client and therapist and to help increase attachment security in clients with insecure attachment. In this study we compared the effects of an equine-assisted intervention with a conventional play-based intervention for mother-child dyads with insecure attachment, insecure caregiving and child dysregulation. Twenty mother-child dyads (with infants 12-24 months of age), with at least one part of the dyad showing an insecure attachment, were randomly assigned to eight weekly sessions of either equine-assisted or play-based intervention. Effects on mothers’ caregiving behavior and physiology and on the relationship between clients and therapists were assessed via behavior coding, salivary cortisol, heart rate and heart rate variability measures. Mothers and their infants in the equine-assisted intervention had more body contact with each other (p ≤ 0.001), a trend toward more vocal exchange (p = 0.083), and mothers showed a higher sympathetic activation, indicated by a higher heart rate (p = 0.003). In the play-based intervention, mothers showed greater parasympathetic activation than in the horse group, indicated by higher heart rate variability (p = 0.004) as well as enhanced rapport between mothers and the therapist (p = 0.016). We conclude that the main effect of the horse-assisted method was increasing positive arousal by the mother and child doing something exciting together, thus triggering attentiveness towards the child, indicated by higher rates of caregiving behavior, such as proximity and vocal contact. In contrast, the play-based intervention promoted a relaxed environment which allowed the therapists and mothers to engage more with each other. Hence, depending on intervention goals, a combination of equine-assisted and play-based interventions might be an optimal approach.
{"title":"Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Equine-assisted Early Intervention for Mother- Child Dyads with Insecure Attachment","authors":"D. Hebesberger, A. Beetz, K. Kotrschal","doi":"10.1079/hai.2019.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2019.0003","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Animals, including horses may be valuable partners in many activities, pedagogy and therapy. Contact between humans and animals can facilitate an oxytocin secretion that, as a consequence, may alleviates stress-responses, increases social orientation and that supports attachment and caregiving. These mechanisms can be utilized in animal-assisted therapy, for example, to enhance trust between client and therapist and to help increase attachment security in clients with insecure attachment. In this study we compared the effects of an equine-assisted intervention with a conventional play-based intervention for mother-child dyads with insecure attachment, insecure caregiving and child dysregulation. Twenty mother-child dyads (with infants 12-24 months of age), with at least one part of the dyad showing an insecure attachment, were randomly assigned to eight weekly sessions of either equine-assisted or play-based intervention. Effects on mothers’ caregiving behavior and physiology and on the relationship between clients and therapists were assessed via behavior coding, salivary cortisol, heart rate and heart rate variability measures. Mothers and their infants in the equine-assisted intervention had more body contact with each other (p ≤ 0.001), a trend toward more vocal exchange (p = 0.083), and mothers showed a higher sympathetic activation, indicated by a higher heart rate (p = 0.003). In the play-based intervention, mothers showed greater parasympathetic activation than in the horse group, indicated by higher heart rate variability (p = 0.004) as well as enhanced rapport between mothers and the therapist (p = 0.016). We conclude that the main effect of the horse-assisted method was increasing positive arousal by the mother and child doing something exciting together, thus triggering attentiveness towards the child, indicated by higher rates of caregiving behavior, such as proximity and vocal contact. In contrast, the play-based intervention promoted a relaxed environment which allowed the therapists and mothers to engage more with each other. Hence, depending on intervention goals, a combination of equine-assisted and play-based interventions might be an optimal approach.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81948505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Several studies have found an effect of pet ownership on human health and well-being. We propose that these benefits can only occur when the pet owner perceives the dog in a certain way: As having a human-like psychological functioning and experience of the world (anthropomorphism), and as part of one’s identity (assimilation). These perceptions are thought to support the development of a high-quality relationship with the dog that can lead to positive effects on health and well-being. Method. Two samples of dog owners (N=136 and N=928) completed an online questionnaire assessing anthropomorphism and assimilation, and relationship satisfaction and commitment to the dog (as measures of the quality of the relationship). In addition, a set of measures to validate the new anthropomorphism and assimilation scales were assessed. Results. Anthropomorphism and assimilation were related to satisfaction and commitment in moderation and in mediation. That is, the relation between anthropomorphism and commitment was especially strong when assimilation was low, and the relation between assimilation and commitment was largely mediated by anthropomorphism. Furthermore, validating the new scales, anthropomorphism was significantly related to secondary emotions recognized in the dog, and assimilation was significantly and negatively related to self-esteem and loneliness. Conclusion. The results show that anthropomorphism and assimilation had a significant relation with satisfaction and commitment, which is in line with the notion that this psychological process is important for the development of a high-quality relationship between owner and dog.
{"title":"The Psychological Processes Involved in the Development of a High-Quality Relation with one’s Dog","authors":"L. Vink, A. Dijkstra","doi":"10.1079/hai.2019.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2019.0002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Background. Several studies have found an effect of pet ownership on human health and well-being. We propose that these benefits can only occur when the pet owner perceives the dog in a certain way: As having a human-like psychological functioning and experience of the world (anthropomorphism), and as part of one’s identity (assimilation). These perceptions are thought to support the development of a high-quality relationship with the dog that can lead to positive effects on health and well-being.\u0000 Method. Two samples of dog owners (N=136 and N=928) completed an online questionnaire assessing anthropomorphism and assimilation, and relationship satisfaction and commitment to the dog (as measures of the quality of the relationship). In addition, a set of measures to validate the new anthropomorphism and assimilation scales were assessed.\u0000 Results. Anthropomorphism and assimilation were related to satisfaction and commitment in moderation and in mediation. That is, the relation between anthropomorphism and commitment was especially strong when assimilation was low, and the relation between assimilation and commitment was largely mediated by anthropomorphism. Furthermore, validating the new scales, anthropomorphism was significantly related to secondary emotions recognized in the dog, and assimilation was significantly and negatively related to self-esteem and loneliness.\u0000 Conclusion. The results show that anthropomorphism and assimilation had a significant relation with satisfaction and commitment, which is in line with the notion that this psychological process is important for the development of a high-quality relationship between owner and dog.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"28 4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83530810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Older adults who require assistance with their own self-care most likely need assistance with pet care. These pet care tasks are likely taken on by their family caregivers (i.e., informal caregivers). However, the potential impact of an older adult’s pet on caregivers’ emotional experiences has not been explored. Role theory was used to model the impact of a care recipient’s pet (i.e., number of pet care tasks performed and the perceived costs of care recipients’ pet ownership) on caregivers’ levels of caregiving burden, satisfaction, and mastery. The moderating role of the perceived bond between the care recipient and their pet, the caregiver’s closeness to the pet, and mutuality in the caregiver-care recipient relationship were also examined. Forty-nine caregivers who did not consider themselves to be co-owner of their care recipients’ pet completed a one-time on-line survey. Path analyses controlling for perceptions of inadequate help were conducted separately for each outcome variable using the maximum likelihood for missing values. The perceived costs of the care recipients’ pet ownership were directly associated with lower caregiving mastery. The perceived bond between the care recipient and their pet moderated the association between the number of pet care tasks and satisfaction. The caregivers’ closeness to the pets moderated the association between the perceived costs and satisfaction. Caregiver-care recipient mutuality moderated the relationships between pet care tasks and burden, pet care tasks and mastery, and costs and mastery. Care recipients’ pets are likely to have an impact on the subjective experiences within the role of caregiver. These impacts are likely qualified by the human-animal bond, and to a larger extent, the caregiver-care recipient relationship.
{"title":"The Impact of a Care Recipient’s Pet on Caregiving Burden, Satisfaction, and Mastery: A Pilot Investigation","authors":"J. Bibbo, C. Proulx","doi":"10.1079/hai.2019.0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2019.0010","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Older adults who require assistance with their own self-care most likely need assistance with pet care. These pet care tasks are likely taken on by their family caregivers (i.e., informal caregivers). However, the potential impact of an older adult’s pet on caregivers’ emotional experiences has not been explored. Role theory was used to model the impact of a care recipient’s pet (i.e., number of pet care tasks performed and the perceived costs of care recipients’ pet ownership) on caregivers’ levels of caregiving burden, satisfaction, and mastery. The moderating role of the perceived bond between the care recipient and their pet, the caregiver’s closeness to the pet, and mutuality in the caregiver-care recipient relationship were also examined. Forty-nine caregivers who did not consider themselves to be co-owner of their care recipients’ pet completed a one-time on-line survey. Path analyses controlling for perceptions of inadequate help were conducted separately for each outcome variable using the maximum likelihood for missing values. The perceived costs of the care recipients’ pet ownership were directly associated with lower caregiving mastery. The perceived bond between the care recipient and their pet moderated the association between the number of pet care tasks and satisfaction. The caregivers’ closeness to the pets moderated the association between the perceived costs and satisfaction. Caregiver-care recipient mutuality moderated the relationships between pet care tasks and burden, pet care tasks and mastery, and costs and mastery. Care recipients’ pets are likely to have an impact on the subjective experiences within the role of caregiver. These impacts are likely qualified by the human-animal bond, and to a larger extent, the caregiver-care recipient relationship.","PeriodicalId":90845,"journal":{"name":"Human-animal interaction bulletin","volume":"38 4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77525775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：