Hi Some cautionary notes about calling this a myth?
1. Although not clear from the article, presumably much of the research is nonexperimental in nature. One should be cautious about causal conclusions whether results are positive (benefits of pets) or negative (no benefits of pets). Not hard to imagine, for example, that people who acquire pets might be less well off if they had not done so, because of some selection bias. 2. As one comment noted, randomly assigning pets to some people is hardly the prototypical way that pets come into people's lives, raising questions about the generalizability of the results to more natural acquisition of pets. Random assignment, however, would be more characteristic of "therapeutic" use of pets. 3. A very large percentage of people (at least in USA) appear to have pets of one kind or another ... see http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership.asp What motivates this behavior and the cost if not some benefit? Although the benefits need not be limited to physical well-being (i.e., health), of course. 4. If the people who commented on the article are representative of these many pet-owners, we certainly have a striking example of contrast between science-based conclusions and anecdotal evidence. Virtually all comments espoused the benefits of pets for mental and physical well-being. 5. How many other "popular" human activities would stand up to rigorous scientific scrutiny? getting married? having children? ... Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [email protected] >>> <[email protected]> 04-Jan-11 10:35:23 PM >>> Not so much. One more for the annals of psychological myth. See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/opinion/04herzog.html And if you're observant, you'll notice a reference to the work of a well-known TIPster, although regrettably unnamed in the article. Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca --------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=7665 or send a blank email to leave-7665-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=7669 or send a blank email to leave-7669-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
