Dog people Versus Cat People

I have a friend who has a theory about dog people versus cat people and it centers on loyalty. Dog people, she insists, are very loyal while cat people are less likely to remain steadfast in their convictions or relationships.

Interestingly enough, that is not one of the findings of a recent study conducted by a tam of psychologists at the University of Texas, Austin, who compared the two as part of a larger online study called the Gosling-Potter Internet Personality Project.

As CNN reports, dog people identify themselves as more social and outgoing. Cat people describe themselves as more neurotic but "open", which "means creative, philosophical or nontraditional in this context."Dog people also scored themselves higher on extroversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

If you get the Journal Anthrozoos, the results of the full study will be in the September 2010 issue.

And for those of you who believe that dog owners tend to look like their dogs, well, psychologist Stanley Coren of British Columbia, found some truth to that hypothesis. According to Coren, women with long hair tend to favor Spring spaniels and beagles with long ears while women with short hair were more enamored with basenjis and huskies.

More "truths" about cat and dog people can be found in the upcoming book, Some We Love, Some We hate, Some We Eat. Why It Is So Hard to Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog, professor of psychology at Western Carolina University.

In the meantime, for all you cat people out there remember I'm just the messenger.