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Tails of Laughter: A Pilot Study Examining the Relationship between Companion Animal Guardianship (Pet Ownership) and Laughter
Abstract
A pilot study examined the relationship in daily life between companion animal guardianship (pet ownership) and peoples' laughter. The study divided participants (n = 95) into 4 mutually exclusive groups: dog owners, cat owners, people who owned both dogs and cats, and people who owned neither. For one day, participants recorded in "laughter" logs the frequency and source of their laughter and the presence of others when laughing. Dog owners and people who owned both dogs and cats reported laughing more frequently than cat owners, as did people who owned neither. The most frequent source of laughter was spontaneous laughter resulting from a situation. People who owned both dogs and cats reported most frequent spontaneous laughter resulting from an incident involving a pet. Dog owners reported less; cat owners, the least. Dog owners and people who owned both dogs and cats reported laughing more frequently in the presence of their pets than did cat owners. Findings suggest a complex relationship between pet ownership and laughter. Dogs may serve as friends with whom to laugh or their behaviors may provide a greater source of laughter.
... Literature review reveals that pets and their owners typically form strong links with each other (Daly & Morton, 2006;Walsh, 2009). Studies have also focused on the positive effects owning a pet has on children (Bierer, 2000;Melson, 2003), adults (Allen, Blascovich, Tomaka, & Kelsey, 1991;Lewis, Krägeloh, & Shepherd, 2009;McConnell & Brown, 2011;Stanley, Conwell, Bowen, & Van Orden, 2014;Valeri, 2006;Wells, 2009) and older adults (Garrity, Stallones, Marx, & Johnson, 1989). In particular, these studies focus on the effects of strong attachment to pets; studies have also focused on aspects such as physiological status (Brodie & Biley, 1999;Chandler, Fernando, Barrio-Minton, & Portrie-Bethke, 2015;Garrity et al., 1989;Lewis et al., 2009;Trigg, Thompson, Smith, & Bennett, 2016;Valeri, 2006) and social development (Merrill, 2012;Silberstein, 2013). ...
... Studies have also focused on the positive effects owning a pet has on children (Bierer, 2000;Melson, 2003), adults (Allen, Blascovich, Tomaka, & Kelsey, 1991;Lewis, Krägeloh, & Shepherd, 2009;McConnell & Brown, 2011;Stanley, Conwell, Bowen, & Van Orden, 2014;Valeri, 2006;Wells, 2009) and older adults (Garrity, Stallones, Marx, & Johnson, 1989). In particular, these studies focus on the effects of strong attachment to pets; studies have also focused on aspects such as physiological status (Brodie & Biley, 1999;Chandler, Fernando, Barrio-Minton, & Portrie-Bethke, 2015;Garrity et al., 1989;Lewis et al., 2009;Trigg, Thompson, Smith, & Bennett, 2016;Valeri, 2006) and social development (Merrill, 2012;Silberstein, 2013). ...
... McConnell and Brown (2011) note that dogs contribute significantly to the well-being of their owners; in fact, dog owners' well-being was found to be higher than the well-being of those who did not own dogs. By examining the relationship between pet ownership and peoples' tendency for and frequency of laughter, Valeri (2006) found that cat and dog owners tend to laugh more on a daily basis than those who did not own pets. The presence of pets is also associated with decreased stress levels. ...
The pet ownership has a crucial role in individuals' lives, which offers many beneficial effects. By examining the relationship between pet ownership and owners' well-being, researchers have found that pets typically made their owners feel well. This study examines the ways in which pet owners' depression and subjective well-being levels predict their personality traits. It also aims to examine the relationship between these variables and of the participants' pet preferences. Totally, 307 pet owners participated in this study; all participants were university students living in Turkey. In addition, all participants were aged 18 and older. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to determine the depression levels of the participants; the Subjective Well-Being Scale (SWBS) was used to determine their subjective well-being levels, and an Abbreviated Form Of The Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQR-A) was used to determine personality traits. Data was analyzed using path analysis. The study found that pet owners' depression and subjective well-being scores predicted their neuroticism and extraversion scores. Subjective well-being and depression predict neuroticism and extroversion in personality traits, and goodness of fit index of this model has been found to be at acceptable levels. It is important to conduct more experimental and correlational studies involving the same variables; these studies may focus on pet owners, as well as their difference with those who do not own pets. They may also focus on specific age groups, such as children, adults, and the elderly.
... Another psychological benefit related to dogs is the hedonic pleasure associated with laughter. People often laugh in response to a spontaneous act (Valeri, 2006) such as the antics of a dog, thereby generating an open atmosphere that promotes listening, understanding, and tolerance (Greatbatch & Clark, 2002). In a study by Halm (2008) on the healing power of dogs in the geriatric ward of a hospital, nurses attested to the bond between dogs and patients, and attributed the presence of the dogs to greater feelings of positive affect among their healthcare community. ...
... These responses support the researcher's observations of the frequent laughter coming from the room anytime the dogs were present (see Figure 2). Furthermore, they are compatible with findings by Valeri (2006) and Greatbatch and Clark (2002) claiming that a spontaneous act by a dog can promote laughter, which in turn helps to generate a cohesive environment, encouraging acceptance and relatedness. ...
As Australia faces an aging population with an unprecedented life expectancy , it is the community's obligation to ensure seniors are offered resources to support their well-being. Studies investigating loneliness in aged-care facilities attest to the therapeutic properties of dogs for residents' sense of well-being. Consequently, this study aimed to ascertain the effectiveness of a community-based dog lover's initiative for the self-management of well-being among senior citizens. Our qualitative research investigated whether community gatherings including dogs would produce greater feelings of subjective well-being among senior citizens compared to community gatherings without dogs. A conventional content analysis provided support for the supposition that dogs address some of the unmet needs of senior citizens by increasing well-being. The multitude of benefits provided by this human-animal friendship undeniably merits inclusion as a community initiative aimed at improving both the well-being of our senior citizens and the health of the community at large. It is anticipated that these findings will inspire a new field within social gerontology dedicated to promoting the human-animal bond via community initiatives.
... Another enjoyable aspect of interacting with pets is their capacity to elicit playfulness and humor in people (Power, 2008). In one study, participants (n = 95) were instructed to record the frequency and source of their laughter for a period of one day (Valeri, 2006). According to the results, participants tended to laugh more frequently when their pets were present. ...
... According to the results, participants tended to laugh more frequently when their pets were present. The literature suggests that laughter plays a role in strengthening social bonds and communicating positive affect between people (Turner, 2005;Valeri, 2006). Laughter may serve a similar role in the human-pet relationship, considering that many people regard their pets as family members and friends. ...
If consumer spending is any indication of people’s devotion to their pets, then it should come as no surprise that pet care has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Cats and dogs are the most abundant pets in industrialized countries, and it is now commonplace to speak of pets as family members. The increased spending on pets has been attributed to the sheer number of pets owned by people and, perhaps more revealing, the depth and intensity of the emotional bond that some people experience in their relationship with their pet. Guided by relevant literature, this article uses a psychological lens to explore pet-oriented leisure and consumption, what is potentially driving people’s investment in their pets, and what this means for the health and well-being of people and pets. Pets influence people’s sense of self and promote happiness by providing enjoyable leisure experiences. Evidence for the impact of pet-related spending on health is sparse.
... Another potential explanation for these findings is that those who are high in pet affinity may experience more positive emotions, and thus may rely on human social support less than those low in pet affinity. Past research has found that pet owners reported laughing more than those who did not own a pet, and that this laughter was most frequently the result of an incident related to the pet (Valeri, 2006). Perhaps pets can provide both support and increase positive emotions in a way that mimics the positive benefits of social support and/or alleviates the need for traditional social support. ...
... Our study chose to examine dog owners because the literature has found mixed results based on the type of pet owned. For example, Valeri (2006) demonstrated that dog owners tended to laugh more than cat owners. Future research might evaluate whether this effect is also found with owners of other types of pets. ...
This study evaluated pet affinity as a buffer between ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE) and social support. AEE occurs when one desires to express emotions but is reluctant to do so and is related to negative psychological outcomes. Individuals high in AEE may have difficulty receiving social support and thus may not gain accompanying benefits. Social support has been associated with positive health outcomes, and pet support is positively associated with human social support. The present study explores the potential protective effect of pet affinity. One hundred ninety-eight undergraduate dog owners completed measures assessing perceived social support, pet affinity, and AEE. AEE was expected to be negatively associated with social support, and pet affinity was expected to buffer the negative effects of AEE on social support. We found that AEE was negatively associated with perceived social support. An interaction between pet affinity and AEE emerged such that the negative association between AEE and social support was weaker among those higher in pet affinity. Thus, at high levels of AEE, those who felt a close connection with their pets reported more perceived social support than those less connected with their pets. Overall, these findings emphasize the potential benefits of pet affinity.
... Studies that reported high percentages of adults who describe their pets as family include those of Risley-Curtiss, Holley, and Wolf (Allen et al., 2002), less depression (Garrity et al., 1989; Jessen, Cardiello, & Baun, 1996; Siegel, Angulo, Detels, Wesch, & Mullen, 1999; Wood, Giles-Corti, Bulsara, & Bosch, 2007 ), and increased owner morale and selfesteem (Goldmeier, 1986; Poresky, 1996 Poresky, , 1997 Siegel, 1995; Triebenbacher, 1998). Cat and dog owners have been found to spontaneously laugh more than people who own neither, indicating a friendship factor with companion animals (Valeri, 2006). Adult studies have investigated the role of companion animals and human social support systems with mixed results. ...
... Fun and recreation was a less common elicited category than affection, but is not necessarily separate. A playful pet relationship draws out a feeling of friendship and laughter that augments affection (Valeri, 2006). Taking the pet to public places suggests pet pride and value, " I go everywhere with my dog and he is cool. ...
This study explored the relationship between companion animal attachment and adolescent loneliness. Self report measures of loneliness (Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale), companion animal attachment (Companion Animal Bonding Scale), and social support (Social Support Questionnaire Revised Short Form) were completed by 293 adolescents from two ethnically diverse southwest rural high schools. Pet information included the type of favored pet, length of pet relationship, the number of household pets, and how the participants described their pet relationship. Participants also provided basic demographic data about themselves and their pets. Descriptive statistics, standard multiple regressions, t-tests, and ANOVAs were employed to examine relationships among the demographic data, pet variables, loneliness, and social support. Pet owners reported significantly lower loneliness scores than non-pet owners, t (290) = 4.1, p < .001. Furthermore, companion animal bonding scores were inversely related to loneliness scores. Social support was measured with two scores: the number of humans in the social network and the perceived satisfaction with the network. Companion animal attachment was positively related to the number of humans in the social support network. However, teens with multiple household pets reported less satisfaction with the social network. Females reported higher pet attachment than males t (241) = 2.61, p = .01, but otherwise no significant demographic factors were found in loneliness or pet attachment scores. Adolescents predominately described their pet relationship with affectionate terms. It is questionable if a companion animal assessment tool aptly captures the feelings adolescents have for their pets. Hence both theory and instrument development for pet attachment among adolescents is recommended. PhD Nursing Doctoral University of New Mexico. College of Nursing Lobo, Marie Carlson, Karen Mendelson, Cindy Johnson, Rebecca
... Prior to COVID-19, research highlighted how animals may reduce stress [59], help support people with chronic mental health difficulties [60], increase positive emotions [61], and reduce loneliness [62,63]. In the current study, we found that for many companion animal guardians, companion animals played a critical role in helping reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, isolation, and loneliness. ...
The initial months of COVID-19 forced people to quickly adapt to dramatic changes to their daily lives. As a result of the inevitable decrease in access to social support available during the lockdown phase of COVID-19, countless individuals relied upon their companion dogs and cats. Given the strong connections people often have with their companion animals, this study hypothesized that companion dogs and cats would positively impact guardians’ mental health. Anonymous, cross-sectional online surveys were used to test this premise. A total of 5061 responses, primarily females (89%) from the United States (84%), were analyzed. Results suggest that companion animals played a critical role in helping reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, isolation, and loneliness for a majority of pet guardians. Companion animals also helped increase guardians’ experiences of self-compassion, ability to maintain a regular schedule, feel a sense of purpose and meaning, and cope with uncertainty. This was most pronounced for women under the age of 40 who were highly bonded to their companion animal. In conclusion, our study suggests that a companion dog or cat can buffer the effects of extreme stress and social isolation as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Although most pet owners feel joy and happiness as soon as they own a pet, regardless of their age, most of them are unaware of the physical, mental, and health benefits of owning a pet [1][2][3]. Many studies started to evaluate scientifically the possible benefits of raising or owning a pet [2,[4][5][6][7]. ...
Besides being funny and giving a sense of companionship, owning a pet in your household could have some magical influences on its owners' health. A pet will help to reduce anxiety levels, improving physical activity persistence, and enhance social interaction. Owing a Pet had its influence on physical and mental health, as previous studies showed its contribution to modulating mental illness, reducing cardiovascular problems, improving the outcomes of many mental diseases such as depression, and being a helpful therapy for parkinsonian patients. Declaring the benefits of pet ownership and discussing its effects on various health aspects allows more enlightening of pets' role in boosting our mental and physical health. Several studies have been conducted to test those findings and provide scientific evidence. In this review, we aimed at exploring and discussing some of the benefits obtained by pet ownership and the roles that pets could play in enhancing physical and mental well-being.
... The use of humour is a recognised medical intervention in a number of rehabilitation scenarios (Kuiper and Martin 1998;Nezlek and Derks 2001). Dogs especially have been identified as a frequent source of this humour (Beck and Meyers 1996;McMullough 1981;Valeri 2006). ...
This report, commissioned by Beyond Blue, provides a review of existing Australian and international literature on the links between mental health and wellbeing and contact with nature, especially through green spaces.
... There are estimated to be 150,000 wolves worldwide, but in the USA alone there are estimated to be 67 million dogs, most of which are pets. One of the dog's tasks, like flowers, is to make people happy and reduce stress (Allen et al., 2002;Valeri, 2006). The adaptations in dogs as they became suitable companions able to affect human happiness have been profound. ...
The space around or in our buildings is not empty but is full of air. This air naturally contains some potential toxins but also useful biochemicals that we are not aware of, but our olfactory system has evolved to detect some of them subliminally. Conscious preferences for or against types of air may be insufficient for decisions about the desirability of natural, green air. It is a 21st challenge to “green technology” to extend and incorporate behavioral science approaches to understanding influential subliminal processes. We argue that these decisions require an experimental approach because the olfactory system is not easily accessible to conscious analysis. The subliminal effects of “something in the air” are illustrated first in a case study to show the surprising range of emotional effects from natural human mood odors. Then in a controlled study we show some similar subliminal effects from natural plant odors.. Here “wild” local air is contrasted with two types of “cultivated” air, either with undetected (a) flower ingredients or (b) perfume ingredients. The subliminal effect of the floral additive led to more positive emotional thought and supported social approach behavior. This implies air management has the potential to provide an invisible support system inside and around buildings just as carefully designed and maintained parks provide a larger support to communities.
Given that human laughter has been posited to signal playfulness to dogs, nonserious social incongruity, and positive affect, laughter should occur during incongruous contexts in an affectively positive, nonserious social activity such as dog–human play. A total of 116 laughs in relation to dogs were discerned on videotapes of 46 dog–human play interactions in the US, 23 with familiar and 23 with unfamiliar pairs. Laughter occurred during 61% of interactions, and always expressed positive affect. Contexts in which laughter occurred (in decreasing frequency) were failure of the dog during play, or to play at all or as the person wanted; exaggerated or unexpected engagement by the dog; excretion; unexpected success by the dog in obtaining an object; and, once, threat from the dog. Laughter never induced play, and usually occurred when a dog was not playing. Women laughed more than men, especially for a male audience when playing with their own dog. In all contexts, participants experienced incongruous events; contexts were nonserious, except for the dog's threat, where laughter signaled friendliness. These data are largely consistent with laughter signaling positive affect and awareness of (usually nonserious) social incongruity, and inconsistent with laughter signaling playfulness to dogs.
Pet attachment has been shown to provide myriad benefits to individuals both physiologically and psychologically. A large percentage of individuals attached to pets may obtain happiness. However, associating pet attachment (intrinsic factor) with happiness may require leisure coping (extrinsic factor.) Therefore, further investigation into the subject of leisure coping could furnish pet owners with assistance in learning how to take advantage of leisure activities and better interact with pets to reach happiness. The relationships among pet attachment, leisure coping, and happiness were assessed in 346 pet owners aged 16-70. Empirical result shows that pet attachment indirectly affected happiness through leisure coping. The results imply that pet attachment affects an owner's happiness through the leisure coping (particularly leisure companionship and mood enhancement leisure), and that pet attachment can transform individuals into a happy ones by encouraging them engaged in leisure activities with their pets. Hence, pet owners may be encouraged to be engaged in leisure activities with their pets for further happiness.
This study examined the circumstances surrounding the natural occurrence of laughter in everyday life. Eighty community participants (50 women and 30 men), ranging in age from 17 to 79, each completed a daily laughter record for three days, along with self-report measures of laughter responsiveness, coping humor, and Type A personality characteristics. Laughter incidents were coded according to time of day, source and initiator of laughter, and whether the individual was alone or with others. On average, participants reported approximately 18 daily incidents of laughter, but with wide individual variation being evident (0 to 89 incidents per day). Frequency of laughter also generally increased throughout the day, being most pronounced in the evenings. The most prominent source of daily laughter was spontaneous situational laughter, with "canned" jokes accounting for the least amount of naturally generated laughter. In accord with the primarily social nature of laughter, most incidents of laughter occurred in the presence of others, and were also initiated by others. Overall, men and women did not differ in the frequency with which they laughed. However, gender differences did emerge when age was taken into account. Older women tended to laugh less frequently than did younger women, but this age difference was not found in men. In addition, for both men and women, older individuals did not show the general increase in frequency of laughter during the evening. Gender differences also emerged in the correlations between total laughter frequency and personality variables. For example, a higher frequency of daily laughter was associated with greater Type A characteristics in men, but with fewer Type A characteristics in women. These findings are discussed in terms of possible gender differences in the meaning and function of laughter.
Common knowledge tells us that people talk "baby talk" to dogs, but how similar talk to dogs and infants is remains unexplored. In this study, people's talk to dogs during 46 play interactions was coded and compared with previous studies about talk to infants. Talk to dogs and infants shared numerous features, including a high-pitch register, a low mean length of utterance, high frequencies of grammatically acceptable utterances, present-tense verbs, repetitiveness, and attention-getting devices. Differences were also present. Talk to dogs contained shorter sentences and more imperatives and exact repetitions; talk to infants had more questions, declaratives, and deictic utterances. Reasons for the similarities and differences are elaborated on. Both forms involve communicating with a limited and inattentive addressee, controlling the addressee's attention and behavior by focusing on an object or activity, and expressing friendliness and affection. They differ in that talk to infants is more likely to treat the other as a conversant and, especially, to tutor the other in naming.
The possible relationship between companion animal behavior and owner attachment levels has received surprisingly little attention in the literature on human-companion animal interactions, despite its relevance to our understanding of the potential benefits of pet ownership, and the problems associated with pet loss, or the premature abandonment and disposal of companion animals. The present study describes a preliminary investigation of this topic involving a questionnaire survey of 37 dog owners and 47 cat owners exactly 1 year after they acquired pets from animal shelters. The results demonstrate a number of highly significant differences in owners' assessments of the behavior of dogs and cats, particularly with respect to playfulness (Mann-Whitney U Test, P = 0.125), confidence (P < 0.001), affection (P = 0.002), excitability (P = 0.018), activity (P = 0.002), friendliness to strangers (P < 0.001), intelligence (P = 0.02), and owner-directed aggression (P = 0.002). However, few differences were noted between dog and cat owners in terms of their perceptions of what constitutes ‘ideal’ pet behavior. The findings also suggest that dog owners who report weaker attachments for their pets are consistently less satisfied with most aspects of their dogs' behavior compared with those who report stronger attachments. Weakly attached cat owners are significantly more dissatisfied with the levels of affection shown by their pets (P = 0.0186), but in other respects they are far less consistent than dog owners.
Human-animal contact can influence psychological and physiological parameters important to health and welfare; nevertheless, there has been relatively little research on the variables that influence or mediate those health consequences. In addition, little attention has been paid on how to create or alter the animal interactions for the betterment of people and their animals. The investigation can be guided by two theoretical perspectives, which make powerful but different and testable predictions: the biophilia hypothesis and social support theory. Along with this theoretically driven research, there is a need for replication of salient research findings to resolve important discrepancies in the literature. Last, animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has to be placed in the context of alternative therapies now available to define its specificity, risks, and overall benefits.
The relationship between animal ownership and owners' health has received increasing attention in the recent human-companion animal literature. This article considers a new aspect of the human-companion animal relationship, that of compatibility between pet and owner. Compatibility is viewed as the fit between the animal and the owner on physical, behavioral, and psychological dimensions. A postal survey was used to test the hypothesis that compatibility has influences on physical and mental health that are independent of those due to owners' level ofpet attachment and human social support. A sample group of 176 pet owners completed a questionnaire containing a new measure of compatibility as well as standard measures of pet attachment, human social support, and mental and physical health. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that people who are relatively more compatible with their pets report better mental health overall and fewer physical symptoms. Social support was positively associated with mental health. Pet attachment was also positively associated with mental health, but negatively with physical health.
THREE canid finds from the Natufian in the northern Israeli sites of Bin Mallaha (Eynan) and Hayonim terrace indicate a special man–animal relationship. These consist of a diminutive carnassial and mandible, and a wolf or dog puppy skeleton buried with a human. The finding of a puppy skeleton in such close association with man is of particular significance as an indication of a close relationship between man and dog.
The present study investigated the proposal that increased laughter can serve to moderate the affective impact of negative life events. Community participants kept a record of their actual frequency of laughter for a 3-day period, and completed a measure of stressful life events each evening. Current levels of positive and negative affect were also obtained in the morning and evening of each day. A series of simple correlations, computed on a daily basis, provided little evidence for any direct relationships between amount of daily laughter and either positive or negative affect. Instead, more complex moderator analyses revealed that greater negative affect was clearly associated with a higher number of stressful life events, but only for those individuals with a lower frequency of actual laughter. In contrast, and in support of a stress buffering hypothesis, it was found that individuals with a higher frequency of laughter did not show greater levels of negative affect as stressful life events increased. When considering positive affect, it was found that only males showed a significant moderating effect of laughter. For males who laughed more frequently, a greater number of stressful life events was associated with higher levels of positive affect. These findings are discussed in terms of several possible mechanisms which may account for the moderating effects of laughter on affect, including the use of cognitive appraisals and emotion-focused coping strategies.
Nonlinguistic communication is typically proposed to convey representational messages, implying that particular signals are associated with specific signaler emotions, intentions, or external referents. However, common signals produced by both nonhuman primates and humans may not exhibit such specificity, with human laughter for example showing significant diversity in both acoustic form and production context. We therefore outline an alternative to the representational approach, arguing that laughter and other nonlinguistic vocalizations are used to influence the affective states of listeners, thereby also affecting their behavior. In the case of laughter, we propose a primary function of accentuating or inducing positive affect in the perceiver in order to promote a more favorable stance toward the laugher. Two simple strategies are identified, namely producing laughter with acoustic features that have an immediate impact on listener arousal, and pairing these sounds with positive affect in the listener to create learned affective responses. Both depend on factors like the listener's current emotional state and past interactions with the vocalizer, with laughers predicted to adjust their sounds accordingly. This approach is used to explain findings from two experimental studies that examined the use of laughter in same-sex and different-sex dyads composed of either friends or strangers, and may be applicable to other forms of nonlinguistic communication.
A 10-month prospective study was carried out which examined changes in behaviour and health status in 71 adult subjects following the acquisition of a new pet (either dogs or cats). A group of 26 subjects without pets served as a comparison over the same period. Both pet-owning groups reported a highly significant reduction in minor health problems during the first month following pet acquisition, and this effect was sustained in dog owners through to 10 months. The pet-acquiring groups also showed improvements in their scores on the 30-item General Health Questionnaire over the first 6 months and, in dog owners, this improvement was maintained until 10 months. In addition, dog owners took considerably more physical exercise while walking their dogs than the other two groups, and this effect continued throughout the period of study. The group without pets exhibited no statistically significant changes in health or behaviour, apart from a small increase in recreational walking. The results provide evidence that pet acquisition may have positive effects on human health and behaviour, and that in some cases these effects are relatively long term.
Autonomic responses were measured while 45 adult women performed a standard experimental stress task in the laboratory with only the experimenter present and 2 weeks later at home in the presence of a female friend, pet dog, or neither. Results demonstrated that autonomic reactivity was moderated by the presence of a companion, the nature of whom was critical to the size and direction of the effect. Ss in the friend condition exhibited higher physiological reactivity and poorer performance than subjects in the control and pet conditions. Ss in the pet condition showed less physiological reactivity during stressful tasks than Ss in the other conditions. The results are interpreted in terms of the degree to which friends and pets are perceived as evaluative during stressful task performance. Physiological reactivity was consistent across the laboratory and field settings.
The findings of this study confirm the independent importance of social factors in the determination of health status. Social data obtained during patients' hospitalization can be valuable in discriminating 1-year survivors. These social data can add to the prognostic discrimination beyond the effects of the well-known physiological predictors. More information is needed about all forms of human companionship and disease. Thus, it is important that future investigations of prognosis in various disease states include measures of the patient's social and psychological status with measures of disease severity. The phenomenon of pet ownership and the potential value of pets as a source of companionship activity or attention deserved more careful attention that that recorded in the literature. Almost half of the homes in the United States have some kind of pet. Yet, to our knowledge, no previous studies have included pet ownership among the social variables examined to explain disease distribution. Little cost is incurred by the inclusion of pet ownership in such studies, and it is certainly by the importance of pets in the lives of people today and the long history of association between human beings and companion animals. The existence of pets as important household members should be considered by those who are responsible for medical treatment. The need to care for a pet or to arrange for its care may delay hospitalization; it may also be a source of concern for patients who are hospitalized. Recognition of this concern by physicians, nurses, and social workers may alleviate emotional stress among such patients. The therapeutic uses of pets have been considered for patients hospitalized with mental illnesses and the elderly. The authors suggest that patients with coronary heart disease should also be included in this consideration. Large numbers of older patients with coronary heart disease are socially isolated and lonely. While it is not yet possible to conclude that pet ownership is beneficial to these patients, pets are an easily attainable source of psychological comfort with relatively few risks.
The authors provide initial documentation that juvenile rats emit short, high-frequency ultrasonic vocalizations (high USVs, similar to 55 kHz) during rough-and-tumble play. In an observational study, they further observe that these vocalizations both correlate with and predict appetitive components of the play behavioral repertoire. Additional experiments characterized eliciting conditions for high USVs. Without prior play exposure, rats separated by a screen vocalized less than playing rats, but after only 1 play session, separated rats vocalized more than playing rats. This finding suggested that high USVs were linked to a motivational state rather than specific play behaviors or general activity. Furthermore, individual rats vocalized more in a chamber associated with play than in a habituated control chamber. Finally, congruent and incongruent motivational manipulations modulated vocalization expression. Although play deprivation enhanced high USVs, an arousing but aversive stimulus (bright light) reduced them. Taken together, these findings suggest that high USVs may index an appetitive motivation to play in juvenile rats.
Animals have direct positive and negative impact on some physical aspects of health. Animals contribute to basic human health needs by providing food and clothing, and by assisting people in their daily lives by acting as beasts of burden, working, and assistance animals. Animals also are used as human surrogates in the development of medical procedures and products, and as sources for medical and health care products. In contrast to the ways animals directly impact physical health, animals also have well-documented detrimental health effects including transmitting infectious diseases, causing allergies, and inflicting injuries such as bites and scratches. This chapter addresses the evidence for the positive impact of animals on human health. Evidence for long-term health benefits will be discussed first. Once long-term benefits for cardiovascular health were established, experimental and quasi-experimental studies were conducted to elucidate possible mechanisms for the long-term benefits already found and to extend the scope of the investigation to other types of health benefits. The evidence for short-term benefits of health from studies conducted using three categories of human-animal interaction is presented. This is followed by a summary of the research findings and a discussion of their implications for future research and for animal-assisted therapy.
The study of laughter provides a novel approach to the mechanisms and evolution of vocal production, perception and social behavior.
The psychological and emotional roles played by pets in the urban household are examined. Telephone interviews were conducted with 320 pet owners and 116 nonowners in Providence, Rhode Island. Respondents were obtained from a systematic random sample of the telephone directory. Sociodemographic differences exist between pet owners and those who do not have pets. Remarried people, families with children present, and families in the "middle" stages of the life cycle are most likely to have pets, whereas pet ownership is low among widows, empty-nesters, families with infants, and those with annual incomes of $8,000 or less. Responses to the survey indicate that pets are viewed as important family members by people who live in the city. However, the roles played by pets are related to the social structure of the household. Attachment to pets is highest among never-married, divorced, widowed and remarried people, childless couples, newlyweds, and empty-nesters. Never-married, divorced, and remarried people, and people without children present, are also most likely to anthropomorphize their pets. Pet attachment and anthropomorphism are also related to type of pet. Both dimensions of pet-human bonds are highest among people who have dogs. The findings of the survey are discussed within the framework of family development theory and changing household composition in the United States.
The effectiveness of laughter in reducing physiological and psychological measures of stress is compared with relaxation training and control groups. Personality factors of sense of humor and use of humor to cope as well as group size are also compared. Subjects were 74 college students randomly assigned to either a humorous or control videotape, or an audiotaped relaxation program. While laughter was not found to be as effective as relaxation training in reducing physiological measures of stress, it did appear to reduce psychological measures. Personality factors were found to be significantly correlated with stress reduction, especially with women.
Much of the play in daily life likely occurs at times or during activities other than those commonly viewed as leisure. Humor is one form of play that appears to accompany many nonleisure activities, while also being the basis for some forms of entertainment that engage people during leisure. With the use of a humor diary and mood measures, this study examined the frequency and types of humorous experiences of university students and their relationship to psychological well‐being during a day. Mass media provided the fewest playful incidents of humor, while social interaction generated the largest number. Increases in positive moods and decreases in negative moods were associated significantly with greater numbers of incidents of humor and overt laughter. It is argued that leisure researchers should give more attention to the psychology of everyday playful behaviors, such as humor, day‐dreaming, fantasy, and make‐believe.
This study found that death depression, general depression, and positive attitudes toward, and attachment to, companion animals were associated with greater grief following the death of cats and dogs both in a veterinary client group who had recently lost their companion animals and in a college student group with a history of companion animal loss. The correlations of both the above variables and the demographic and death circumstance variables tended to be higher with the veterinary clients. Death of a dog by accident as opposed to illness correlated .81 with extended grief in the veterinary clients. Not having their dogs euthanized correlated .70 with extended grief in this group as well.
This study investigated antecedents of the human grief response which was associated with the death of a pet cat or dog. The sample included 207 voluntary subjects who experienced this type of loss within a one-year time period prior to participating in the study. Data for the predictor variables were obtained from two validated instruments and a questionnaire developed by the author. Data for grief outcome were obtained from another validated instrument on three clinical and three validity scales. The results indicated that level of attachment to the deceased pet, perceived understanding from others and other stressful events combined to have significant predictive ability in grief outcome. Other analyses indicated qualitative differences in grief outcome according to gender of owner and the presence of children and/or more than one other adult in the household. No significant difference was found between single and multiple pet ownership in grief outcome.
Drawing from an affect-induction model of laughter (Bachorowski & Owren, 2001; Owren & Bachorowski, 2002), we propose that "antiphonal" laughter--that is, laughter that occurs during or immediately after a social partner's laugh--is a behavioural manifestation of a conditioned positive emotional response to another individual's laugh acoustics. To test hypotheses concerning the occurrence of antiphonal laughter, participants (n = 148) were tested as part of either same- or mixed-sex friend or stranger dyads, and were audiorecorded while they played brief games intended to facilitate laugh production. An index of antiphonal laughter for each dyad was derived using Yule's Q. Significantly more antiphonal laughter was produced in friend than in stranger dyads, and females in mixed-sex dyads produced more antiphonal laughter than did their male partners. Antiphonal laughter may therefore reflect a mutually positive stance between social partners, and function to reinforce shared positive affective experiences.
The relation between laughter and speech was investigated by describing the position of naturally occurring laughter in the speech stream of anonymous young adults observed in public places. Laughter of both speaker and audience occurred during pauses at the end of phrases or sentences in over 99 % of the sample of 1200 episodes of laughter, indicating that speech has priority access to the single vocalization channel and that a lawful process governs the placement of laughter in speech. Laughter is not randomly scattered throughout the speech stream. Laughter followed both statements and questions and material that did not seem humorous outside of the conversational context. Speakers, especially females, laughed more than their audiences, but the relative amount of speaker and audience laughter depended on the gender composition of a group. Audiences of both males and females laughed more to male than female speakers. These baseline data provide insights into gender differences, normal and abnormal emotional behavior and define variables for future studies of neuro-and psychopathology.
The propabilities of laughing, smiling, or talking during a given hour and in various social environments were investigated by having undergraduate college students record their performance of these activitics in a log book during a one-week period. All three activities were least likely to occur during the hours immediately before bedtime and after waking and were most frequent in social situations. Smiles and laughs, like talking, were performed primarily during social encounters and were often part of verbal and nonverbal conversations. Because laughing and smiling are phasic social acts, they are of limited value as indices of ongoing (tonic) emotional state. The role of laughing, smiling, and talking in communication, the production of mood, and social bonding is considered.
Laughter occurs in contexts of social interaction where coactive vocalizing is a common mode of exchange. This study looked at the timing parameters—mean duration of laugh, rate per minute of laughter and proportion of session laughed, and temporal sequence patterns—isolated, self-repetitive, reciprocal, and coactive in mothers and infants over the first 2 years.Timing parameters of infant laughter were found to stabilize by the end of the first year, but the timing of onset and offset times of coactive laughter between mother and infant became increasingly closer during the second year, and temporal sequence patterns were still changing in the second year. Most infant and maternal laughter was nondyadic and isolated, occurring more than 4 s after any previous laugh. In the second year, infants had a significantly greater proportion of self-repetitive laughter than mothers, and mothers had a significantly greater proportion of reciprocal laughter than infants. These findings are discussed in relation to multifunctional concepts of laughter and social dynamics of interaction.
To compare risk factors for cardiovascular disease in pet owners and non-owners.
Accepted risk factors for cardiovascular disease were measured in 5741 participants attending a free, screening clinic at the Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne. Blood pressure, plasma cholesterol and triglyceride values were compared in pet owners (n = 784) and non-owners (n = 4957).
Pet owners had significantly lower systolic blood pressure and plasma triglycerides than non-owners. In men, pet owners had significantly lower systolic but not diastolic blood pressure than non-owners, and significantly lower plasma triglyceride levels, and plasma cholesterol levels. In women over 40 years old, systolic but not diastolic pressure was significantly lower in pet owners and plasma triglycerides also tended to be lower. There were no differences in body mass index and self-reported smoking habits were similar, but pet owners reported that they took significantly more exercise than non-owners, and ate more meat and "take-away" foods. The socioeconomic profile of the pet owners and non-owners appeared to be comparable.
Pet owners in our clinic population had lower levels of accepted risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and this was not explicable on the basis of cigarette smoking, diet, body mass index or socioeconomic profile. The possibility that pet ownership reduces cardiovascular risk factors should therefore be investigated.
The physician utilization behavior of 938 Medicare enrollees in a health maintenance organization was prospectively followed for 1 year. With demographic characteristics and health status at baseline controlled for, respondents who owned pets reported fewer doctor contacts over the 1-year period than respondents who did not own pets. Furthermore, pets seemed to help their owners in times of stress. The accumulation of prebaseline stressful life events was associated with increased doctor contacts during the study year for respondents without pets. This relationship did not emerge for pet owners. Owners of dogs, in particular, were buffered from the impact of stressful life events on physician utilization. Additional analyses showed that dog owners in comparison to owners of other pets spent more time with their pets and felt that their pets were more important to them. Thus, dogs more than other pets provided their owners with companionship and an object of attachment.
Social support and pet ownership, a nonhuman form of social support, have both been associated with increased coronary artery disease survival. The independent effects of pet ownership, social support, disease severity, and other psychosocial factors on 1-year survival after acute myocardial infarction are examined prospectively. The Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial provided physiologic data on a group of post-myocardial infarction patients with asymptomatic ventricular arrhythmias. An ancillary study provided psychosocial data, including pet ownership, social support, recent life events, future life events, anxiety, depression, coronary prone behavior, and expression of anger. Subjects (n = 424) were randomly selected from patients attending participating Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial sites and completed baseline psychosocial questionnaires. One year survival data were obtained from 369 patients (87%), of whom 112 (30.4%) owned pets and 20 (5.4%) died. Logistic regression indicates that high social support (p < 0.068) and owning a pet (p = 0.085) tend to predict survival independent of physiologic severity and demographic and other psychosocial factors. Dog owners (n = 87, 1 died) are significantly less likely to die within 1 year than those who did not own dogs (n = 282, 19 died; p < 0.05); amount of social support is also an independent predictor of survival (p = 0.065). Both pet ownership and social support are significant predictors of survival, independent of the effects of the other psychosocial factors and physiologic status. These data confirm and extend previous findings relating pet ownership and social support to survival among patients with coronary artery disease.
Using an ethological framework of attachment developed by Bowlby and the social provisions of relationships delineated by Weiss, this article explores the ways in which family pets, in particular dogs and cats, provide certain components of attachment that contribute to emotional and social well-being throughout the life cycle. Pets may supply ongoing comfort and reduce feelings of loneliness during adversity or stressful transitions such as divorce or bereavement. They can also provide an opportunity to nurture others. In clinical practice it helps to be aware of how significant a pet may be to a client. Implications are identified for social policies that will protect and maintain this bond for particular populations, such as elderly people in nursing homes or retirement communities and individuals going through a life transition.
Pets and mental health
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How companion animals make us feel
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The handbook on animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice
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