Specialists from the Higher School of Economics at the National Research University (NRU) in Moscow have for the first time established a connection between attachment to pets and a higher motivation to help others.
The authors point out that the impact of love for a pet on a person's relationship with other people and the surrounding world is still not sufficiently studied.
“It turned out that the greater the joy of interacting with the pet, the greater the desire [pet lovers] were to help people. However, love of animals is not always associated with care for nature," the scientists report, specifying that attachment to a pet does not always develop into "a broad love of nature and the world in general."
Love of animals is also connected with the desire to avoid conflicts. In the study conducted by the university, 284 people participated, and the average age of the respondents was 25 years.
"According to the researchers, the fact that attachment to pets affects a person's ability to empathize with other people justifies the use of educational and educational practices related to animal care," the university's press service explains.
The results of the study were published in the journal Social Psychology and Society. The authors intend to conduct a cross-cultural study together with colleagues from India, Italy and Poland to compare the results obtained. | BGNES
