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EAST LANSING, Mich. — The vast majority of dog and cat owners will say their pets enrich their lives in countless ways and bring immeasurable levels of extra happiness, but researchers from Michigan State University suggest that most pet owners may just be telling themselves what they want to hear. Their new study found that despite owners claiming pets improve their lives, researchers did not see a reliable association between pet ownership and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic was a stressful time for everyone, to put it lightly. Even the most laid-back among us found themselves overwhelmed by the lockdowns and social distancing guidelines that dominated 2020. So, the research team at MSU theorized that the pandemic represented an ideal time to study just how much comfort and happiness pets really provide to their families.
In all, the study authors assessed a total of 767 people on three separate occasions in May 2020. The research team opted to adopt a mixed-method approach that allowed them to simultaneously assess several indicators of well-being, all while also asking participants to reflect on the role of pets from their point of view in an open-ended manner. Generally, pet owners predictably reported their pets made them happy. More specifically, they said their pets helped them feel more positive emotions and provided affection and companionship.
On the other hand, the participants also articulated the dark side of pet ownership, such as worries related to their pet’s well-being or having their pets interfere with working remotely.
Crucially, however, when study authors actually compared the happiness of pet owners to levels seen among non-pet owners, the datasets showed no difference in the well-being of pet owners and non-pet owners over time. The research team explains it also didn’t matter what type of pet people owned, how many they cared for, or how close a pet was to their person. Researchers also did not deem the personalities of the owners to be a factor either.
“People say that pets make them happy, but when we actually measure happiness, that doesn’t appear to be the case,” says William Chopik, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Psychology and co-author of the study, in a university release. “People see friends as lonely or wanting companionship, and they recommend getting a pet. But it’s unlikely that it’ll be as transformative as people think.”
Study authors also explored several theories possibly explaining why there was no difference seen between the well-being of pet owners and non-pet owners. One of these hypotheses was that non-pet owners fill their lives with other activities and interests that make them just as happy as a pet would.
“Staking all of your hope on a pet making you feel better is probably unfair and is maybe costly given other things you could do in your life that could improve your happiness,” Prof. Chopik concludes.
The study is published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
My dog was an emotional life line when my daughter died. He knew something was wrong and he was a great comfort & companion????
This is quite literally the stupidest thing I have ever read. If you scrounge around long enough, you can find a study to support any line of thinking, including this lunacy, and you can eventually find a reporter and internet site who will hock it in search of the almighty “click”. Congratulations! You’re “that person”! If a study supports this line of thinking, then the study is obviously flawed. Have some common sense!
Animals over humans anyway
Article is bullshit written by a asshole!
I bonded closely with my cat during Covid. I discovered that if I promptly did everything that he wanted and did it with respect and admiration, he would treat me as an equal. It was truly an inspirational moment in my life.
But you’re not an equal…you’re the cat’s owner and caretaker. That is my problem with cats..they think they run the place.
The study does not support the view that pets don’t bring happiness and don’t improve well-being. Rather, it suggests that for those people who don’t have pets, they can be happy and well-being too by some other means. Fine, that is a good for those non-pet people.
I am not far out on a limb when I say that pet owners strongly believe that pets make them happy and improve well-being (see the comments for example). There is a very important medical principle at work here — the placebo effect is an effect. If pet owners strongly believe pets make them happy, even if it could be proven that pets don’t cause happiness, then in fact pet ownership is making pet owners happy because they believe it. (To be clear, I don’t think this study has proven that pets don’t cause happiness in pet owners, or that any study will do that.)
If you have the suspicion that StudyFinds is a peddler of junk science… you are correct. The fact that a study is published in a scientific journal does not imply that the study is worth a damn. A good rule of thumb: the number of words in a journal’s name is inversely proportional to its esteem in the academic world. The journal “Science” is more grounded and has a higher probability of publishing good, solid science than “Social Science and Psychology in the Family and Broader Society.” First-mover advantage is as real in academia as it is in business.
I don’t want to try to undermine the scientific establishment in a broader sense since scientism is still the most broadly-successful apparatus for the development of technology in our species’ history, but nor in saying so do I want to deify the institution, which has become overrun with its own problems. Social sciences are not quantum mechanics. You do not need an advanced degree to read the study and, if you’re careful, identify potential problems with the methodology. It’s not black magic. If you think a given study is BS, feel free to read it and come to your own conclusion.
This study is absurd. Obviously people without pets and that down own them will hav find happiness elsewhere since most people that find happiness through a pet already have a pet and are happier in general as a result. 66% of US households have pets. Unless you can study people prior to pet ownership and after which is impossible to do for obvious reasons. Who wasted money on this study and who wastes time writing about a non study lol
I could tell from the start this info is garbage…disagree 100% There must not have been much else to “study” at the time.
I have a doctorate in psychology. That’s total nonsense, but great click bait.
This study was likely to have come up with a “finding” of lack of joy or stress, misery among pet ownership which is actually the result of these pet owners living in Michigan, where the study was conducted. If they interviewed pet owners in a state that had wasn’t covered in 18 feet of snow half the year or poisoning their population with toxic water, you would find humans in different geographic regions leaping with glee while throwing the squeaky toy for their fur friends. This is tragically, a terribly misleading article and thankfully, everyone actually knows that all Dogs, and some cats are the greatest things on planet earth. Dr. Chopkin seems like they could use a trip to the ol SPCA for some solid friendship.
This study is bullshit
Gotta accept the work caring for your pet, then it’s rewarding. Maybe the subjects were so stressed during covid they couldn’t cope.
Well if this study was done in Michigan pet owners, who were prohibited by Gretchen Whitmer from leaving their houses during the pandemic, then maybe they were worried about their pets pooping in their house. The study did not address how many were first time pet owners, adopting because they were staying home, and how a new critter may have been stressful, or how many surrendered their pet after they had to go back to work, or worried about surrendering their pet—-or transferred their anxiety and fears about a headcold our government turned into something worse to get Joe Biden elected here. I don’t think there was enough here to establish causality. My 2c.
Biden? Head cold? Another totally unhinged response that shows people can take a study and use the results to underline their own stupidity. Dear, your ignorance is showing.
dogs do improve a person’s well-being; just ask dog owners. cats are targets anyway.
Yes they do! Study is crap just like the non humans you tested.
Bull. Have a cat and a dog and value their lives much more than many humans in this world.
True ..pets are a replacement therapy for normal social interaction with humans ..proof that singles have pets instead of nothing .pets don’t tell you are nuts
Amen to that!
Well, certainly not Cats.
Nope. My dog makes me happy. People are assholes and animals are not, much rather spend time with ANY animal than a human.
It took me a long time to see that I was provoking or inviting obnoxious behavior from people. So I changed my personality so that it presented more functional boundaries, and these days people are more respectful towards me and hence more likeable.
Also I learned that upon meeting new people, they pretty quick off the bat show me what they are about. So if I’m watchful, I can pronto sort potentially troublesome folks out of my circle of acquaintances based on their early signals. That includes sales- and waitpeople, trades folk, public servants and so forth.
That way I don’t have to go through life dismissing all my fellow featherless bipeds as loathsome boneheads to be avoided at all costs.
I dunno…the neighbor upstairs has two dogs, and one of them is a complete asshole to the others..blocking her food bowl, biting her so hard that there was blood. Another friend has two cats that fight all day long. Pets can be assholes too.
These people have been educated to the point of stupidity
I’m sure it’s just coincidence this absurd article appears at the same time globalists are pushing for the elimination of domestic and farm animals. What won’t soulless leftists sacrifice to the Earth God?!
LMAO. Spot on. I know my cats bring me endless laughter and joy. This article has a sinister intention I can’t point out
This reads like an Onion article without the obvious sarcasm
Please , enough of the political conspiracy nonsense. The people who are most active in saving animals tend be on the left , the people on the right tend to see only dollar signs and tend to be hearless to animals , especially farmer’s .
Wait..what? Globalists are pushing for the elimination of domestic animals? Ah…your ignorance is showing. Do you blame everything on the left?
My feelings exactly!
I don’t usually comment on an article before reading it so allow me to comment on the title “BS” this is a very big issue me… The best friend I ever had one who literally saved my life several times, and Loved his human unconditionally Semper fi Lived…
Max k9 ! Born on Easter died on Easter 15 years later ! And don’t tell me it gets easier with time either !!????????????❤️????
That’s a bunch of BS. My dogs and horses bring me joy everyday.
Amen to that
I say, Amen to that