Pets as social facilitators.
Pets not only interact directly with people but, through their presence alone, may also modify the social behavior between two or more people. Examples of this latter effect are offered from the literature on pet-facilitated therapy, pets and children, and pets in the community. An attempt is made to develop a theoretical framework to explain this phenomenon.
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002415:Cats; D002648:Child; D010856:Columbidae; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011582:Psychological Theory; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D012932:Social Facilitation; D013812:Therapeutics