DOGS IMPROVE OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY

THERE are plenty of studies which show that dogs act as social catalysts, helping their owners forge intimate, long-term relationships with other people. But does that apply in the workplace? Christopher Honts and his colleagues at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant were surprised to find out (1) ……………, and decided to put that right. They wondered in particular if the mere presence of a canine in the office might make people collaborate more effectively. And, as they told a meeting of the International Society for Human Ethology in Madison, Wisconsin, on August 2nd, they found that it could.

To reach this conclusion, they carried out two experiments. In the first, they brought together 12 groups of four individuals and told each group (2) …………… . Everyone was asked (3) ……………, but ultimately the group had to decide on only one. Anyone familiar with the modern “collaborative” office environment will know (4)…………… .

Some of the groups had a dog underfoot throughout, while the others had none. After the task, all the volunteers had to answer a questionnaire (5)…………… . Mr Honts found that those who had had a dog (6) …………… ranked their team-mates more highly (7) …………… than those who had not.

In the other experiment, which used 13 groups, the researchers explored how the presence of an animal altered players’ behaviour in a game known as the prisoner’s dilemma. In the version of this game played by the volunteers, all four members of each group had been “charged” with a crime. Individually, they could choose (without being able to talk to the others) either (8) …………… or to stand by them. Each individual’s decision affected the outcomes for the other three as well as for himself in a way that was explained in advance. The lightest putative sentence would be given to someone who chose to snitch while the other three did not; the heaviest penalty would be borne by a lone non-snitch. The second-best outcome came when all four decided not to snitch. And so on.

Having a dog around made volunteers 30% less likely to snitch than those who played without one. The moral, then: more dogs in offices and fewer in police stations.

A on how they felt about working with the other – human – members of the team

B to come up with a 15-second advertisement for a made-up product

C that there was not much research on this question

D to slobber and pounce on them

E that this is a challenge

F to snitch on their team-mates

G that dogs help enhance productivity in an office

H to contribute ideas for the ad

I on measures of trust, team cohesion and intimacy

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