The effects of viewing cute images on the performance of simple computerized tasks in dog owners and non-dog owners

Abstract

Background Viewing cute images of puppies or kittens can improve the performance of various motor tasks due to increased behavioral carefulness. It is possible, however, that this effect can be moderated by the affinity of individuals towards specific cute stimuli. The purpose of this pre-registered study was to examine whether dog ownership moderates the effect of viewing cute images of puppies on two computerized RT-based tasks. Methods One-hundred and sixty-four participants were covertly recruited and randomly assigned to four groups: (1) dog owners viewing puppies’ images (n = 35), (2) dog owners viewing adult dogs’ images (n = 36), (3) non-dog owners viewing puppies’ images (n = 48), and (4) non-dog owners viewing adult dogs’ images (n = 45). The participants performed a Simon task and an alternate task-switching task before and after viewing seven images of puppies/adult dogs based on group affiliation. After performing the tasks, the participants rated each image on five characteristics: cuteness, infantility, pleasantness, excitability, and wanting to get closer. Results The participants who viewed images of puppies rated those characteristics (e.g., cuter, more infantile, etc.) as higher than the participants who viewed images of adult dogs. There were no differences in the performance of the two tasks between participants who viewed images puppies and participants who viewed images of adult dogs. However, dog owners reacted faster than non-dog owners in the post-test of the alternate task-switching task. It is possible that showing images of dogs to dog owners increased their motivation and attention to the task.