Human-Animal Interactions Flashcards
What are animals to humans?
- Food
- Pets
- Entertainment
- Education
- Research
Describe some animal assisted therapy/intervention.
- Idea can be traced back to 18th century
- People would go to retreat and pet small animals
What are animal-social interactions?
The presence of animals that facilitates social interactions between people
What is the ‘Social Catalyst Effect’?
- The presence of an animal increases the amount f attention received
- The type of attention can differ
Describe a study that shows the ‘Social Catalyst Effect’ in action (Dogs).
- Participants were stood with a different object/animal, e.g. teddy bear, nothing, pot plant, puppy/Labrador
- People with the 2 dogs got a much higher response for smiles and talking when they were passed by than any of the other conditions
What does having a dog mean for social interactions where you are asking for something?
It facilitates the cooperation and compliance of requests
Describe a study that shows what affect a dog can have if you’re asking a stranger for money.
- People asked for money from strangers both with a dog and without
- Those with a dog received around €0.2 more than those without
Describe a study that shows what affect a dog can have if you’re asking a stranger to borrow their phone.
- People asked to borrow the phone from strangers both with a dog and without
- Almost 30% of those with a dog received the telephone
- Not even 10% of those without a dog received a telephone
Describe a study that shows what affect a dog can have if you’re asking a stranger to help you pick up coins.
- People asked for help to pick up the coins from strangers both with a dog and without
- Around 88% of the people helped the person with a dog
- Around 58% pf the people helped the person without a dog
Describe a study that shows what affect a dog can have if you’re asking a stranger to help you pick up coins.
- People asked for help to pick up the coins from strangers both with a dog and without
- Around 88% of the people helped the person with a dog
- Around 58% pf the people helped the person without a dog
Describe a study that shows what affect a dog can have on loneliness within a care home.
- The loneliness score before the dog: 50%
- The loneliness score after 1 week with the dog: 42%
- The loneliness score after 3 weeks with the dog: 39%
Can anxiety be reduced through the petting of animals?
- It was shown that the petting of an actual rabbit or turtle reduced the anxiety level considerably over than of the toy replicas
How can animals aid learning?
- Reduce stress
- Serve as a motivator
- Children perform faster
- Need fewer prompts
- Pay more attention to teacher
How can animals aid learning?
- Reduce stress
- Serve as a motivator
- Children perform faster
- Need fewer prompts
- Pay more attention to teacher
Does pet ownership benefit the owner’s mental and physical health?
- Very old idea
- Many studies .. many issues
- A lot of confounding variables
What does owning a pet says to do to an owners help when the confounding variables are controlled?
- Few annual doctors check ups
- Less likely total sleeping pills
- Higher fitness level
Where is oxytocin secreted from?
The hypothalamus
What does oxytocin respond to?
Sensory stimulation, e.g. sex, touch, stroking
What are the possible psychological and physiological effects of oxytocin?
- Increases eye contact, empathy, memory, trust
- Anti-stressing effects
- Increased pain threshold
What should studies make sure they have in their use of groupage?
Same:
- Gender
- Age
- Diagnosis etc
Describe a study that is meant to show a reduction in depression with the use of dolphins.
- 25 Participants
- 13 with dolphins, 12 without
- 1 hour a day, for 5 days, over 2 weeks
- There was a ‘great’ improvement in depression scores
