Who prefer cats is smarter, who prefers dogs is happier

Updated: 23/01/2024 por Jennifer Delgado | Published: 29/07/2016

It is said that the dogs are man’s best friends. It is also said that the time spent with a cat is never wasted time. There are good reasons to love both cats and dogs, but, nevertheless, there are people who prefer dogs and tenaciously defend them. There are also those who prefer cats and can not imagine their lives with a dog. What’s behind this preference? It is possible that these people have different psychological profiles?

Owners of cats are smarter

A study by Carroll University indicates that cats lovers are more intelligent than those who prefer dogs. These psychologists have analyzed 600 students who preferred cats or dogs. The participants underwent some personality and intelligence tests so that it was possible to establish that those who preferred cats obtained higher scores on intelligence tests.

These psychologists point out that the difference is due to characteristics of personality, as well as the activities and hobbies of every person. Through the tests it has been noticed that people who love dogs tend to be more active, transmit more energy and love to spend more time outdoors. They’re also people who usually follow the rules literally.

In contrast, cats lovers tend to be more introverted, sensitive and have a more open mind. They also tend to enjoy more loneliness, often have an unconventional personality and have trouble following the rules. All features that enhance creativity and intelligence as they help these people to think outside of the limits.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that are the animals to improve some of our features, the point is that we choose dogs or cats depending on who we are. For example, dogs lovers like to enjoy the unconditional submission of their pet while those who prefer cats are attracted precisely by the independence shown by this animal.

We choose a dog or a cat, depending on what we are, the lifestyle we lead and, above all, the emotional needs that we want to satisfy through the pet.

Dogs owners are happier

A study carried out at the Manhattanville College revealed that people who prefer dogs are happier. This time psychologists analyzed 263 people and deepened the relationship they have with their pets, and the feeling of well-being.

This way they found that those who had dogs indicated to feel happier and more positive emotions. Also they reported feeling more satisfied with life than people who had cats.

The level of happiness can be affected by several factors, including the fact that people who own dogs tend to spend more time outdoors, are more physically active and tend to be more extroverted.

But these psychologists also point to the fact that dogs can give more emotional support than cats. In fact, it has been shown that dogs release more oxytocin, the hormone of love, compared to cats, when they interact with their owners.

To test this, researchers took saliva samples from 10 dogs and 10 cats, ten minutes before a session of play with their owners and immediately after. The results revealed that in dogs oxytocin levels were increased by 57.2%, while only 12% in cats.

This may explain why many people establish such a special emotional connection with dogs, which can give happiness to both.

Sources:
Bao, K. (2016) Is Happiness a Warm Puppy? Examining the Relationship between Pets and Well-Being. Open Science Framework.
Guastello, D. (2014) Personality Differences of Self-Identified Canine and Feline Lovers. 26th Annual Association For Psychological Science Meeting. San Francisco, California.
Beetz, A. et. Al. (2012) Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of human-animal interactions: the possible role of oxytocin. Front. Psychol; 3: 234.
Kosfeld, M. et. Al. (2005) Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature; 435: 673-676.
Zak, P. J. et. Al. (2004) The neurobiology of trust. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; 1032: 224-227.