The role of breed and personality descriptions in influencing perceptions of shelter dog adoptability
Courtney Archer, Nathaniel J Hall, Allison Andrukonis

TL;DR
This study shows that breed labels can reduce adoption chances for shelter dogs, while positive personality descriptions can increase them.
Contribution
The study experimentally evaluates how breed labels and personality descriptions interact to influence perceptions of dog adoptability.
Findings
Descriptions significantly increased perceived adoptability, while breed labels decreased it.
Certain breed labels like 'Chihuahua mix' reduced adoption ratings, while 'Lab mix' increased them.
Positive personality traits like 'friendly' and 'calm' improved adoption interest.
Abstract
The majority of dogs in US animal shelters are of mixed breed. Many animal shelters still use visual identification to assign breed labels, despite research indicating it to be largely inaccurate. Some shelters now include personality descriptions in conjunction with, or instead of, breed labels. However, little is known about the interaction between these factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to experimentally evaluate the impact of breed labels and descriptions on the perceived adoptability of dogs. Participants, recruited both in-person at a shelter and online, were shown ten dog photos, and indicated how likely they were to adopt the dog. The photos were randomly presented under four conditions: (1) photo only; (2) photo with breed label; (3) photo with description; and (4) photo with both a breed label and description. Overall, descriptions significantly increased perceived…
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Taxonomy
TopicsHuman-Animal Interaction Studies · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
