Longo, Daniela (2025) A Walk on the Wild Side? How We Judge Strangers. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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A thesis is an aptitude test for students. The approval of the thesis is proof that the student has sufficient research and reporting skills to graduate but does not guarantee the quality of the research and the results of the research as such, and the thesis is therefore not necessarily suitable to be used as an academic source to refer to. If you would like to know more about the research discussed in this thesis and any publications based on it, to which you could refer, please contact the supervisor mentioned.
Abstract
This study explores the extent to which humans are socially influenced by dogs in impression formation, particularly when encountering strangers. Drawing on Social Identity Theory, the research examines whether shared identity processes between humans and dogs can affect social judgments. A 2x2x2 factorial design was employed, manipulating cognitive framing (intuitive vs. rational), the type of stranger (complete stranger vs. uniform stranger), and the dog’s reaction (positive vs. negative). Participants (N = 167) read vignettes and rated their impressions of the strangers based on the dog's behaviour. Contrary to expectations, positive dog reactions exerted more influence than negative ones. Although the intuitive framing was predicted to increase susceptibility to influence, framing effects were generally non-significant. However, significant interaction effects showed that dog influence was stronger in unclear contexts (complete strangers), supporting the role of environmental uncertainty in social influence. Exploratory analyses revealed that participants were more empathetic and approving of dogs when their reactions aligned with human expectations, particularly in uniformed encounters. These findings suggest that dogs can meaningfully shape human social judgments, especially under uncertainty, and highlight the role of shared identity in interspecies influence.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Spears, R. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jul 2025 09:06 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jul 2025 09:06 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5769 |
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