Research shows that “cat people” tend to be more intelligent than “dog people.”
A recent study determined that the pro-cat side tends to be more creative, independent, and rebellious. But science suggests the situation isn’t entirely negative for dog lovers, and not entirely positive for cat lovers.
The findings come from a study published by three psychologists from the University of Florida, Carroll University, and Marquette University. For this study, they recruited 418 undergraduates who claimed to be either dog people (who loves dogs more) or cat people (who loves cats more) and gave them a detailed questionnaire examining their personality traits.
At this point, it is worth noting that 352 people declared themselves dog lovers and only 66 said they preferred cats.
Cat fans scored higher on a judgment and general intelligence test, and also proved better at abstract thinking, self-confidence, and open-mindedness.
Dog lovers, on the other hand, were more likely to have rule-conscious, extrovert, and warm personalities.
Taken together, these findings describe the personalities of the average cat person as shy, lonely, impersonal, serious, and mismatched, but also creative, emotional, independent, and self-sufficient. “Conversely, these findings describe canine people as down-to-earth, pragmatic, and committed, while also being warm, extroverted, sociable, expressive, and group-oriented.”
There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of anxiety and neuroticism.
Thanks to these results, the researchers argue that the trend can be explained by creativity. Traits associated with creative people, such as open-mindedness and less attention to rules, are also shared by cat lovers. Traits that tend to inhibit creativity, such as conscientiousness, are mostly embraced by dog lovers.
“The personality profiles of creative people and cat people are remarkably similar, suggesting that people considered creative may have a tendency to prefer cats as pets,” the study authors write.
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