Do You Think Your Dog Displays Human Traits?

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Many of us see our dogs as part of the family, with stature (almost) equal to that of human members. Often, we imbue these four-legged family members with human traits. Princess experiences joy when come home at the end of the day; she’s excited when we get the leash out to take her for a walk; she feels guilty when we scold her for stealing cheese off the counter.

Understanding the Animal Mind

To some extent, our beliefs about an animal’s capacity to feel human-like emotions come from our efforts to understand the animal's mind. We often believe animals can think and feel as humans do. After all, we see them react to stimuli and circumstances in consistent and predictable ways, resembling how humans would respond to similar experiences. Hence, we conclude that Princess thinks and feels as much as we do, albeit employing simpler cognitive processes.

Guilt: Do Dogs Feel it?

In their interactions with people, dogs frequently make choices and take actions we disapprove of. When we communicate our disfavor, our pets often display “guilt” such as wide eyes, a lowered tail, staring at their feet, and trying to slink away from the crime scene. But do they really feel remorse, or are their outward displays merely learned responses reinforced by our reactions (“Oh, isn’t she cute? She feels guilty for stealing the cheese. Come here, you naughty pup, and let me rub your belly.”)?

Do Dogs Really Feel Human Guilt?

Projection

Psychologists know people tend to attribute to other humans the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors they experience. Is it possible for us to do the same with our dogs? Animal researchers have studied the phenomenon of perceived guilt through the lens of projection. They began by identifying a set of personality traits in people, including being prone to guilt. They then showed the study participants a set of paragraphs describing various dog behaviors. To explore dogs’ presumed expressions of guilt, they used statements like:

• “After knocking over and breaking a plate, the dog avoids eye contact with its owner.”

• “After the owner scolds the doc for chewing a shoe, the dog lies under a table with its head down.”

• “The owner scolds the dog for scratching at the door, and the dog whimpers.”

Next, the study participants rated each behavior for the degree to which it indicated guilt, from definitely yes to definitely no. This revealed that people who themselves got high scores for being prone to feeling guilty consistently attached the same emotion to the dogs’ behaviors. Were they projecting their feelings onto the canines?

Animal Mind and Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is the tendency to attribute human characteristics, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. The word comes from the Greek words anthropos ("human") and morphe ("form"). When we extend our beliefs about the similarities between the animal mind and the human mind and then attribute homo sapien characteristics to our dogs (or cats or birds), we are being “anthropomorphic.”

What downstream beliefs does anthropomorphism lead to? Not surprisingly, it appears to be related to strong support for animal rights. It makes sense – here’s how the syllogism (or reasoning) works: if you think animals are like people and people have rights, then you would logically conclude animals have rights as well. In a related way, people who score high on measures of empathy tend to extend their empathic senses to animals. For example, I’d feel guilty if I stole cheese, so Princess must feel the same way.

Do YOU tend to attribute human characteristics, emotions, or intentions to YOUR dog?

Real or Imagined?

It may not matter whether our pets experience actual guilt or merely use their acquired skills to toy with our emotions. Likewise, the possibility we project elements of our own emotional landscape onto our dogs may not be significant. What matters is that we pay attention to how and what they communicate.

• On the one hand, anthropomorphism may often be misguided or overstated.

• On the other hand, we are trying to use what we know about ourselves to understand what our pets are feeling and trying to say to us. Whether real or imagined, if those connections heighten our attention to our pets and sharpen our awareness of their experiences and their well-being, then so much the better for them and for us!

All Images Courtesy of MobilityDog.org.