阿宾顿 student researcher Sasha 托马斯。 and faculty mentor 迈克尔·伯恩斯坦 review research data with a live subject.
阿宾顿,爸爸 . ——我的狗是最好的, but my cat's like the rest -- those are the findings of 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 sophomore Sasha 托马斯。' research into the social phenomenon known as the "Better Than Average Effect" (BTAE).
托马斯。 was intrigued by BTAE and after finding that Americans spend almost $100 million a year on their pets, she focused her 本科研究 project on BTAE, specifically as it applies to people and their furry friends.
托马斯的导师, 迈克尔·伯恩斯坦, assistant professor of psychology, explained that people tend to think they are better than others in a variety of areas, which is statistically impossible because everyone can't be better than average.
"If you ask most college students how good they are relative to others at making friends or being a leader, most say they are above average, 但这是不可能的,他说. "People tend to show this effect for themselves and for others. We think our partners and our friends are above average."
"It occurs because people don't have information to compare themselves with others and because of egocentrism,伯恩斯坦继续说道. “从心理学角度来说, believing that you are better than average is beneficial to mental health by raising self-esteem."
托马斯。 developed a survey asking participants to provide information about their dogs and cats including name, reason for ownership and size. They rated the pets using ordinal scale questions on friendliness, 行为, 温柔, 服从与智慧. Next, participants repeated this step to rate someone else's dog or cat and the average dog or cat.
托马斯。 said her findings demonstrate that dog owners tend to show the "Better Than Average Effect,但养猫的人不会.
"We found this interesting considering both dog and cat owners show the same amount of love and interest in their pets,她说.
"We hypothesized that this could be because dogs require much more time, energy and money to take care of them as opposed to cats,托马斯接着说. "Cognitive dissonance suggests that because of this, dog owners psychologically believe they have a one of a kind or better than average dog."
Does 阿宾顿 student researcher Sasha 托马斯。 think Frankie the terrier is better than the average dog?
托马斯。 conducted her studies through the 阿宾顿 College Undergraduate 研究 Activities (讴歌) program, which connects students with faculty mentors for yearlong projects.
讴歌 students often become so invested in a topic that they delve more deeply into the research over several semesters. 托马斯。, for example, examined the BTAE just for dogs last year. She found that dog owners believed their dogs were better than the average hound.
托马斯。, who plans to pursue a master's degree in occupational therapy, said 讴歌 provides the opportunity to investigate human 行为 on a more advanced level.
"My favorite part is analyzing data because I like to see the outcome of the research,她说. "It's interesting to see if the research matches our hypothesis or if it doesn't, and we learn something else about human 行为."
Cat owners may not agree with 托马斯。' findings, but her research shows she wasn't barking up the wrong tree.
了解更多关于讴歌: http://www.Abington.sjbngy.com/academics/undergraduate-research
