”Dog People” are from Pluto, and “Cat People” are from Jupiter?

Some folks think of themselves as “dog people,” and others swear allegiance to cats. Venture into other countries, and you’ll find similar discourse: in Hungary, people proclaim themselves “macskás vagyok” or “kutyás vagyok” (kutya means dog), and in France they say “je suis un homme de chien”.

A "dog person" in the making?
http://www.stefanitadio.com/2006/06/dog-person.html

Together time!
http://www.takomapork.com/takomaporkspring2007issue/2007_05_fieldguide.html

But behind self-proclamations, we don’t have many concrete answers. Are there really personality differences between dog people and cat people? And, if so, can empirical investigation reveal these differences? (Hint: the answer is yes!) 

Enter Samuel Gosling. 

I tend towards mild obsessions. Back in third grade, it was Alcatraz (the bird man in particular). Then I moved back to land and was all about earthquakes and the Richter scale. Then it was Leonardo DiCaprio.

Awww
http://knighted-princess.blogspot.com/2010/11/romeo-juliet.html

Since joining the dog cognition field, I continue with this tendency, and today’s target is Dr. Samuel Gosling, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas-Austin. 

Gosling’s research on ‘what your stuff says about you’ was highlighted in Malcom Gladwell’s book, Blink. But today, we’re not discussing the dirty underwear on the back of your chair, we’re talking about Gosling’s 2010 paper in Anthrozoös, Personalities of Self-Identified “Dog People” and “Cat People”.

Gosling is notable because he practices quality science while making you smile. He begins his paper with, “Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” (Mary Bly). 

Taking a mental message
http://godslittlepeople.blogspot.com/2009_05_05_archive.html

Dogs and cats are quite different from one another, both behaviorally and physiologically. It is widely believed that a person’s preference for either Canis lupus familiaris or Felis catus says something about who you are. For example, one big difference is that cats aren’t hyper social and dogs are. (See Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin for an awesome description of various species’ needs and differences).

Behaviorally different!
http://dashdogrunning.wordpress.com/rates/

Behaviorally different!
http://1funny.com/lazy-cat/

Gosling et al., set out to examine: Are there personality differences between "dog people" and "cat people"?

Study methods

Gosling’s large-scale study included 4,565 online participants, ages 10 to 95, from many countries and many ethnicities. Participants completed an online questionnaire, The Big Five Personality Test (view test here). This Test was developed in the 1970s by researchers who found that personality traits could be boiled down to five broad dimensions, regardless of language or culture (awesome!). 

In research circles, The Big Five is the most widely accepted model to assess personality. The dimensions are:

• Extraversion - talkative, energetic, assertive
• Agreeableness - sympathetic, kind, affectionate
• Conscientiousness - organized, thorough
• Neuroticism - tense, moody, anxious
• Openness - having wide interests, being imaginative

In Gosling’s study, people completed The Big Five Personality Test and then self-identified as a cat person, a dog person, both, or neither.

Slight digression

You may be thinking, “What? Nobody investigated this topic prior to 2010? This is wack! Obviously dog people are different from cat people!” (insert whatever stereotypes you have in your head).

Of course you are right! Other studies investigated this topic, but there are issues with previous work:

• Non-diverse sample size - Some studies only relied on college-educated people, pet owners or women and this could generate selection bias. For example, I do not presently reside with animals (apart from a human animal), but I definitely have an opinion on this topic. If only pet owners are surveyed, my opinion would not be included. Gosling surveyed from the internet, attaining a more diverse sample. 
• Small sample size - If you want to make a statement about the personality differences between dog and cat people, you need to look at more than 163 people.
• Contrasting results - Because previous studies used a wide variety of scales with various definitions and measures, sometimes the results were at odds with one another. One study found male dog lovers were aggressive and another study found that those who preferred a pet dog were less hostile than those who preferred a pet cat.

Why Gosling’s study rocks

A of all, Gosling’s study did a great job of assessing people’s personality by utilizing the validated Big Five Personality Test. (Awesome!) 

B of all, people who participated in Gosling’s study didn’t know the researchers were examining their attitudes about dogs or cats!! Instead, people came to the website because they wanted to complete a personality questionnaire, which they completed. Then, (sneaky sneaky!) tacked on at the end, were questions asking participants to self-identify with dog, cats, both or neither!

People did not complete the questionnaire thinking, “I love cats and want to make sure I frame myself as an extrovert to change any stereotype that cat people are not extroverted!!” 

So what did Gosling et al., find? 

Dog people - 2,088 (45.7%)

Cat people - 527 (11.5%) 

Both - 1,264 (27.7%) 

Neither - 686 (15%) (clearly they like rabbits, or maybe robots)

Now you'll all become "rabbit people"
http://www.pluspets.net/angora-rabbit-pet/

Gosling found "dog people" were more extroverted, conscientious and agreeable and "cat people" were more open and neurotic. (Definitions of terms)

Main point!

A validated questionnaire reveals personality differences between self-proclaiming "dog people" and "cat people"!

Now what!

We are all left wondering: What contributes to our self-identification as dog or cat people?

• What is it about dogs that attracts “extroverted, conscientious and agreeable” people?
• What is it about cats that attracts “open and neurotic” people?
• Why are dog people more “extroverted” but less “open”?
• Could living with a particular species during childhood affect later preference? 
• Does an animal attack move us far away from the attacking species? 
• Could our personalities be shaped by our experiences with animals? 
• Can you change from a “cat person” to a “dog person” (or vice versa) over time? How? Why?
• Why are there no “frog people”? Dogs are cuddly, look at our eyes, walk next to us and snuggle with us, and frogs are more slimy and tend to hop away. Do the behaviors and physical attributes of animals enable us to feel more connected to particular species, and as a result, we attribute particular emotional or spiritual qualities to them? 

But, it’s not all about me and what I think (even though I’m an only child)!

Now you be the scientist!  

What do you think are factors that contribute to someone affiliating as a “dog person” or a “cat person”? 

Don't just talk amongst yourselves! Share with the group! 

Research discussed:

Gosling et al., 2010. Personalities of Self-Identified “Dog People” and “Cat People”. Anthrozoös 23, 213-222.

Johnson, Oliver P. Berkeley Personality Lab. The Big Five Inventory. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved July 27, 2011 from http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~johnlab/bfi.htm

Srivastava, S. 2011. Measuring the Big Five Personality Factors. Retrieved July 27, 2011 from http://www.uoregon.edu/~sanjay/bigfive.html


Thank you!
Barbara Gáspár and Max Lullier of the Family Dog Project for their French and Hungarian translation! Mike Bagley, the inspiration for this post!