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(Psych Central News) A new study suggests that dog owners tend to be more lively, outgoing, and rule-following, while cat owners are typically more introverted, sensitive, non-conforming, and open-minded. Cat owners also scored higher on intelligence tests. The findings were presented at the annual Association for Psychological Science meeting. “One explanation for these personality differences could be due […]


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From Psych Central News.

...and let the sparks fly!...
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Doc

"Cat owners also scored higher on intelligence tests."


Need I say more?
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Really though, I agree with most all of what the article said.

Dogs have owners.....cats have staff!
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I like both but my living environment only allows a cat.

The study/survey is narrow.

600 college students?

I also find it difficult to believe that 60% of any population would be extroverted.

I always thought introverts were far less than extroverts. 10% if that!.

I grew up with a dog... a nice dog...cocker spaniel. But really I never related much to her... I always wanted a cat. Dogs are "needy"... but cats, convey alot of information with just a look or gesture. We spend so much time with our kitties, talk to them, play games with them, that they develop some dog-like behaviors.

Those of us with cats, truly understand the various "looks" they are capable of! LOL Just visit I Can Has Cheezeburger and see how funny and communicative cats can be!

I don't know.

That's the problem with self-reporting surveys.

How do they know about intelligence or personalities.

Who actually owns the dog or cat? Who feeds the dog or cat?

I'd like to see the actual survey/study whatever it's called, but I can't find it and I've looked hard. I was curious about the questions asked of the students.

I know in a gifted population the percentage of introverts is apparently very high.

I have difficulty with the concept that dog people are extroverts and cat people are introverts due to the nature of the animal itself.

What would they mean exactly?


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Anyway, it's not important.
I just find it another one of those silly surveys that seem such a waste of time and money.
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oh ... p.s. I'm an introvert and yes, all my life I've been judged and compared with people with extroverted behaviour as if it's the "norm".

I tend to be more of an introvert and my first pet was a cat. But my first dog was my very best friend. I now have one of each. I lost my shiapoo dog Lilo to diabetes a few months ago and had to give my cat Snickers to my brother-in-law because she just wasn't getting along with my other animals and I'm just too sick to handle the stress. I visit her often, but still miss her alot. I find your article very interesting and true to my experiences with cats and dogs, except I'm still an introvert and love my dog as much as my cat. But if I were to ever get another animal again, I would have to choose a cat. So I would say the survey rings true for me. As for the intelligence part, I tend to agree that cats are smarter then dogs. Thanks for the interesting article Dr. Smith. I wish you all a wonderful day with your furry friends. With love, your human friend, Renee.

meow
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Hi Renee,

The claim was that cat people are more "intelligent" than dog people, but it's just as meaningless.

I thought the myth about cat vs. dog intelligence had been debunked; they're different, and that accounts for the rest of the tripe in the "study".

My wife was the same way. When she was growing up, she regarded the family dog as a piece of furniture. Never developed/sought a personal relationship. It wasn't until college (when campus dogs would make their "rounds" in the dorms, spending time in each room/suite) that she began to notice them as anything more. When we got out on our own, we progressed through a varied menagerie as space & landlords allowed—hamsters, cavies, a rabbit (and the odd exotic along the way)... then when we bought our first house, a cat—then a year later a dog. Since becoming more personally involved, she still likes cats (and we care for friends' cats while friends are vacationing)—the major difference she notes now is that she can take the dog(s) for walks, on errands, to classes/events, parties & social gatherings, etc. That, and she says she never again wants another animal that involves litter (which includes rodents).

I used to walk the cat, but have to admit it just wasn't the same. The cat freaked-out at EVERYTHING.

I hear that a lot—mostly from cat people. Yet every cat owner I have ever known says they have to get home because their kitties miss/need them.
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More likely it's the other way around. Cat's aren't "needy" unless they want something—food, affection, attention, sex, to be on the other side of a door, their litterbox cleaned... in which cases they can be needy (and noisy/obnoxious) as heck.

I thought that this had been settled as well. Dogs & cats view the world—and humans—quite differently.


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If all that means dogs are "needy", I guess I'd have to think about whether I want a companion/pet who views me differently—as I am—or as another of its own species. I already have human friends who do that.
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Pets are needy. Humans are needy. All creatures that require any degree of nurturing are needy—except platypodes.

Anyone with (only) a dog could say exactly the same things about dogs, and those of us with both would say the same about both/either. It comes from living with another living creature (and paying a little attention
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Having owned and "studied" both, I find their communicating & relating to each other as/more interesting than their communicating & relating to humans. All species adapt—as their natures allow—to conditions imposed upon them.

Lara, thanks for looking; I couldn't find it either. I agree the "study" is bogus. My guess would be it was conducted as many "college studies" are conducted—a poll/survey garnered by setting up a table in the student union, and asking anyone who is willing to fill out a questionnaire. Many of us know how these polls/studies/surveys can be slanted just by the way questions are constructed/worded—very scientific.
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Doc

More like, "the fur."
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Yes, I was thinking about this later and I wondered if this was actually a teaching exercize for her psychology students. The author/speaker is an Associate Professor and Interim coordinator of the Carroll Psych Department. Her speciality areas are personality, birth order, creativity and emotional intelligence.