2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF COMPANION ANIMAL DOGS ON OFFICE WORKER TO RELIEVE JOB STRESS
| Project/Area Number |
15500493
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Applied health science
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| Research Institution | TEIKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY |
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Principal Investigator |
OGAWA Iiji TEIKYO UNIV.OF SCI., TECH, ASSOCIATE PROF., 理工学部, 助教授 (50233408)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | JOB STRESS / PET-ASSISTED / HEART RATE R-R INTERVALS / EEG / POMS / DATA INPUT TASK / ADDITION TASK / CREATIVE TASK |
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| Research Abstract |
This study was undertaken to assess the effect of companion animal dogs on office workers' job stress. One experiment was carried out in a simulated office space and the other in an actual working environment.
(1)Experiment I was undertaken to assess differences on the performance of a simple data input task, an addition task, and a creative task when break periods with a friendly companion animal, a robotic pet, and a magazine were given. Whether jot stress could be reduced and human performance improved by taking each of the above mentioned break periods was examined in terms of human performance, physiological effects (heart rates, brain activity), POMS (Profile of Mood States) questionnaire, and human behaviors. The experiments were carried out in a simulated office. The recreational activities between the tasks included playing with a companion animal, playing with the robotic pet AIBO, and browsing through magazines. There were three performance tasks. Ten (10) minutes were given
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to complete each task. The same performance task was repeated three times. A break period of 5 minutes was given between the tasks. Using the international 10/20 methods, EEGs (Electroencephalograms) were measured with the ear lobe as a reference. Also, during each performance, their heart rates (R-R intervals) were measured to monitor their levels of concentration during the task. Six (6) male and six (6) female subjects were selected for the experiments. The results varied with the task ; however, having the companion animal dog can be considered beneficial overall.
(2)Experiment II was carried out in an actual office in order to assess whether workers' stress could be relieved by introducing a companion animal dog into a lunch break. The short version of POMS questionnaire was used to measure each subject's stress level and was filled out four (4) times ; i.e., the beginning of work, before and after the lunch break, and at the end of work. Four (4) male and four (4) female workers participated in the experiment. Each worker was asked to participate in the experiment for at least three (3) days. It was found that when they had the companion animal dog during the lunch break, their feeling of "vigor," which had fallen from the beginning of their morning activity, increased beyond the level recorded before the start of work and their "confusion" decreased.
From the results of both experiments, it can be concluded that having a companion animal dog is beneficial for some office workers ; however, how these animals can be accommodated in the work place, given the fact that some workers have an unfavorable attitude towards them, is still in question. Less
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