The purpose of the present study was to provide validation for Levinson's theory about pets and human personality development. Levinson (1978) proposed that the personality development of individuals who have pets to which they are attached differs from that of those who do not have pets and that pets play an important role in facilitating the development of certain adaptive personality traits. In the present study, specific areas that were addressed included differences in certain personality characteristics between life-long pet owners who were strongly attached to their pets, life-long pet owners who were less strongly attached to their pets, and people who had owned pets for only a limited period of time in their lives. One hundred undergraduates completed the Pet Attitude Scale, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Personality Research Form - Form E, the Hogan Empathy Scale, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation - Behavior (FIRO-B), and the IPAT Anxiety Scale Questionnaire. No significant differences were found between the three pet owner groups in levels of affiliation with other people, impulse control, nurturance, succorance, capacity for empathy, and anxiety levels. In addition, no significant differences were found between the three pet owner groups in interpersonal behavior characteristics or self-esteem. Concurrent validity was shown between membership in the different pet owner groups and positive attitudes toward pets as measured by the Pet Attitude Scale. As predicted, the most attached life-long pet owners reported more positive attitudes toward pets than the least attached life-long pet owners or the limited-time pet owners.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc331430 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Esparza, Jana Scoville |
| Contributors | Burke, Angela J., Peek, Leon A., Butler, Joel R., Delaney, Gloria |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | iv, 94 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Esparza, Jana Scoville, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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