Dog and his owner. Photo by Thomas Hawk on Flickr
Have you ever heard the adage “Dogs resemble their owners?”
A psychological study by Michael Roy and Nicholas Christenfeld published in 2004 by Psychology Science found that our canine companions actually look like us!
THE RESULTS
The study concluded that pure-bred dogs can be correctly identified to their humans significantly more than mixed breed dogs.
Figure 2 shows the results of the study that focused on pure-bred dogs. It shows that strangers (the ‘judges’) were able to identify the correct dog to it’s owner 16 out of 25 times (64%). Also, it showed the judges were able to decide between the dogs and no ties were shown.
Figure 2: Judges results for pure-bred dogs (n=2). Chart created by Chantell Jansz, data from “Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners”
Figure 3 shows the results of the study that focused on mixed-breed dogs. The judges were only able to identify the correct dogs to it’s owner 7 out of 20 times (35%) . Additionally, the judges were more indecisive in their decision as there is a greater proportion of ties for mixed dogs.
Figure 3: Judges results for mixed breed dogs (n=20) Chart created by Chantell Jansz, data from “Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners”
The mechanism as to where the resemblance comes from is still uncertain. However, Dr. Christenfeld suggests,“It’s not people coming to look like their dogs when they live together. Instead it’s that people pick a dog that resembles them … but with a mutt you don’t know what it’s going to look like [when it grows up].”
METHOD
The researchers took pictures of 45 dogs (25 pure-bred, 20 mixed) and their owners from 3 different dog parks. The pictures were taken with care, to ensure the judges could not match the dogs to their owners based on the background of the photos.
The judges (a group of 28 unknowing undergraduates) were shown 3 pictures at a time. The 3 pictures were a dog, the dog’s owner, and another dog from the same park. The judges were asked to pick which dog out of the two, belonged to the owner pictured in front of them. This process was repeated for all 45 dog owners to produce the results (shown above).
Clearly, the results show a trend in the ability of a random individual to identify a dog to it’s owner. However, the study was only done on 45 dogs, limiting the results.
OTHER EVIDENCE OF RESEMBLANCE?
Our furry friends can resemble us more than just physically, found Psychologists at Michigan State University. The paper published in the Journal of Research in Personality in 2019 studied 1681 dogs belonging to 50 breeds, aged between a few months and 15 years.
The study found that dogs’ personalities match their owners. For example, owners high in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and open-mindedness rated their dogs as less fearful, more excitable, and less aggressive. While, owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful and excitable, and less responsive to training.
WHAT DO THESE STUDIES MEAN?
Chances are, if you have a dog it probably resembles you physically if not, emotionally!
– Chantell Jansz
