Animals and Human Behavior

How do animals affect human behavior? What is it about animals that can change the personality of a human being? How do the feelings of animals correspond to the feelings of humans? Why are they so special to us? Are their feelings the same as ours?

Animals have always been kept as pets for thousands of years, but why do we adore them so much? What is the relationship between humans and animals? Pets have a history of supporting the mental health of humans since at least 1961. In the case of Dr. Boris Levinson, he made an “accidental discovery” involving his dog, Jingles, while interacting with a withdrawn and mentally disabled little boy. Levinson left Jingles momentarily alone with the boy and found the young boy playing with the dog when he returned.

With Jingles and his young patients, this motivated Levinson to do more research. He learned that a dog’s presence had a calming effect on disabled young patients during therapy sessions. In reference to Jingles’ positive effects on mentally handicapped children in a therapeutic setting, Levinson later used the term “pet therapy.” The term “pet therapy” marked the beginning of the interest of researchers and practitioners in the psychological effects of human and animal interaction and highlighted the crucial shift that treats animals as therapy partners rather than instruments to be taken advantage of. Future researchers would walk in Levinson’s footsteps.

In 1969, Dr. Levinson wrote: “It has by no means been the intention of this writer to indicate that pets are a panacea for all the ills of society or for the pain involved in growing up and growing old. However, pets are both an aid to and a sign of the rehumanization of society. They are an aid in that they help to fill needs which are not being met in other, perhaps better ways, because society makes inadequate provision for meeting them. In the meantime, animals can provide some relief, give much pleasure and remind us of our origins.” But Levinson’s legacy doesn’t stop with people who specialized in researching the link between humans and animals. Sigmund Freud also used dogs in his clinical research. During his pioneering sessions of psychoanalysis, he would use his chow-chow, Jo-Fi, to keep his patients calm while speaking with them and noticed that the effect was especially present with children.

Over 30 years ago, psychologist Alan Beck of Purdue University psychiatrist Aaron Katcher of the University of Pennsylvania published a study that measured what happens the human body when a person pets a dog. In the study, they found that the blood pressure went down, the heart rate slowed, breathing became more regular, and the muscle tension relaxed. This observation is clearly a sign of reduced stress. Therefore, the researchers had discovered physical evidence of the mental health benefits of pets. Since then, there has been a gold rush in the research of animal-assisted therapy.

In the 1990s and beyond, teenage mental health programs have used equine-assisted therapy to address the problems of emotionally troubled teenagers through a human-horse connection. This happens through powerful and direct experiences of non-verbal communication, but these experiences can be felt at home with dogs and cats as well. Playing with animals releases serotonin and dopamine from the brain and into the nervous system. It reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. And it increases the release of oxytocin, a chemical that further reduces stress in the body. In addition, the sensory act of petting an animal itself reduces blood pressure. Pets can also help people to build relationships with other people. Dogs in particular are highly sensitive to the moods and emotions of their owners. And cats are always happy to be around people. So then why do we think of animals as being any different from us? Why do we somehow think that we are superior to them? Perhaps the reason is because we have become so self-centered about ourselves. We need to recognize that the qualities of humans that we take for granted can also be found in all forms of life.