Baumgardner 1

Payton Baumgardner
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 Honors
20 February 2015
Research Question: How does animal assisted therapy help patients psychologically,
emotionally, and physically?
Working Thesis: Animal assisted therapy helps patients with several illnesses and diseases not
only psychologically but also emotionally and physically as well; this new study has showed
patients that animals can calm them, provide stability, and there has been several cases where
individuals have bounced back from muscle spasticity.
Refined Thesis: Animal assisted therapy helps patients with several illnesses and diseases not
only psychologically but also emotionally and physically; this new study has shown how
animals can calm patients, provide emotional stability, and there have been several cases where
individuals have bounced back from muscle spasticity.
Topic Research Annotated Bibliography
Berek, Daniel L., MAT. "Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2013):
Research Starters. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
Daniel Bereks article describes how animal assisted therapy has many beneficial effects
on a variety of patients. The article provides a few real world examples of animal assisted
therapy to prove the favorable outcomes that it prevails. From group homes to hospitals and
prisons, animal assisted therapy is proven to show nothing but positive effects on the individuals
who participate in it. Animal assisted therapy has lead to the beginning of a research revolution
to study the ways in which animals have many physical and psychological effects on humans.

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Bereks article will support the research by providing the evidence that this study needs to prove
how valuable animal assisted therapy is to a wide range of people.

Cherniack, E. Paul, and Ariella R. Cherniack. "The Benefit Of Pets And Animal-Assisted
Therapy To The Health Of Older Individuals." Current Gerontology & Geriatrics
Research (2014): 1-9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
E. Paul Charniacks article is not only about the benefits of pets and animal assisted
therapy to the health of older individuals, but also the therapeutic roles that animals and pets play
in our surroundings even though people do not realize it. This article explains how individuals
can unintentionally connect with animals, leading to an attachment that only influences positive
results. Charniacks article also covers all the potential benefits that animals and/or pets have on
humans, identifying fifty-seven in total detail. On the other hand, this article also refutes any
potential harms that animal assisted therapy could cause. However, the benefits much outweigh
the hindrances. Charniacks article will support the research because it includes refuting
arguments against why animal assisted therapy could not work, as well as analyzing a list of all
the potential benefits that this therapeutic process could and/or has achieved.

Zilcha-Mano, Sigal, Mario Mikulincer, and Phillip R. Shaver. "Pet In The Therapy Room: An
Attachment Perspective On Animal-Assisted Therapy." Attachment & Human
Development 13.6 (2011): 541. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Sigal Zilcha-Manos article supplies extremely useful knowledge of how the fundamental
relationship between human and animal causes the psychological benefits in animal assisted
therapeutic practices. This article provides the underlying understanding of the different theories
that many scientist have concluded about animal assisted training with proof of their research

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and recordings of experimentations. Zilcha-Mano goes into miraculous detail of how the human
brain corresponds with animal interaction, also he compares how the mind correlates humanhuman relationships versus human-animal relationships. Zilcha-Manos article will support the
research because it explains the prime reasons of why animal assisted therapy is scientifically
proven to work.