Research backs claim: dogs and owners look alike
by Lianne Wilkinson on April 3, 2009
Who hasn’t heard the saying that dogs and their owners look alike? Whether you believe it or not, researchers from Bath Spa University claim that it is possible to match dogs with their owners just by looking at a photograph.
Researchers Dr Lance Workman Head of Psychology in Bath Spa University’s School of Social Sciences, and Chris Hunter asked a group of 70 non-dog owners to match photos of 41 dog owners to one of three possible dog breeds and the results reportedly show that the group made a level of matches significantly high enough to be above that which could be achieved through chance alone.
Dr Lance Workman stated:
“This suggests that certain breeds of dogs are associated with particular kinds of people. The non-dog owners used stereotypes to match the dogs to their owners. These stereotypes persisted into judgments of the dog owners’ personalities: non-dog owners considered the owners of each breed to share certain personality traits, such as level of conscientiousness and emotional stability.
“But when we tested the dog owners’ personalities we found no strong links between any particular personality trait and choice of dog breed. So any shared qualities are only skin deep.â€
Whether I believe it or not, I’m happy to say that my own dog is absolutely gorgeous so if it is true that we look alike, then I wouldn’t be too disappointed!
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