The modus of the attitude towards the psychological problematic of Human‑Animal Interaction as a marker of personal maturity Cover Image

Модус отношения к проблематике психологии межвидового взаимодействия человека и домашних животных как индикатор личностной зрелости
The modus of the attitude towards the psychological problematic of Human‑Animal Interaction as a marker of personal maturity

Author(s): Galina Shookova
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Logic, Cognitive linguistics, Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Psychology, Personality Psychology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: human‑animal interaction; pet interaction; subjectification; personality traits

Summary/Abstract: Today the psychology of human‑animal interaction is a rapidly developing field of psychological research in western countries. In Russia there are some isolated works on psychological aspects of interspecies communication between humans and animals but these have not formed a separate research field so far. In order to analyse the causes of the ‘pet relationships’ phenomenon at the levels of needs and personality spheres, we conducted a comparative study of pet owners (n=44) and people who have no pets (n=39). The attached pet owners demonstrated a need for subjectification of the animal and orientation to a definite type of communication. Presentation of the results of this study to the Russian psychological community revealed the problem of acute and active polarization of the scholars regarding the assessment modus of relevance and importance of human–animal studies. Such a reaction could be determined by the level of an individual’s emotional and personal maturity rather than by theoretical or methodological issues.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 97-105
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Russian