Lecture 10: Human r/s w Household Plants & Animals
Domesticated nature
Humans began domesticating animals
Animals provide humans
Shepherding bovine animals 5-12 thousand yrs ago
features of domesticates
Agriculture
Dogs
humans became major agriculturalists approx 10,000yrs ago
companionship
serve as resources and work effort
an entity that attends to us
pleasurable and emotional experience
Economic gains and employment
an entity that relies on us & requires our attention
a desire to be wanted
Entertainment and recreation
can live without stress around humans
shape them to the point where they depend on humans & our environment to become domesticated
Can restrain aggressiveness
readily submit to dominance, easy to tame
began with wolves living on the periphery of human settlement
gradually humans and wolves overlapped
begun domestication approx 14,000yrs ago
humans began genetically modifying wolves through artificial selection
Now got hundreds of breeds of dogs
Pets
r/s with pets
Elements of attachment to pets
Origins
Functionless pet-keeping began growing with industrial age
Pet-keeping may be result of a "tending instinct" (tend & befriend)
the use & care of some animals in traditional societies
hence may allow us to connect to motivations underlying past r/s with functional domesticates
Began with functional domestication
Emotive component
invokes feelings of human-nature reciprocity
way of giving back to the nature we were extracting resources from
Play with animals
Speech
Human-animal r/s are unique
There's also strong anthropomorphism
unlike r/s with objects or other humans
generally predictable sequences of bhvr (eg. fetch, chasing objects)
links into our own play emotional system
feeling of understanding animals' actions
easy to identify with the behaviour
sometimes seems our pets understand us
bi-directional communication primarily emotive than linguistic
many ppl believe their dogs understand what they say
use short utterances/commands to communciate & control pets
emotional communication
"No" with an affectionate/threatening tone elicits diff responses
more often we understand our pets' emotional states eg. fear, playfulness, anger
BUT we focus on eyes & face even though cats & dogs signal parts of their emotional states with ears, body posture and tail
Pets treated similarly to children
sense of security
desire to be together
sense of compatibility
Mental representation of others & the r/s
emotional bond
more tolerant of behaviour
we make decisions for their own well-being
Restrict movement & behaviour
for some, pets replace/satiates child-rearing needs and desires
Care-giver and guardian
control defecation/urination
control sexuality (?)
may confine to a space
accept dependence
more accepting of messing & breaking things
excrement tolerated
feeding & healthcare
+ve & -ve of pets
Conservation issues
Social effects
+ve health effects
Physiological benefits
Psychological benefits
Reduce blood pressure response to stress
Ppl with dogs walk more->benefit from exercise
cardiovascular patients with pets->higher survival rate
buffer stress
decrease loneliness
increase happiness
better coping with problems
reduce stress
use of therapy pets
others may judge ppl based on bhvr and breed of pets
sex differences are minimal
Pets can increase social interaction
may improve social interaction in developing children, might improve conditions eg. Autism & ADHD
ppl walking dogs approached more than others->more likely to talk to others
research quite divided on whether concern for an animal promotes ecological concern
conservation requires systematic thinking of how the world functions, not just that cute animals need our care & guardianship
Care of individual animals can conflict with appropriate management of other ecological levels
+ve & -ve
commonalities of pet owner values
dislike hunting
ppl collect wild animals as pets
many affluent ppl keep rare wild-caught animals
eg. Orang utan pet trade
pet trade->-ve effect on wild populations
want closer interaction with wildlife
like common urban wildlife
perceive animals have similar cognitive lives and intrinsic value
->extends humanness onto animals
Ppl & plants
effects of indoor plants
Gardening
ppl have emotional attachment to large trees
window views of nature
sign of strength and stability
Eg. "The tree that owns itself"
enjoy environments with trees
Affects cognition & emotion
plants impact health
Remove unwanted air particles
some plants are poisonous
gauge mood of undergraduates exposed to plants
students reported being
Shibata & Suzuki study
Less distracted
Improved task performance
calmer & more tranquil
impacts
effects
-ve on the environment
+ve
uses topsoil
invasion of exotic species eg. Purple Loosestrife introduced to US
fertiliser run-off
conversion of ecosystems
Beneficial effects on mood & well-being
Benign & safe ecosystem
Ppl find landscaped habitats very attractive
Fosters community efforts (eg. community gardening)
instills care for & connection to natural processes
Identity
Ownership
Escape
Place to retreat to
Restorative effect
Expression of self
confidence building
sense of worth
Students with window view perform better
increase concentration & self-discipline
workers with window view more satisfied
restorative effect on cognitive overload
Gall bladder study->speed up recovery
Makes ppl happier with their surroundings & the community