Human Attachment Theory
Human Attachment to Animals
Animal’s play and enormous part in a lot of people’s every day lives .We eat them, breed them, train them, and keep them as pets. Keeping animals as pets can cause many humans to become extremely attached. Just like humans becoming attached to other humans, many people say they feel the same about their pets. A theory has been developed called the attachment theory, which was first formed in relation with humans being attached to other humans. As time has passed a theorist, Zilcha-Mano, who has dug deeper in understanding this theory has extended on the fact that attachment not only relates to humans. The attachment theory has been broadened to say the same attachments humans have for each other can be extended farther yet to the attachment between humans and their pets. The concept also states that pets can develop the inability to form proper relationships if they become to attached, and can also affect humans very similarly (Zilcha-Mano). The clear attraction between humans and animals has been exhibited in magazines, television shows, movies, and books for years, grabbing peoples’ attention by giving the spectator something they are able to relate to: loving a pet. Mass numbers of people own pets, whether the reason is companionship or being loved without condition by another being, and some would even go as far as saying that humans can love animals just as much as they can love other humans. Through history, the natural human attachment to animals has been demonstrated through movies, television shows, and even a handful of commercial advertisements for products and businesses. Among these, dogs are one of the most common animals displayed in the different forms of media. There are an especially large number of movies starring canines as “mans best friend,” such as Old Yeller (1957), Beethoven (1992), Homeward Bound (1993), and My Dog Skip (2000). In each case the attachment between the owner and his or her pet is depicted in
Animal’s play and enormous part in a lot of people’s every day lives .We eat them, breed them, train them, and keep them as pets. Keeping animals as pets can cause many humans to become extremely attached. Just like humans becoming attached to other humans, many people say they feel the same about their pets. A theory has been developed called the attachment theory, which was first formed in relation with humans being attached to other humans. As time has passed a theorist, Zilcha-Mano, who has dug deeper in understanding this theory has extended on the fact that attachment not only relates to humans. The attachment theory has been broadened to say the same attachments humans have for each other can be extended farther yet to the attachment between humans and their pets. The concept also states that pets can develop the inability to form proper relationships if they become to attached, and can also affect humans very similarly (Zilcha-Mano). The clear attraction between humans and animals has been exhibited in magazines, television shows, movies, and books for years, grabbing peoples’ attention by giving the spectator something they are able to relate to: loving a pet. Mass numbers of people own pets, whether the reason is companionship or being loved without condition by another being, and some would even go as far as saying that humans can love animals just as much as they can love other humans. Through history, the natural human attachment to animals has been demonstrated through movies, television shows, and even a handful of commercial advertisements for products and businesses. Among these, dogs are one of the most common animals displayed in the different forms of media. There are an especially large number of movies starring canines as “mans best friend,” such as Old Yeller (1957), Beethoven (1992), Homeward Bound (1993), and My Dog Skip (2000). In each case the attachment between the owner and his or her pet is depicted in
Cited: Zilcha-Mano, S. “An Attachment Perspective on Human-Pet Relationships: Conceptualization and Assessment of Pet Attachment Orientations. Journal of Research in Personality. 2011. Web.