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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings

Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings

Published on: April 1, 2022

Parrots are "more human" than chickens.

Ernest L Abel¹

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, USA. eabel@wayne.edu

Psychological Reports

|May 17, 2008

Summary

Pet owners are more likely to use human-like names for indoor pets compared to outdoor pets. This finding highlights the human-animal bond and naming conventions in pet ownership.

Area of Science:

Human-Animal Studies
Ethology
Animal Behavior

Background:

The naming of pets reflects the evolving role of animals in human society.
Anthropomorphism, attributing human characteristics to animals, is a common phenomenon in human-pet relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether the living environment of pets influences the likelihood of owners assigning them anthropomorphic names.

Main Methods:

Analysis of a large, internet-based database of pet names.
Categorization of pet names based on anthropomorphic qualities.
Comparison of naming patterns between indoor and outdoor pets.

Main Results:

A statistically significant higher prevalence of anthropomorphic names was observed in pets residing indoors.

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This trend was consistent across different types of pets analyzed.

Conclusions:

The indoor living status of a pet is associated with a greater tendency for owners to use human-like names.
This suggests that closer cohabitation may foster stronger anthropomorphism in pet owners.