The researchers showed members of the public 41 pictures of owners of labradors, poodles and Staffordshire bull terriers. In 50 to 60 percent of the cases the dog breed was correctly matched with the owner. This percentage is significantly higher than the 33 percent chance match. The subjects based their matches on the clothing and build of the owner.
Dog lovers are warned by the researchers though. The subjects thought that the personality traits of the owners could be predicted from the dog breed. The owners of the Bull terriers were deemed less intelligent, while the labrador and poodle owners were deemed ‘friendlier’. Personality tests on the owners, however, did not show these differences.
The personality tests did show (the only clear effect that was found) that all dog owners are generally ‘more agreeable’ than average.
The researchers deliberately chose Bull terriers, because these dogs often receive negative publicity in England. Poodles were chosen because they are considered more sophisticated and labradors are the neutral dogs in this line-up.
The results of this study have been presented at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society in Brighton.
Dogs and their masters
22april2009
Dogs look like their masters and the other way around. But the resemblance is only very superficial, researchers from Bath Spa University conclude. The personal characteristics of the owners can not be predicted on the basis of the dog breed.
