Animal-human interactions

Question 1

Why do our interactions with animals matter?

Answer 1

It is intrinsically interesting
- E.g Research has been done on the Personality differences between dog people and cat people
- For example do people look like their dogs

Question 2

How are human interactions with other species an important component of human life?

Answer 2

animal assisted therapy, improvements in animal welfare and conservation improvements

Question 3

Name somme examples of human-interactions

Answer 3

conservation, dogs offering assistance, research and entertainment, vet, hunting, eating, rescuing and feeding them

Question 7

Why do our interactions with animals matter?

Answer 7

It is intrinsically interesting
- E.g Research has been done on the Personality differences between dog people and cat people
do people look like their dogs ?

Question 8

Why are human interactions with other specifies an important element of human life?

Answer 8

• effectiveness of animal assisted therapy
• improvements in animal welfare
• conservation improvements

Question 9

What themes in psychology and morality do interactions between humans and animals reflect?

Answer 9

• animal abuse by children
• difference between hunting and animal abuse
• what should be within our moral circle
• attitude formation and behaviour - how can we hold conflicting opinions?

Question 10

name some examples of human-animal interactions?

Answer 10

conservation, dogs offer assistance, research and entertainment (dog agility shows) , vet, hunting, eating, resuing, feeding them

Question 11

When does pet ownership and animal assisted therapy date back to?

Answer 11

Old idea can be traced back to late 18th century - the York retreat where animals with mental illnesses could interact with samll animals like dogs and cats which made them feel better

Question 12

What is the social catalyst effect?

Answer 12

Interacting with animals such as walking a dog can facilitate social interactions between people but attention can differ on what breed of dog

Question 13

Highlight how the presence of a dog can can benefit boys with insecure/ disorganised attachment

Answer 13

Cortisol (stress hormone) was lower in the group with the dog , similar results with blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability.

Question 14

How does reading to a dog increase reading fluency?

Answer 14

low ability students read more fluently when reading to a dog , more relaxed, interested and confident and less embarrassed when reading to the dog ‘doesn’t judge’

Question 15

What are the health benefits of pet-ownership?

Answer 15

=fewer dr trips
- Less likely to take sleeping pills
- Higher fitness
- Less cardiovascular disease
- Increases life expectancy
however this based on old ideas, there are many studies and many issues and whether it is a causal or correlational relationship is unclear

Question 16

why does animal interactions benefit health?

Answer 16

Social catalyst
Stress reduction
Social support
Promotes learning
Health

Urge to affiliate with other forms of life
However it could be novelty

Question 17

Define human attitudes towards animals

Answer 17

’a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour’’

Question 18

what can’t attitudes towards animals exist without?

Answer 18

cannot exist without prior exposure to the attitudinal object

Question 19

What is the ‘A’ in Breckler’s ABC model of attitudes?

Answer 19

Affect - (how we feel emotionally about an issue) = emotional response that expresses an individual’s degree of preference for an entity

Question 20

What is the ‘B’ in Breckler’s ABC model of attitudes?

Answer 20

Behavioural - (what actions we perform in relation with the issue) = a verbal indication behavioural tendency of an individual

Question 21

What is the ‘C’ in Breckler’s ABC model of attitudes?

Answer 21

Cognition - (what you know about the issue) = the entity that constitutes as individual’s beliefs about the object

Question 22

How do attitudes towards animals vary?

Answer 22

Characteristics intrinsic to the animals
= size
- Shapes of their heads
- How they look - furry or slimy’
- How closely they resemble humans
Infantile facial traits
How many they legs have

Question 23

what effects a human’s opinion of an animal?

Answer 23

Familiarity, similarity and role of animals in human lives affective opinion i.e pest, farm animal ,pets have more emotional capacity

Question 24

What is biophilia?

Answer 24

Human ‘‘innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes’’. Children with more exposure to nature show more biophilla willingness to conserve wildlife.

Question 25

What are some gender differences in differences in attitudes towards animals?

Answer 25

Men are more likely to support animal research.

Men are more likely to hunt animals for recreation.

men are more likely to engage in animal cruelty

women are more likely to hoard large numbers of animals in their homes

women are more likely to go to animal rights demonstrations

Question 26

What factors affect individual human attitudes towards animals?

Answer 26

Socoioeconmic factors
= education
- Urban vs rual residence
- Past and current exposure with animals
- Religiosity

Question 27

What cultural and social aspects effect human attitudes towards animals

Answer 27

History
Cultural and religious beliefs and values
Culturally defined practices
Cultural representations

Question 28

What is cognitive dissonance?

Answer 28

The psychological state of discomfort experience by an individual who holds beliefs , attitudes or behaviours that are at odds with one another. Two cognitions are dissonant if the perceiver believes they are dissonant . Assumption that people who do not like inconsistency are motivated to reduce the incongruence between their behaviour and attitude.

Question 29

How can the magnitude of the dissonance be reduced?

Answer 29

• change one of the dissonant cognitions
• add new cognitions with what one already believes. Decrease the perceived importance of the dissonant cognition. Create psychological distance from the dissonant cognition.