Q&A about dog personality

Hungarian below

How do experts assess a dog’s personality?

Dog personality is defined by consistent behavior patterns across time and situations. It is typically assessed either through standardized questionnaires completed by someone familiar with the dog, such as the owner, or through behavior test batteries that observe how the dog responds in various scenarios. A typical dog personality questionnaire asks how often the dog behaves aggressively toward other dogs or unfamiliar people, and whether the dog enjoys praise or playing with toys. In standard behavioral tests, researchers observe how the dog greets a stranger, how enthusiastically it engages in play, and how persistently it works to solve a puzzle toy.

What are the key similarities and differences between canine and human personality traits?
Human personality is commonly measured using the Big Five traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN). While there is no such universal agreement among animal behavior researchers, adaptations of the Big Five have been used in dogs with reasonable success. Studies show that most of these traits can be meaningfully measured in dogs, though conscientiousness is often less evident. That’s largely because this trait involves planning and structuring one’s environment and these skills do not fully apply to dogs. Still, related qualities like perseverance, reliability, goal-directed behavior, and even a kind of “work ethic” can be observed and assessed in dogs.

Q&A about the child-like role of dogs in western societies

Follow-up questions after the publication of Gillet and Kubinyi (2025): Gillet, L. and Kubinyi, E., 2025. Redefining parenting and family–The child-like role of dogs in Western societies. European Psychologist.

Are dogs increasingly replacing children in the modern family?

We are seeing two clear trends: fewer people are having kids, and more are getting dogs. It’s tempting to link the two, but it’s not that dogs are simply replacing children. What is really happening is a shift in how people find connection and purpose. As traditional support systems fade, like big families and tight communities, dogs are stepping in to fill that emotional space. They offer love, companionship, even a sense of responsibility, similar to what kids provide. But it’s not a one-to-one swap. This is part of a bigger picture: rising costs, changing lifestyles, and growing loneliness are among other factors. So, are dogs the new kids? Not quite. But they are becoming a meaningful part of what “family” looks like today.

What inspired you to study the role of dogs in modern family structures ? Was there a personal or social observation that led you to this topic?

Q&A about the companion dog cultural runaway theory

How did you get interested in studying the topic of your paper in Current Directions in Psychological Science: The link between companion dogs, human fertility rates, and social networks?

I’ve been studying dog behavior and cognition for more than 30 years in Budapest, in the Family Dog Project research group at the ELTE Eötvös Loránd University. Approximately ten years ago, during a survey, I asked dog owners on social media, interested in canine research, how much they agreed with the statement: "My dog is more important to me than anyone else." To my great surprise, 66% of respondents, including parents, at least partly agreed. At the time, I was studying ageing in dogs, and I had many experiences where I could directly observe just how emotionally important dogs are to people—often more important than anyone else in their lives. I wanted to understand why that is.

 
What are the study’s main findings?