How Japanese companion dog and cat owners' degree of attachment relates to the attribution of emotions to their animals.

ABSTRACT: Recently, studies in the United States and European countries have shown that the degree of attachment is associated with the attribution of emotions to companion animals. These studies imply that investigating the degree of attachment to companion animals is a good way for researchers to explore animal emotions and then improve animal welfare. Although a promising area of study, in Japan, no empirical studies have examined the correlation between the degree of attachment and the attribution of emotions to companion animals. In this research, we aimed to assess companion animal owners' attribution of six primary (anger, joy, sadness, disgust, fear and surprise) and four secondary (shame, jealousy, disappointment and compassion) emotions to their dogs and cats, as well as how the degree of

SUBMITTER: Su B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5755896 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature