ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2019
Observing Live Fish Improves Perceptions of Mood, Relaxation and Anxiety, But Does Not Consistently Alter Heart Rate or Heart Rate Variability.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and risk factors of maternal near miss in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Pooled it
- Specific and Non-specific Factors of Animal-Assisted Interventions Considered in Research: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- A dogs-at-work program in a veterinary college: promoting workplace wellbeing and resilience.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Conceptualized Immersive Projection Environment (CIPE-NRTInternational journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2025Article
- Associations Between Pet Type (Co-Walkable, Indoor-Only, and Ornamental Pets) and Well-Being: Findings from a Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Unconventional Animal Species Participation in Animal-Assisted Interventions and Methods for Measuring Their Experienced Stress.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- Altering Fish Behavior by Sensing Swarm Patterns of Fish in an Artificial Aquatic Environment Using an Interactive Robotic Fish.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Five ways to wellbeing at the zoo: improving human health and connection to nature.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Review
- Animal-Assisted Interventions Improve Mental, But Not Cognitive or Physiological Health Outcomes of Higher Education Students: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2022Article
- Companion Animal Type and Level of Engagement Matter: A Mixed-Methods Study Examining Links between Companion Animal Guardianship, Loneliness and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2021Article
- Article
- The Psycho-Social Impact of Human-Animal Interactions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Although fish and other aquatic species are popular privately-kept pets, little is known about the effects of watching live fish on the perceptions of arousal and the link between those perceptions and physiological measures of arousal. In two separate experiments, participants were asked to watch identically-equipped fish tanks for five minutes in each of three conditions: (1) Live fish, (2) plants and water, and (3) empty tank. Linear mixed models used across both experiments revealed similar results: Greater perceptions of relaxation and mood, and less anxiety during or after viewing the live fish condition, compared with the other conditions. Heart rate and heart rate variability responded to the arousal associated with a math task, but did not differ consistently across viewing conditions. These results suggest that the link between perceptions of arousal, and the physiological measures associated with arousal, may not be strong or immediate, or that heart rate and heart rate variability may not be appropriate measures for the test population. Implications of these results for the biophilia hypothesis and the biopsychosocial model are discussed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.