Interaction with Caged Budgerigars (Melopsittacus Undulatus) Enhances Human Affect

ABSTRACT

Research interest in the benefits of human–animal interaction (HAI) has grown within the scientific community. One current limitation in the HAI literature however, is that the majority of research focuses on the beneficial effects of dogs and cats, paying less attention to other species commonly kept as pets, such as birds. In the present study, 88 participants were asked to read aloud to a live bird, a toy bird with sound and motion, a toy bird without sound and motion, or an empty cage (n = 22 for each group). Affect scores, heart rate and blood pressure were taken before and after the session and scores from a questionnaire regarding pet ownership and bird experience were collected. Results indicated that interactions with a live bird maintain positive affect while significantly decreasing negative affect. Overall, this study demonstrated a clear affective benefit to interactions with birds, but more research is warranted onto the effects of interaction with under-studied pet animals beyond dogs and cats.

KEYWORDS:

• Affect
• birds
• blood pressure
• budgerigars
• heart rate
• human–animal interaction
• PANAS

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Partial funding for this project was provided by the Saint Joseph's University Chapter of Sigma Xi student research grant to the first author.