Anthropomorphic interpretations and ethological descriptions of dog and cat behavior by lay people

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnlike ethologists and veterinarians, lay people supposedly use their own unstructured observations to interpret their companion animals' behavior, often in anthropomorphic terms. Recently, anthropomorphism has evoked new interest amongst scientists as a result of provocative publications concerning “animal mind,” that have prompted investigations in the field of cognitive ethology, and much speculation about the emotions of animals. The purpose of the research reported here was to determine the concurrency and plausibility of anthropomorphic interpretations and ethological descriptions of dog and cat behavior and facial expressions, taking into account the observer's experience with the companion animal species. Independent sets of pet owners and non-owners (n=128) were presented with selected still photographs and edited video sequences to interpret, first spontaneously, then in a multiple choice mode. These were programmed on an interactive CD-Rom. Nested ANOVA showed that the choice of differe...