'Hugging a dog reduces body pain' is better than a person
Sep 24, 2024
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A research team from the Department of Psychology at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, studied the relationship between the existence of dogs and human physical pain on 120 women, and recently published the results in the journal 『Acta psychologica』.
Dr. Heidi Maursberger, who led the research team, said the study focused on physical pain, not emotional pain", he explained.
The research team divided female participants into two groups and conducted the experiment by dividing them into ▶ companion dogs, being with acquaintances, being alone and ▶ companion dogs with unknown people, and being alone.
The physical pain was done through a cold compressor experiment.
The cold compressor experiment is a method of dipping your hands in ice water for as long as possible before it becomes unbearable.
Painful behavior was observed with tight chin, grimacing, and complaining attitude.
As a result, the pain decreased the most when you were with your pet dog.
It was followed by unfamiliar dogs, acquaintances, and strangers.
Participants with dogs had less pain, lower physiological pain response, greater pain tolerance, and less pain on the face, the research team explained.
"Puppets can help individuals cope with painful situations, especially if individuals who suffer are generally affectionate with dogs," he continued.
In response, the research team argued that dogs provide 'unconditional' and 'unevaluative' support to people who suffer, while humans have a strong tendency to 'social judgment'.
The team cited a previous study showing that stressed women prefer to be alone with their dogs when they experience pain because when they are with their dogs "social pretensions were not required and social expectations to be met were not required."," he added.
bellho@sportschosun.com
