Tuesday, October 2, 2012

A kinder, gentler animal study (now more kawaii)

I'm rather fond of looking at puppy pictures. Especially if you replace "fond of" with "addicted to". Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw the CBS headline "Baby animal pictures may boost focus at work"!  The article states that "researchers at Hiroshima University wanted to find out whether looking at a cute object does more than produce temporary positive feelings and if it could actually influence a person's behavior." Boy am I glad they asked that question! I especially like it when there is science to justify my habits.

(Puppy Elka. Because why not? Boost your focus today!)

Researchers reported: "The present study shows that perceiving cuteness not only improves fine motor skills but also increases perceptual carefulness...This study provides further evidence that perceiving cuteness exerts immediate effects on cognition and behavior in a wider context than that related to caregiving or social interaction." So, yet another way in which our dogs and cats (and gratuitous puppy and kitten pictures on the Internet) improve our cognitive function, physical function, and quality of life.

(look at how much bigger the pillow was than her!)

If you're interested, the research is on PLOS One, which I had never heard of until right this second. Apparently it's a peer reviewed, open access journal. Free science for everybody!




24 comments:

  1. Great reasons to indulge myself more! ;-) Thanks!

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  2. Agree another good reason to keep looking at all those cute pictures. Mom heard about this on the news
    Benny & Lily

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    1. It's such a neat study! I'm really glad that they did it ;)

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  3. Elka looks great - love those fabulous ears!!!

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    1. Those pictures are from back when we first stopped posting her ears. It seemed like no small miracle that they stood!

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  4. Now I don't feel so nerdy having a pic of Blueberry as my desktop wallpaper!

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    1. Nope, not nerdy at all! Elka was my phone background for a long time, until my fiance found my phone laying around one day and put himself on there. I don't have the heart to change it!

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  5. One of my peoples, The One Called Donna, loves looking at dog pictures on the Interwebs...I wonder if it makes her more productive at work?

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  6. I love it when there is justification for me wasting my time.

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    1. I know, right? I'm very good at justifications. Rationalizations, too.

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  7. Elka is so cute. Have my puppy pic's everywhere. Makes me feel good. I thought there was something to it.

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    1. Thanks...Something that feels so good must be right!

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  8. OMG can we have Elka puppy pictures every day? I just melted into a puddle of awwwwww.

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    1. Hah, I wish! I unfortunately took so few of them. The camera that I had at the time mysteriously ATE batteries, and my cell phone left something to be desired. That, and I didn't have the foresight to start this blog THEN :(

      I do love looking at the "when she was tiny" pictures!

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  9. Well there you go an excuse for my blog reading at work...lol. Cute pictures.

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  10. Awww love puppy pics! I vote more. XD

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    1. I have to ration them! There are only so many ;)

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  11. I could sit and look at puppy pictures all day (heck, sometimes I do!) It doesn't help my productivity much though....:-)

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  12. I love your blog! It's always nice to see other people's posts about dogs and I know I'm not the only crazy about my dog :) I'll enjoy reading your blog!

    Please also check mine if you can:

    http://tonnomura.blogspot.com/

    I also blog about my little crazy boy! :D

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    1. Definitely going to check out your blog, thanks for reading! I've really come to grips with the fact that I'm a nut for my dog. It's better to embrace it than fight it!

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