In my last blog post, When Dogs Look Like Their Owners, I enlighten my readers on the wonders that surround the similarities between dogs and their masters, describing the studies that have been done to determine it is the characteristics of the eyes that make the pair so strikingly similar. In my blog I left my readers with a few thought provoking questions, one of which was asking if the way people perceive themselves and how they feel they look effects their decision in selecting a dog. Worry no longer, I have found you answers.
It is said that dogs and humans have striking similarities, this could be because you know how you look so well you find the same looks in a dog of your choosing. One of the things you personally are most familiar with is your own face. I mean think about how often you look at yourself. People enjoy the familiarity of themselves the same way they delight in the same movie endless times, or go to the same restaurant every week for the same meal. This can be described as the Mere Exposure
When a human selects their dog they could be looking for themselves within the animal so that when they bring their new family member home the familiarity of the dog gives them confidence, excitement and trust that they made the right decision.
Scientist Stanley Coren, believed that the phenomenon that dogs and their owners look alike could be explained by the mere exposure effect or familiarity. To test his theory Coren completed the study Do people look like their dogs? at the University of British Colombia in 1999. He had 104 women rate between an English Springer Spaniel, a Beagle, a Siberian Husky and a Basenji which dog they believed to be the most likeable, friendliest, loyal and intelligent. Coren then asked the women a series of questions about their lifestyle. He also showed each women a series of hairstyles and asked them to decide which one they felt was most like their own.
Coren was able to divide the women’s answers into two categories of short/ long hair that was pulled back and long hair that covered a women’s ears. The first classification of women with pulled back hair preferred the Siberian Husky and Basenji while the second classification of women with hair that shaped the face and covered the ears had a preference to the Springer Spaniel and Beagle. Coren believes that these results are caused from the facial characteristics of those certain types of dogs.
An illustration of Coren’s study Do people look like their dogs?
I feel that Coren limited his study by only using women. I believe he should also have addressed that he used women that all come from the same university and share a sense of community that could have effected their answers, the preferences of women and style in the late 1990s, the different effects of dogs and their looks of women and men all could affect the results of his study.
My previous post included the study done by Michael Roy and Nicholas Christenfeld that helped to support the belief dogs and their owners can be connected by their eye regions. Roy and Christenfeld’s study was actually done in result of Stanley Coren’s. Researched want to take Coren’s general belief of familiarity and delve deeper. Since Coren’s study focused on hair and face shape researchers sought to find a more specific answer. The study, which asked participants to correctly match photos of purebred dogs and their owners helped to confirm the results of Coren’s study. Coren’s idea of familiarity was the stepping stone to develop the correlation between characteristics of eyes in dogs and their owners.
I believe there is more to why humans and dogs look similar. I think it is possible for dogs and humans to conform to each other throughout their time spend together. Although I wonder if there are so many factors that need to be looked at for this to be proven that a certain study would develop the Texas Sharp Shooter Problem. Observing any possible answer till a correlation is found. A possible study to test these questions could be observational. Study dog owner pairs for a long period of time, having owners of different gender, ethnicity and age as well as dogs of different shape, size and breed. Examine how the pair coexist and evaluate aspects of their relationship. After the allotted period of time determine if any of the pairings experienced any changes in relationship that can be correlated to the pair conforming to each other.
Coren’s work with the mere exposure theory and dog owner similarities showed particular recognizable facial features are what connects dogs and owners. Coren’s work helped develop further research that is mention in detail in my previous blog.
Ironically enough, everyone says that I look like my dog, as well!! This is an interesting phenomenon that dives deep into the psychology of the human brain. We think of our pets as an extension of ourselves; therefore, it’s no wonder that we want them to look just like us. Not only do we take in to account the physical traits of dogs when we’re choosing our furry companion, but also personality traits. For instance, people that love hunting choose hunting dogs because they share the same passion for hunting and gathering. Also, this article online claims that the french bulldogs are immensely popular within the senior citizen community because they don’t require a lot of exercise, they are a great walking partner, and they are a “solid companion” as well.
I wonder if the same theory would apply to humans. Often times after a long marriage or relationship a couple begins to take on features of the other, or when a child is adopted and ends up looking like their parents.