Do People Look Like their Dogs?

Abstract

ABSTRACTOne tenant of folk psychology is that people tend to select or form a preference for pet dogs that have a similar appearance to themselves. A sample of 261 women judged the desirability of four breeds of dogs. Two breeds had lopped ears (English Springer Spaniel, Beagle) and two had pricked ears (Siberian Husky, Basenji). Long hairstyles in women produce a facial framing effect similar to lop ears while short or pulled back hairstyles produce a facial configuration more similar to prick-eared dogs. Consistent with this interpretation, women with long hair tended to prefer the lop-eared dogs while women with the short hairstyles preferred the prick-eared dogs, consistent with the folk belief. These results are interpreted in light of social psychological principles, namely the effects of familiarity and mere exposure on affect and interpersonal attraction.