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. 2022 Feb 27;12(5):597.
doi: 10.3390/ani12050597.

Personalized Strategy for Animal-Assisted Therapy for Individuals Based on the Emotions Induced by the Images of Different Animal Species and Breeds

Jovita Luksaite  1 , Egle Zokaityte  1 , Vytaute Starkute  1 , Sonata Sidlauskiene  1 , Gintare Zokaityte  1 , Elena Bartkiene  1
Affiliations

Personalized Strategy for Animal-Assisted Therapy for Individuals Based on the Emotions Induced by the Images of Different Animal Species and Breeds

Jovita Luksaite et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to apply the FaceReader technique to select the animal species and breed for a personalized AAT based on the emotions ('neutral', 'happy', 'sad', 'angry', 'surprised', 'scared', 'disgusted', and 'contempt') induced in the persons (18-64 years old) by the images of different animal species and breeds. To implement the aim, the images of different animal species (Canis familiaris, Felis silvestriscatus, Sus scrofa domesticus, Ovis aries, and Equus caballus) and their breeds (dogs: Australian shepherd, pug, Labrador retriever, Doberman, miniature schnauzer, beagle, three mixed-breed types, Yorkshire terrier, Cane Corso, Samoyed, and Chihuahua; cats: British shorthair, Himalayan cat, three mixed breed types, Siamese cat, Sphynx, and Bengal cat; horses: Norwegian Fjord, Exmoor pony, Andalusian, and Friesian; pigs: Vietnamese pot-bellied and Kunekune; sheep: Herdwick sheep and Suffolk sheep) were used. This study showed that the animal species is a significant factor in the intensity of the emotions 'neutral' and 'happy' as well as valence, and the animal breed is a significant factor for the emotion 'happy' intensity and valence. The obtained results could be used as a personalized strategy for improving AAT and helping the individuals to select a pet.

Keywords: Likert scale; animal breed; animal species; animal-assisted therapy; induced emotions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Principal scheme of the experiment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average values of induced emotions for individuals by different animal species (a–c: the mean values in the columns of the same color marked with different letters are significantly different (p ≤ 0.05)).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of the participants with the maximum valence induced by different animal species.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of participants with the maximum emotion ‘happy’ induced by different animal species and breeds (dogs: 1.1. Australian shepherd, 1.2. pug, 1.3. Labrador retriever, 1.4. Doberman, 1.5. miniature schnauzer, 1.6. beagle, 1.7. mixed breed, 1.8. Yorkshire terrier, 1.9. mixed breed, 1.10. mixed breed, 1.11. Cane Corso, 1.12. Samoyed, and 1.13. Chihuahua; cats: 2.1. mixed breed, 2.2. British shorthair, 2.3. Himalayan cat, 2.4. mixed breed, 2.5. mixed breed, 2.6. Siamese cat, 2.7. Sphynx, and 2.8. Bengal cat; horses: 3.1. Norwegian Fjord, 3.2. Exmoor pony, 3.3. Andalusian, and 3.4. Friesian; pigs: 4.1. Vietnamese pot-bellied and 4.2. Kunekune; sheep: 5.1. Herdwick sheep and 5.2. Suffolk sheep).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Number of the participants with the maximum valence induced by different animal species and breeds (dogs: 1.1. Australian shepherd, 1.2. pug, 1.3. Labrador retriever, 1.4. Doberman, 1.5. miniature schnauzer, 1.6. beagle, 1.7. mixed breed, 1.8. Yorkshire terrier, 1.9. mixed breed, 1.10. mixed breed, 1.11. Cane Corso, 1.12. Samoyed, and 1.13. Chihuahua; cats: 2.1. mixed breed, 2.2. British shorthair, 2.3. Himalayan cat, 2.4. mixed breed, 2.5. mixed breed, 2.6. Siamese cat, 2.7. Sphynx, and 2.8. Bengal cat; horses: 3.1. Norwegian Fjord, 3.2. Exmoor pony, 3.3. Andalusian, and 3.4. Friesian; pigs: 4.1. Vietnamese pot-bellied and 4.2. Kunekune; sheep: 5.1. Herdwick sheep and 5.2. Suffolk sheep).
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