The Impact of Pets on Human Health and Psychological                Well-Being

Herzog, Harold

doi:10.1177/0963721411415220

Cited by 430 publications

(304 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Although the vast majority believe that owning a dog is physically and psychologically beneficial (e.g., EL-ALAYLI et al 2006;HEADEY and GRABKA 2011;MCCONNELL et al 2011;WELLS 2009), others argue that this widely held belief is unsubstantiated (HERZOG 2011). ARCHER (2011) claims that keeping a pet is maladaptive; it is a byproduct of our adaptive social mechanisms that facilitate parental behavior.…”

Section: Dog Ownershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dog ownership increases attractiveness and attenuates perceptions of short-term mating strategy in cad-like men

Tifferet¹,

Kruger²,

Bar-Lev³

et al. 2013

Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

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Abstract. Men may have evolved to specialize in short-term "cad" and long-term "dad" mating strategies. We hypothesized that dog ownership would increase the long-term attractiveness of men, especially for cads, as this would signal nurturance and suggest tendencies for relationship commitment. Women read vignettes in an experiment with four conditions varying by male mating strategy described (dad vs. cad) and dog ownership (yes vs. no mention). Dog ownership and the dad vignette increased ratings of long-term attractiveness. Higher ratings of long-term attractiveness for cads were mediated by lower ratings of the character on tendencies for a short-term mating strategy.Keywords: costly signal, dogs, life history, male attractiveness, mate selection Male mating strategies DRAPER and BELSKY (1990) propose that men have evolved to specialize in either short-term "cad" or long-term "dad" mating strategies. Cads invest relatively more effort in mating and less in parenting compared to dads: they are highly competitive, socially dominant, and brave. Such traits make them attractive for short-term relationships cross-culturally (DRAPER and BELSKY 1990;KRUGER, FISHER and JOBLING 2003;LI and KENRICK 2006), perhaps because of their phenotypic and behavioral features signaling 'good genes' (GANGESTAD and SIMPSON 2000). Dads, on the other hand, invest more effort in parenting and less in mating. They attract women because they are compassionate, kind, romantic, and industrious, demonstrating the ability and willingness to invest in the relationship and potential children. These traits make them attractive for long-term relationships cross-culturally

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Section: Dog Ownershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dog ownership increases attractiveness and attenuates perceptions of short-term mating strategy in cad-like men

Tifferet¹,

Kruger²,

Bar-Lev³

et al. 2013

Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

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“…While evidence is not conclusive (Barker and Wolen 2008;Herzog 2011;Marino 2012), a number of research studies have documented reductions in stress indicators associated with human-animal interaction (HAI) after exposure to stressful stimuli in clinical and healthy populations, including adult pet owners (Allen et al 1991;Allen, Shykoff and Izzo 2001;Allen, Blascovich and Mendes 2002;Barker et al 2010), patients with cardiovascular disease (Friedmann et al 1980;Friedmann et al 1983;Allen, Shykoff and Izzo 2001;Cole et al 2007;Friedmann et al 2007), psychiatric patients (Barker and Dawson 1998;Barker, Pandurangi and Best 2003;Hoffmann et al 2009), and children in medical settings (Nagengast et al 1997;Hansen et al 1999;Havener et al 2001;Kaminski, Pellino and Wish 2002;Tsai, Friedmann and Thomas 2010). However, few studies have investigated the potential of HAI in relieving exam stress in college students.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Randomized Cross-over Exploratory Study of the Effect of Visiting Therapy Dogs on College Student Stress Before Final Exams

et al. 2016

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This exploratory study investigated the effect of visiting therapy dogs on college-student perceived and physiological stress the week prior to final exams. Students (n = 78) were randomly assigned to order of a therapydog intervention and attention-control condition, each 15 minutes long. Students completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a stress visual analog scale (SVAS), and provided saliva for measuring nerve growth factor (sNGF) and alpha amylase (sAA), prior to randomization. Saliva samples and SVAS were again collected after each condition. There was no effect of group order on demographics, PSS, or initial SVAS. Repeated measures models were used to analyze the complete data sets of 57 students. There were no significant differences in sAA between or within students completing the intervention and control conditions. sNGF was not subjected to analysis as most levels were undetectable. Significant differences in SVAS scores were found between the intervention and control condition, with large effect sizes. SVAS scores were lower following the intervention, regardless of condition order (intervention first, p = 0.0001, d = 1.87; intervention second, p = 0.0004, d = 1.63). No SVAS differences were found for the control condition. Based on these findings, campus events with visiting therapy dogs represent a costeffective, easily accessible activity to reduce perceived, but not physiological, stress for college students prior to final exams.Keywords: animal-assisted activities, exam stress, human-animal interaction, therapy dogs Offering students the opportunity to interact with friendly dogs during exam periods is gaining popularity at colleges and universities. Tufts University, Emory University Law School, Kent State University, Harvard Medical School, and Yale Law School are among those offering such opportunities (Turner 2012;Christensen 2013). While anecdotal accounts of the popularity and benefits of these dog visits are reported, no formal studies of efficacy have been published. Before advocating for dog visits to address exam-related stress in college students, we first need evidence that such activities are effective in reducing student stress.It is well known that exams are a major stressful experience for college students. Elevated exam stress has been associated with increased tension and depression (Gilbert et al. 1996), poorer academic performance (Ng, Koh and Chia 2003), and lower student expectations of their grades (Austin, Saklofske and Mastoras 2010). Exam stress has also been negatively associated with physiological indicators of stress and immune function. Preuß and colleagues (2010) used salivary cortisol to measure physiological stress responses in college students before and after taking written and oral exams. Cortisol concentrations were elevated before, but not after, written exams and were higher before and after oral exams. Based on their findings, the authors concluded that while written exams caused a mild anticipatory stress response, oral exams elicited a strong...

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“…Indeed, limitations and problems with studies in this field are not uncommon. A meta-analysis (Nimer & Lundahl, 2007) found only 29 of 250 studies were methodologically able to meet a minimal standard of rigor (Herzog, 2011). Studies are consistently limited by small sample sizes, inconsistent participant randomisation, selection bias and attrition rates (Kamioka et al, 2014;Morrison, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The feasibility of brief dog-assisted therapy on university students stress levels: the PAwS study

Wood

Ohlsen

Thompson

et al. 2017

Journal of Mental Health

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Background: Pet therapy is becoming increasingly popular and is used in a variety of ways from encouraging communication in older adults to improving wellbeing in those with serious mental illness. Increasingly Universities have been offering pet therapy to students in an effort to reduce stress. However, little evidence currently exists to support the effectiveness of reducing measurable stress levels after a standalone drop-in unstructured session. The University of Sheffield's Counselling Service works in partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind to give students access to calm, well-trained animals for informal group stress relief. Aims: To assess the feasibility of implementing and evaluating unstructured group interventions with a Guide Dog in training within the university student population. Methods: One hundred and thirty-one students who attended pet therapy at the University Counselling Service were recruited on a voluntary basis to take part in the research. Stress, measured on the state trait anxiety inventory, and blood pressure were taken before and after a 15-min intervention. Results: All measures showed a statistically significant reduction immediately after the intervention. Conclusion: Short interactions with a Guide Dog in training appear to reduce stress in University students. A controlled study is required to investigate further.

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The Impact of Pets on Human Health and Psychological Well-Being

Cited by 430 publications

References 19 publications

Dog ownership increases attractiveness and attenuates perceptions of short-term mating strategy in cad-like men

Dog ownership increases attractiveness and attenuates perceptions of short-term mating strategy in cad-like men

A Randomized Cross-over Exploratory Study of the Effect of Visiting Therapy Dogs on College Student Stress Before Final Exams

The feasibility of brief dog-assisted therapy on university students stress levels: the PAwS study

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