| Title |
Fashion vs. Function in Cultural Evolution: The Case of Dog Breed Popularity
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
PLOS ONE, September 2013
|
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0074770 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Stefano Ghirlanda, Alberto Acerbi, Harold Herzog, James A. Serpell |
| Abstract |
We investigate the relationship between characteristics of dog breeds and their popularity between years 1926 and 2005. We consider breed health, longevity, and behavioral qualities such as aggressiveness, trainability, and fearfulness. We show that a breed's overall popularity, fluctuations in popularity, and rates of increase and decrease around popularity peaks show typically no correlation with these breed characteristics. One exception is the finding that more popular breeds tend to suffer from more inherited disorders. Our results support the hypothesis that dog breed popularity has been primarily determined by fashion rather than function. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 71 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 23 | 32% |
| United Kingdom | 5 | 7% |
| Italy | 3 | 4% |
| Australia | 2 | 3% |
| Germany | 2 | 3% |
| Canada | 2 | 3% |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1% |
| Spain | 1 | 1% |
| Belgium | 1 | 1% |
| Other | 3 | 4% |
| Unknown | 28 | 39% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 58 | 82% |
| Scientists | 7 | 10% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 4 | 6% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 188 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 1 | <1% |
| Germany | 1 | <1% |
| France | 1 | <1% |
| Austria | 1 | <1% |
| Brazil | 1 | <1% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 182 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 41 | 22% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 24 | 13% |
| Student > Master | 24 | 13% |
| Researcher | 18 | 10% |
| Other | 12 | 6% |
| Other | 31 | 16% |
| Unknown | 38 | 20% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 47 | 25% |
| Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 29 | 15% |
| Social Sciences | 14 | 7% |
| Psychology | 12 | 6% |
| Environmental Science | 7 | 4% |
| Other | 28 | 15% |
| Unknown | 51 | 27% |