Fashion vs. function in cultural evolution: the case of dog breed popularity

Stefano Ghirlanda; Alberto Acerbi; Harold Herzog; James A Serpell

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074770

Fashion vs. function in cultural evolution: the case of dog breed popularity

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 11;8(9):e74770. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074770. eCollection 2013.

Authors

Stefano Ghirlanda¹, Alberto Acerbi, Harold Herzog, James A Serpell

Affiliation

¹ Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America ; Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Behavior, Animal
Breeding*
Cultural Evolution*
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Dogs / genetics*
Public Opinion
Species Specificity

Grants and funding

The Uniquely Human project funded by the Swedish Reseach Council supported AA and covered publications costs. AA is also supported by a Newton International Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.