The Effects Of Dogs On PeopleS Happiness Levels

1289 Words6 Pages
Effects of Dogs 1 The Effects of Dogs on People’s Happiness Levels (start new page) Effects of Dogs 2 Abstract To investigate whether pets increase people’s level of happiness, 40 participants between the ages of 15 to 20 years who did not own pets were asked to complete a “happiness survey.” They were then each given a puppy to keep for one week. At the end of one week, they were again asked to complete a “happiness survey.” The results of the experiment showed that participants’ happiness ratings were higher when they had the puppy, compared to before they had the puppy. The results suggest that pets do indeed make people feel happier. (start new page) Effects of Dogs 3 The Effects of Dogs on People’s Happiness Levels “Dogs are man’s best friend.” This saying illustrates just how important pets are in human society. Most people own pets because they provide companionship and because they are thought to bring happiness and joy to a home. Millions of dollars are spent on keeping household pets. The question the present study hopes to answer is whether pets really do make people happier and whether this can be observed in a scientific study. The theory of Pet Attachment which argues that pets help fulfill the needs of humans by providing them with companionship (Rush, 1994). He argued that animals were more agreeable and easier to get along with than human companions who had a tendency to disagree and conflict with other humans. This suggests that pets would make people happier by keeping them company. Smith & Young (1998) interviewed people in the U.S. who owned cats and people who did not own any pets. The results of their study showed lower levels of stress for cat owners compared to people who did not own pets. This indicated that there was a strong connection between owning pets and a person’s emotional state.

More about The Effects Of Dogs On PeopleS Happiness Levels

Open Document