Owner’s Anthropomorphic Perceptions of Cats’ and Dogs’ Abilities Are Related to the Social Role of Pets, Owners’ Relationship Behaviors, and Social Support

Author:

Bouma Esther M. C.1,Dijkstra Arie1,Arnt Rosa Stella1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands

Abstract

Background: For sustainable and healthy relationships with pets, attributing some degree of human abilities to the pet (anthropomorphization) might be necessary. We hypothesize that the tendency to anthropomorphize pet animals is related to relationship behaviors (communication and making up) and the experience of social support. Perceiving the pet in a human social role (e.g., family member or friend) might mediate this relationship. Method: Associations were tested in a mixed sample of cat and dog owners by means of multiple linear regression, moderation, and (moderated) mediation analyses. The differences between cat and dog owners were examined with pet type as the moderator in a moderated mediation analysis. Results: Dog owners anthropomorphize their pets more than cat owners. The social role of the pet mediates the association between anthropomorphization and relationship behavior and social support. The mediation effects were stronger for cat owners than for dog owners. Moreover, our newly developed comparative anthropomorphism measure was a better predictor than the commonly used general anthropomorphism measure (IDAQ).

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

General Veterinary,Animal Science and Zoology

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