So, what do dogs think about elevators? I have asked myself and my family this question once every two or three months. It is a very intriguing question. I finally broke down and typed it into a popular web search engine was mildly surprised by the number of hits that were returned. I learned that most of my thoughts are not very original, but that is another story.
The simplest answer to my question is, they don’t! How can that be? I may be getting forgetful in my old age but all I can remember about elevators when I was very young is the excitement of pushing the buttons, the doors opening and closing, and feeling the movement under my feet, nothing more.
The explanation used online was Anthropomorphism which led me to Personification. According to Wikipedia Anthropomorphism and Personification are defined as:
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities and is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and natural forces like seasons and the weather.
Essentially, they share the same definition. Anthropomorphism is used more with literary works and personification being applied to inanimate objects, such as naming a ship or your favorite car.
Almost all our thoughts or questions about how our dogs feel, what they are thinking, or why they misbehave, are heavily influenced by our applying our human traits to them. Something Jeff Gellman of Solid K9 Training said in one of his videos, “Remember, it’s just a dog!” So as much as we love them, pamper them, and anthropomorphize them they are still just a dog. They do not think or feel the way we do.
What do you think? My wife disagrees with me. Please comment below.
Mark Coulter
Links
- Anthropomorphism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism
- Personification is redirected to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism
- Solid K9 Training http://solidk9training.com/