The Influence of Dogs’ Emotional Reactions on Human Impression Formation: The Roles of Context and Cognitive Framing

Brand, Anne-Mae (2025) The Influence of Dogs’ Emotional Reactions on Human Impression Formation: The Roles of Context and Cognitive Framing. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Traditional social referencing theories suggest that human impression formation is influenced by the reactions of other people. However, there is also reason to believe that people may be influenced by their dog’s reaction in certain situations, such as when encountering a stranger. While previous research has primarily focused on humans as sources of social cues, the potential role of dogs as providers of meaningful social information remains largely overlooked in social psychology. This study addresses that gap by investigating how a dog’s emotional reaction (positive vs. negative) influences its owner’s impression of a stranger, and how this influence varies by context (ambiguous vs. clear situations) and cognitive framing (intuitive vs. rational), which together form a 2x2x2 mixed factorial design. Cognitive framing and context were included to manipulate perceived shared identity, explored as a potential underlying mechanism of animal influence. 167 participants imagined dog-owner scenarios and rated their impressions of strangers. Results demonstrated that dogs significantly influenced impression formation, with positive reactions being more influential than negative ones. A significant interaction indicated that context shaped this effect: positive reactions were most influential in clear situations and negative reactions were least influential in clear situations. These findings suggest that dogs can act as social referents, extending theories of social influence. However, the role of shared identity remains inconclusive.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Spears, R.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	30 Jul 2025 13:58
Last Modified:	30 Jul 2025 13:58
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5775

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