Monday, April 30, 2012

True or False? Corgi Owners Tend to Be Extroverts

Hint: I said "tend" to be extroverts, not "are" extroverts. (smile)

So, if you answered "false," according to a study done by Jo Fearon and Dr. Lance Workman of Bath Spa University, presented earlier this month to the British Psychological Society, you'd be wrong.

Um, yes, we are extrovert magnets.

According to their study, based on a survey of 1,000 dog owners, who answered questions about their own personality traits, one could draw the conclusion that owners of dogs in the Herding/Pastoral group (i.e. Welsh Corgis, German Shepherds) are more extroverted than, say, owners of dogs in the Hound group (who, incidentally, tend to be more "emotionally stable." I do not make this stuff up).

Here are the high-level findings for each dog breed group:

Group                                                 Owner Personality


Herding (Pastoral):                                     Extroverted

Non-Sporting (Utility):                                 Extroverted and Conscientious

Sporting (Gundogs):                                   Agreeable 

Toy                                                           Agreeable and Open

Hound                                                       Emotionally Stable 

Working                                                    Agreeable

Terrier                                                       Open


In presenting his study at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Dr. Workman said: 
"This study indicates that we might be able to make predictions about someone's personality based on the breed of dog that they choose to own. It seems likely that personality types are subconsciously drawn to certain breeds."
*** 

Okay (Elizabeth talking here), so if the above statement is true, does it mean that an introvert (for example) should naturally shy away from herding breeds (like Welsh Corgis)?

And if that's true, then does it mean that certain people (hypothetically speaking) who think they are introverts, but who are coo coo for Cocoa Puffs about Cardigan Welsh Corgis (for example), are really not introverts, after all, but extroverts??????? 


Well, if so, I hope someone sends those people a memo before they mislead any other poor unsuspecting dog blog readers friends and acquaintances!   

(By the way, someone should also tell Dr. Workman that he might not have used the right sample of people. Just sayin'.)


***


So, what say you?

Do the results of this study hold true for you and your dogs?

26 comments:

  1. Where do you think he found those people?? Too funny!

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    1. Julie, beats me where they found the people. :)

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  2. I dunno.... I really am pretty agreeable...

    Let's face it. "Experts" can make statistical information say anything they want it to. Certainly hope nobody considering getting a dog chooses from this study!

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    1. Sue, I hope no one uses this as a dog adoption guide, either!

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  3. Let's see...I've had herding dogs my whole life...starting with a German Shepherd my parents bought when I was 2. Neither of my parents would ever have been called extroverts! Then we had collies, and I was so shy I couldn't even get the mail out of our mailbox for fear of a car going by, and, gasp, seeing me! When I had moved away from home, my Dad then got a Sheltie....and in my mid-20's I got a Cardigan. I am still the kind of person that in a room full of strangers prefers to just melt into the wall (well, unless it is a room full of Cardi/dog/agility people). I think the only thing that has helped me get over that is being in the working world for so long now. You just don't have a choice about talking with people outside your comfort zone.

    So, in my experience, you don't need to be an extrovert to be attracted to herders!

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    1. Taryn, so sorry about the whole mailbox trauma. :( And, I agree that being part of the traditional workforce helps one to get over shyness. (Which, since I'm not in it presently, should mean I'm drifting in the wrong direction. dangit.)

      Your herding dogs are so lucky you picked them!

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  4. Hmm... interesting! I don't know how much I buy it though. What about those of us with mutts? :)

    I also tend that the way people self-assess is not always an accurate reflection of their actual personalities. So if the study relied on self-assessments, I wonder how true to life it actually is.

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    1. Pup fan, I don't think a person's personality so much drives this as their lifestyle (and even then, I think we're talking about people who are educated about dog breeds). The whole idea kind of falls apart on people who have (Heinz 57 :) mixes.

      And you're right about people misrepresenting themselves on self-assessments (intentionally or not). Just like I have done (just a smidge) on my driver's license. :)

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  5. Since my dog is nothing but a mutt I can't really comment. But I am reluctant to believe any survey that results in specific personality traits. Besides, according to Dr. Workman, all dog owners are apparently extroverted in some fashion, though I am only guessing at what "open" means.

    Also, does this mean that only hound owners are emotionally stable? I feel a little insulted.

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    1. Kristine, yeah, like I replied to Pup Fan, this "theory" doesn't hold water when the dog doesn't clearly belong to a purebreed.

      I was wondering where the introverts fit into the mix, too. Maybe they assume all dog owners are introverts, unless otherwise noted as an extrovert. Which, if that's the case, you would be correct in assuming only hound owners are stable emotionally. Whatevs! :)

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  6. Let's see here- I currently have a Beagle (hound) and a Smooth Fox Terrier mix. So that should make me Emotionally Stable and Open. However, I used to have an Australian Shepherd (herding) and a Lab/Pit mix (Gundog/Terrier?), making me Extroverted, Agreeable, and Open.
    I don't know, I don't feel like my personality changed much as we lost dogs and got new ones. I am certain that Junebug (the Beagle) did NOT make me more emotionally stable- probably the opposite...
    So yeah, I don't know that it means anything

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  7. Interesting survey.... but I am not so sure about the results!
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

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    1. I am not so sure about the results, either, Lorenza! (Not to say that your mama is unstable, however!!!)

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  8. I'm more of an introvert, and I think emotionally stable describes me pretty well! The Shepherds are really hubby's dogs, and he's definitely more of an extrovert than I am!

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    1. Houndstooth, this is certainly an interesting discussion! My husband is exceptionally extroverted and we both are crazy about both hounds and herders. In fact, we were drawn to the Cardis, in part, because they look like shepherds on basset legs. Clearly, dogs and humans are too complicated to fit into a nice little scientific? study!

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  9. Actually, it looks to me like the study is saying either there are no introverts in the world or introverts don't own dogs. ;)

    I'd like to see the full results of the study since I'm not sure emotionally stable and extroverted are necessarily separate and distinct personality traits. Introversion v extroversion, stable v unstable, yes, but extroversion v stable? Not so much. Perhaps the full results clarify that better than the snippet of information I've been able to obtain.

    That said, I can understand why extroverts might self-select into some of the breed types they mention. If you consider herding dogs may need more activity from the owners leading to more social interaction which could be off-putting to an introvert.... Interesting to think about anyway. :)

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    1. Leslie, I have known a couple unstable extroverts. :) NO, these are not all separate and distinct traits. In fact, some of them are just downright vague and subjective, imo. ;)

      But yes, if one selects a herding breed, for example, because one wants to compete heavily in herding events, I'd assume that person isn't painfully shy. (Even still, doesn't mean they'd have to necessarily be an extrovert. Not all introverts are super shy, i.e. Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton.)

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  10. I swear I commented yesterday! argh!
    Anyway, what I want to know is what dogs do I base it on? The Herding (GSD) and Gundog (Viszla) I grew up with, the Herding (Aussie) dog that was my first pet as an adult, the Gundgog/Terrier (Lab/Pit)that was my heart dog, or the Hound (Beagle) and Terrier (Smooth Fox mix) that I own now? It's really just too confusing for those of us that don't stick to one breed...

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    1. Erin, sorry about the first comment. :( I got an email, but Blogger marked it as spam (puzzling). Anyway, I "unspammed" it and hope it doesn't happen again.

      There are all kinds of holes in this study (as it has been publicized). Frankly, I can't imagine that no one's ever studied this before and come up with a whole different set of results. (Either that or so many of us are going around with undiagnosed multiple personality disorder.)

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  11. Very interesting! I tend to take these studies with a grain of salt, especially as a mutt lover :) Still, when we're drawn to a certain breed because of their personality, I'm sure that says something about our own personality.

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    1. Thanks for chiming in, Sonia! And, yes, I completely agree that if we're informed about a breed's basic temperament, and that's what leads us to select the dog, it can say a lot about our own personality (and lifestyle).

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  12. What about mutts? I'm half Beagle and half Terrier. My brother is a third Beagle, a third Dachshund, and a third Cocker Spaniel.

    All I know is that my humans love us very much and they always give us the best snacks ever :)

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    1. Valentino, such words of wisdom! Make sure you come back and see the results of the "what my dog thinks about my personality" survey. :)

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  13. Lol. I'm not so sure about the results of that.
    I grew up with GSDs and now I have a cardi, but I am absolutely not an extrovert.

    Either way, she's an awesome dog with an awesome personality. :)

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    1. Bjpatch, just further proof that they didn't use the right survey-takers for the study. :) And of course she's an awesome dog!

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  14. It will be interesting to see how Corgis fare in the UK based campaign & poll - http://tinyurl.com/chxooj6oll

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