"Less agreeable" people are more likely to prefer dogs associated with aggression

cepheus

Doesn’t surprise me

"Less agreeable" people are more likely to prefer dogs associated with aggression, according to psychologists

A study at the University of Leicester compared human personality type with the breed of dog they would choose. Dogs with a reputation for aggression were more popular with people who were "less concerned with the needs of others and quicker to become hostile".

Researchers say the results support the idea that dogs are likely to match their owners. The study took a range of popular dogs and ranked them according to their reputations for being more or less aggressive. At one end of the scale was a Staffordshire bull terrier and the other was a cocker spaniel.

However,

The study did not find a connection between preferring aggressive dogs and any greater likelihood of having carried out "delinquent" acts.

And there was little evidence to support assumptions about aggressive dogs being linked to displays of status or "strutting" behaviour

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18175053

coinxoperated

I think we could of figured this one out without going to University xD

cepheus

The second bit?

Here's more

http://scienceblog.com/54584/less-agreeable-people-like-less-agreeable-dogs/

Sally_A

...and how much did this research cost exactly to ascertain that incorrectly spelled tattoo'd hard men, living on benefits, with at least 5 feral kids needed a "well 'ard" looking dog to complete their image??

It seems to me that "researchers" cost as much as the scrounging bull terrier/hard dog owners.

What a pile of BS.

Person_one

What was the point of this research? To reinforce stereotypes about staffie owners?

The vast majority of staffie owners I know rescued their dogs and are incredibly gentle and good natured people. Stuff like this doesn't really help them when they already face a load of unnecessary hassle when they take their dogs out.

cepheus

Person_one wrote: »

What was the point of this research? To reinforce stereotypes about staffie owners?

To determine the truth I guess i.e. objective evidence between personality type and dog breed rather than the sterotype. For example,

The study did not find a connection between preferring aggressive dogs and any greater likelihood of having carried out "delinquent" acts.

And there was little evidence to support assumptions about aggressive dogs being linked to displays of status or "strutting" behaviour acts

The only reason why it seems pointless to me is because no-one is bothered to read it properly, even the journalistic dumbed down version!

Oliver14

Person_one wrote: »

What was the point of this research? To reinforce stereotypes about staffie owners?

The vast majority of staffie owners I know rescued their dogs and are incredibly gentle and good natured people. Stuff like this doesn't really help them when they already face a load of unnecessary hassle when they take their dogs out.

So all the badly kept staffies used to reinforce an aggressive image are a figment of everyones imagination?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Oliver14 wrote: »

So all the badly kept staffies used to reinforce an aggressive image are a figment of everyones imagination?

No, but the choice of a Staff as the MOST aggressive dog of the lot is so sloppy a decision as to make the study absolutely useless. You may as well repeat the study substituting owning Staffies for cheap socks from Primark for all the scientific rigour that's been applied here.


It's the pinnacle of Junk Science.

Person_one

Oliver14 wrote: »

So all the badly kept staffies used to reinforce an aggressive image are a figment of everyones imagination?

No, I do see them, mostly in certain parts of the city, but I see far far more of the other kind.

I saw a young lad get berated in the street the other day for walking a staffy. He was only about 15, wearing a school uniform and the dog was perfectly well behaved and calm, it was probably the family pet from the dogs home and he was being a responsible kid walking it before tea. This woman completely laid into him though, I could hear her from about 300 yards away.

fluffnutter

I wonder if this study sheds any light on why dog attacks are hugely on the increase. To my mind, that is a worrying trend.

Why is it happening?

Person_one

fluffnutter wrote: »

I wonder if this study sheds any light on why dog attacks are hugely on the increase. To my mind, that is a worrying trend.

Why is it happening?

Dog attacks or dog bites? Have you got the numbers that show how much and how quickly they're rising?