Dijken, Guus van (2025) The Social Influence of Dogs: How Pet Reactions Shape First Impressions of 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
Dogs are often seen as loyal companions, and many owners feel emotionally close to them. This study investigated whether a dog’s reaction to a stranger can influence the owner’s impression of that person. Participants read two scenarios in which their dog either reacted positively or negatively to a stranger, who was described as either a uniformed person or a generic stranger. Beforehand, participants were primed to think either intuitively or rationally. Results showed that participants judged strangers more negatively when the dog reacted negatively. This effect was stronger in situations where the stranger was described ambiguously (i.e., without a clear social role). Intuitive thinking and shared identity with the dog did not significantly strengthen this effect. However, participants in the intuitive condition were more likely to see the dog’s behavior as justified. These findings suggest that a dog’s behavior can influence how people judge others, especially when the situation is unclear.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Spears, R. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route/Track: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Aug 2025 13:34 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Aug 2025 13:34 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5817 |
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