People In India May Be More Attached To Companion Animals Than Those In The U.S.
There are many theories that help explain the attachment humans feel for other beings. For example, in the early 90s, psychologists theorized that attachment can be fulfilled by qualities such as closeness, comfort, security, and angst from separation.
These traits are found not only in human parent-child bonds, but also between people and their companion animals, such as cats and dogs. Past literature explains that this may be due to neoteny, or the continued juvenile traits that last throughout a companion animal’s adulthood. This promotes anthropomorphism — the mapping of human traits onto other animals.
“Pet parenting” is described as the financial, emotional, or temporal investment in one’s companion animal. It’s been recognized that while fertility rates are dropping in the U.S. and other countries, there is a significant increase in spending on our non-human companions. For example, U.S. adults spent $103.6 billion in 2020 — more than triple the amount spent twenty years prior. This economic boom in the companion animal industry has also occurred in India. However, most research in India is only focused on dogs as being free-ranging, invasive, or carriers of disease, and there is a lack of understanding about the human-animal bond within India’s urban culture. This study from 2021 set out to investigate the topic further.
The purpose of the study was to look at how Indians view and treat their companion animals compared to people from the United States, with the aim of discovering how culture plays a role in any differences found. The researchers examined the connection between increased companion animal parenting with populations experiencing increased urbanization, decreased human fertility rates, and evidence of a second demographic transition (SDT), or a shift towards “flexible life-course orientations” that include increased education and economic freedom for women, and less focus on reproduction. Past research indicates that this is a common Western phenomenon. However, in Kolkata, a large urban city in India, there is a decrease in fertility rates despite the continued emphasis on traditional family values. Kolkata bucks the trend seen in other countries.
The researchers designed an anonymous online survey for people living in the U.S. and India. Participants were asked about their demographics, use of language describing their companion animal (ie. “pet” or “kid”), and animal care practices, such as feeding and training. Responses were calculated using two scales- one of which measured attachment and the other care behaviors.
There were 1,417 survey participants— U.S. adults making up more than double those from India. Results showed that in many ways, people from both countries shared similar attitudes and behaviors when it came to their cats and dogs. For example, both engaged in the same amount of training and play behaviors. There was, however, a difference in the language used to describe their companions, or themselves in relation to their companions. For example, both groups referred to themselves as a parent or mom/dad when talking with close friends about their animals. But U.S. participants also used the term “owner,” whereas Indian participants used the term “friend.” U.S. adults also used “animal” or “kid” when referring to their companion, whereas Indians referred to them as “kid” and “family member” more often. When talking with strangers, Indians used the same terminology, while U.S. adults would code-switch to terms like “owner” and “animal” more often.
Overall, the researchers found that Indian participants were more attached to their animals than U.S. adults. They propose that the disparities between the two may lie in the cultural norms that stem from philosophical differences. In Indian traditional thought, animals are worshiped and seen as a counterpart to keeping harmony within the environment. This contrasts with Western resistance to anthropomorphism and a tendency to observe animals with more detachment. Religious differences may also explain the survey findings. Hinduism, the predominant religion in India, emphasizes the interconnectedness of all beings, whereas Christianity sees living beings in a hierarchy with humans above all others. Therefore, the differing trend in Kolkata may be due to a viewpoint that companion animals are part of the family unit that supports their traditional value system.
The authors of this study admit that it was biased towards participants being mostly educated, heterosexual women. Another bias was towards dogs within the survey questions, as opposed to cats or other species. They also discussed how using the word “pet” could be problematic in a cross-cultural context.
This study and future research on companion animal parenting trends may help address parents’ interests and needs beyond the human family unit, such as when employers offer “pawternity” leave and companion insurance coverage. Gaining a better understanding of public attitudes towards companion animals is an important development for advocates in India, where animal advocacy is growing by leaps and bounds.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2021.1996026