Is There a Personality Difference Between Cat People and Dog People?
We are here to see if There's a Personality difference between cat lovers and dog lovers.
IMG_4955.m4v“Meow or Woof”. People say they are either cat lovers or dog lovers. Have you ever wondered if cat people and dog people are different? My brother loves cats, and I love dogs. We are very different, so this made me want to look more closely into whether the personality determines pet choice. We all know that cats and dogs are different. Cats are moody, easily scared, unpredictable, friendly, affectionate and playful; while dogs are playful, loyal, protective, friendly, aggressive and obedient. But what about their owners? Do they have the same or different personalities from each other? This experiment will determine if personality makes a difference between a cat person or a dog person. I will be giving personality tests to dog people and cat people of different ages to see what type of personality they have and then ask if they like cats or dogs. I think that my results will show that cat people are more sensitive and introverted, while dog people are more lively and extroverted.
Here is The Research I Conducted For My Project.
There is lots of research supporting my hypothesis. “A 2010 study at the University of Texas found that those who identified as "dog people" tended to be more social and outgoing, whereas "cat people" tended to be more neurotic and "open," meaning creative, philosophical, or nontraditional. In a 2014 study at Carroll University, Wisconsin, people who said they were dog lovers were found to be more energetic and outgoing, and tended to follow rules closely, while cat lovers were more introverted, open-minded and sensitive (“Cat people and Dog people”).
But before we find out how dog people have different personalities than cat people, we have to find out the science behind it. The Myers Brigg test is a test to determine personalities and to see how different people make different and unique decisions. The person who made the Myers Brigg test was Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers (“The history of the MBTI® assessment”). In general, testing is finding out how well something works. In terms of human beings, testing tells what level of knowledge or skill has been acquired. Testing is used at key checkpoints in the overall process to determine whether objectives are being met. (“Rouse”). With personality testing, it is a questionnaire or other standardized instrument designed to reveal aspects of an individual's character or psychological makeup. (“Wikipedia”)
Carl G. Jung first developed the Theory of Personality types in the 1920’s. “The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment.” (“The Myers & Briggs Foundation”) Personality makes a person who they are, it can’t be seen but it affects how people experience life. (“Psychology Today”)
The Myers- Briggs test also evaluates how a person feels most comfortable when dealing with the world around them. Do they like to focus on the outer world or on their own inner world? This is called Extroversion and Introversion (“The Myers & Briggs Foundation”)
Fifty to Seventy-four percent of the population is made up of Extroverts. They are people who “thrive under social stimulation. Extroverts thrive in active, fast-paced jobs, such as politics, teaching and sales, where quick decisions are commonplace. Extroverts learn by doing and enjoy talking through ideas and problems.” (“Psychology Today”)
Introverts make up sixteen to fifty percent of the population. “Introverts enjoy spending time alone or in small groups of people, but may get overwhelmed in new situations or in large groups of people.” (“Psychology Today”)
Another interesting fact is that the brains are actually different for Introverts and Extroverts. “The front part of introvert’s brains are most active and stimulated by solitary activities while the back part of extrovert’s brains are most active.” (“Psychology Today”) Also there is a chemical called “Dopamine” that is produced by our brain when we experience something positive. For Extroverts, they need more Dopamine to feel happy and Introverts need less Dopamine to feel happy. (“Psychology Today”)
Here is the Material List I Assembled.
In order to determine if cat people and dog people have different personalities, I have assembled this material list below:
Laptop (Can be any kind of laptop that can print)
Cat person
Dog person
Myers Brigg Test (online)
Printer
Pencils
Paper for printer
IPhone (Has to have app store)
Personality Apple App
Here is the Procedure for my Project
Now that we understand the science behind different personalities and I have my materials list assembled, we can start our procedure. To start it off, I found people willing to help me with my science project. I then tested ten people, determining their personality type with the Myers-Briggs. The version of the Myers- Briggs Personality test I used was the Personality App on my cell phone. I made sure I had an equal amount of people who liked cats and who liked dogs. So, five of the people stated they like dogs and five of the people stated they like cats. I explained my science project to them and gave them the Myers Briggs Personality test, which they did, on my cell phone. I also explained how to take the test. I stayed with the test takers while they took the personality test to make sure they had no questions. When they were finished taking the test, the app analyzed it and told us their Personality traits including whether they were an Extrovert or an Introvert. I wrote the results of the Myers- Briggs Personality Test on a piece of paper; I also included whether or not they were a cat person or dog person. I then made a graph, which said their name, personality type, whether they liked cats or dogs and whether their answers supported my hypothesis.
Here are the Results I Found
I was able to determine in this experiment that cat lover’s personalities are different from dog lover’s personalities. I found out that my hypothesis was correct. My hypothesis was that cat lovers are introverts, which means shy, reserved, and withdrawn. While dog people are extroverts, which means outgoing and socially confident. If I were to do this experiment a second time I would go straight to using the online test instead of the paper one and I would also use more test subjects like maybe seven dog people and seven cat people so I could get more accurate results. I would also give the test to older people because some young people don’t understand most of the questions. I would most likely try not to give it to my family and give it to a wider group of people such as my teachers. If I were to learn more about this topic I would want to know if any other pet owners have different personalities, such as bird owners, hamster owners, snake owners, turtle owners etc. Also I would want to know how a pet’s brain works; is it wired like a human’s and does it release Dopamine the same?
Work Cited
“Cat people and Dog people.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_people_and_dog_people. Accessed 8 Feb 2017.
“The history of the MBTI® assessment.” OPP, 1 Feb 2017, www.opp.com/en/tools/MBTI/Myers-Briggs-history. Accessed 7 Feb 2017.
Rouse, Margaret. “Testing” What is testing?. Apr 2008, searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/definition/testing. Accessed 7 Feb 2017.
Sophia, Dembling. ¨Psychology Today¨ Introverts+Extroverts. www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201207/introverts-extroverts. Accessed March 24 2017
¨The Myers & Briggs Foundation¨ The Myers & Briggs Foundation. www.myersbriggs.org/. Accessed March 24 2017.
