Hank Davis (1993) The Inevitable Bond
. Psycoloquy: 4(12) Human Animal Bond (1)
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Psycoloquy 4(12): The Inevitable Bond
THE INEVITABLE BOND
[Hank Davis & Dianne Balfour (eds.) (1992) 24 Chapters, 399 pgs; Cambridge University Press]
Precis of Davies on Human-Animal-Bond
Hank Davis
Department of Psychology
University of Guelph
Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
psyhank@vm.uoguelph.ca
Abstract
Animals are widely used as research subjects, yet it is
only recently that we have acknowledged the bond that frequently
develops between subject and researcher. An increasing body of
evidence suggests that it may result in profound behavioral and
physiological changes in the animal subject in turn having marked
effects on what is being studied. It may simply not be possible to
avoid aversive encounters in certain species. This being the case,
"resting" metabolic baselines may be seen in a new light as being
elevated from truly normal levels or behavioral observations may
include an inordinate number of undiagnosed defensive reactions.
Over the course of 24 chapters, THE INEVITABLE BOND sends a clear
message: To ignore the existence of experimenter effects on animals
or to minimize the bond that created them reflects considerable
scientific myopia. It reveals insensitivity to the complexity of
the animal subject and may distort our understanding of the very
processes we intend to study.
Keywords
Human-animal bond, interactions, relationships,
scientist-animal interactions, rodent-human interactions, animal
psychology, behavioral research, attachment, human-nonhuman
relationships, dog-human interaction, behavioral arousal, rhesus
monkeys, pongid pedagogy, ape cognition, automated avoidance,
pseudohabitutation.
References