Assignment
11
PSY
100
1. Read the article
"Are
pets a healthy...." On p. 237 the author presents a summary of some
of the research on the topic. Some of the conclusions she describes are correlational
and some are causal. Write "causal" or "correlational" next
to these conclusions:
- ____________________
"Elderly people with pets appear to be buffered from the impact of stressful
life events."
- ____________________
"Among people with AIDS, pet owners have a lower incidence of depression
than do people without pets."
- ____________________
"Just talking to pets, compared with talking to people, is associated
with lower cardiovascular responses."
- ____________________
"The presence of pets reduces blood pressure of children reading aloud."
- ____________________
"Pet ownership also has been shown to be associated with lower lipid
levels and reduced levels of other cardiovascular risk factors."
2. Why do you think
the author includes a section in the article on "limitations"?
3. (Optional) Do
you have any anecdotal evidence of a pet reducing your stress, or that of a
friend or family member?