Human-horse synchrony: Connection of movement synchronization to synchrony of heart rates
Siipola, Anja-Kaarina (2023)
Siipola, Anja-Kaarina
2023
Psykologian maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Psychology
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-05-22
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202304264490
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202304264490
Tiivistelmä
Interest in equine assisted interventions is growing but the working mechanisms are not clearly understood. If horses are expected to bring unique qualities, different to other animals to therapy, the underlying working mechanisms are likely to rely on horses’ special ways of being in interaction with humans. Interaction between human and horse is mainly body language and humans need to adjust their body language to the behavior of the horse to be able to form mutually understandable interaction. If behavioral interaction is assumed to have psychological consequences, measuring physiological measures such as heart rates can provide a way of measuring this interspecific communication. Additionally, if behavioral and physiological synchrony are connected between humans and horses, as it has been detected to be between humans, it is possible that this interactive relationship can be utilized in equine-assisted therapies to affect psychological processes.
The purpose of this study was to investigate if behavioral synchrony of human and horse lead to physiological synchrony, which was measured as heart rate. In this study heart rates of humans and horses were synchronized always when horse and human were walking next to each other. No differences were found between synchronous and desynchronous walking situations. It was also investigated if heart rates were higher when walking in desynchrony compared to synchronous walking. Contrary to the hypotheses heart rates of the horses were higher when walking in synchrony. It is possible that the horses were more focused on the human when the behavior was synchronous and that caused heart rates to rise. Despite rigorous study design, it is possible that the results were explained by physiological demands instead of psychological factors. Individual differences between the horses were substantial and need to be taken into consideration as well.
The results of this study indicate that interaction between humans and horses can affect the physiology of them both. Nevertheless, according to the results of this study synchronized walking is not crucial to form an interactive connection between humans and horses, simply walking side by side can be enough to form a connection. However, more studies are required to assess which components are important in forming synchronous interaction between humans and horses. In future, additional, and more accurate physiological measures should be used as well. In conclusion, the exact working mechanisms in equine assisted therapies requires more investigation.
The purpose of this study was to investigate if behavioral synchrony of human and horse lead to physiological synchrony, which was measured as heart rate. In this study heart rates of humans and horses were synchronized always when horse and human were walking next to each other. No differences were found between synchronous and desynchronous walking situations. It was also investigated if heart rates were higher when walking in desynchrony compared to synchronous walking. Contrary to the hypotheses heart rates of the horses were higher when walking in synchrony. It is possible that the horses were more focused on the human when the behavior was synchronous and that caused heart rates to rise. Despite rigorous study design, it is possible that the results were explained by physiological demands instead of psychological factors. Individual differences between the horses were substantial and need to be taken into consideration as well.
The results of this study indicate that interaction between humans and horses can affect the physiology of them both. Nevertheless, according to the results of this study synchronized walking is not crucial to form an interactive connection between humans and horses, simply walking side by side can be enough to form a connection. However, more studies are required to assess which components are important in forming synchronous interaction between humans and horses. In future, additional, and more accurate physiological measures should be used as well. In conclusion, the exact working mechanisms in equine assisted therapies requires more investigation.