THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DOG SHOW JUDGING
Representativeness Heuristic is a bias caused by the mind’s tendency to group like things and events together in the process of making decisions. Since this is a process that can apply to almost every decision we make, it is not hard to find examples in dog show judging.
Reading the definition, one might ask why a judge making a critical decision would use “mental shortcuts” when mak- ing what should be a rational decision. We don’t do it consciously, but we do it all the time. We only have limited cogni- tive resources and it would be impossible to judge a group of dogs without heu- ristic thinking in under three minutes per dog, while running the entire breed standard through one’s head. There are a variety of heuristics that bias our deci- sion-making, but for the sake of brev- ity, I will focus on one common heuristic that is often found in dog show judging: Representativeness Heuristic. Representativeness Heuristic is a bias caused by the mind’s tendency to group like things and events together in the process of making decisions. Since this is a process that can apply to almost every decision we make, it is not hard to find examples in dog show judging. Let me share a few examples that most of us can relate too. In one of the breeds that I pay extra attention to, the dogs come in a wide variety of colors and patterns. Is it mere coincidence that the last top-winning dog and the current dog that is rising to the top of the breed rank- ings have almost the same exact markings? In another example, “Handler A” has his- torically bred and shown the top-winning dogs in their breed, and they continue
to win with these dogs over all comers. Are their dogs unmatched or is there a possible cognitive bias at work? What is ironic about this very human behavior is that we all engage in playing “the mental match game” and make decisions based on our personal experiences. One of the reasons we do this is to “reduce cognitive load,” which brings us to our next topic: Cognitive Ease. “Cognitive Ease” is a principle which states that we prefer to make decisions in the simplest manner possible, using rules of thumb or heuristic strategies rather than doing the “mental heavy lifting” that might produce the best decision. Every decision we make uses up part of our limited mental resources. When we are forced to do intense thinking to solve a problem, we experience cognitive drain, anxiety, and pain. If you have ever taken a college statistics course, you can prob- ably relate to the mental strain it causes for most students. While we expect a judge to mentally access the entire breed stan- dard, hold the standard in their “working memory,” and award each dog according to their merit, this is almost impossible. Studies have shown that an individual can only hold between three and four items in their “working memory.” Breed standards have far more than four variables, as well as the judges’ need to assess movement and
presentation, so judges are forced to use the available data alongside heuristic strat- egies to make their best decisions. While we would all like to think that the dog that is the best dog should win, I have given you some food for thought to see why this is not entirely true. I can tell you from my interactions with judges, most are consciously engaged in making the best decision possible. However, as I have related in this article, it is not an easy task and there are a ton of variables that affect each decision. Keep in mind, judging is fundamentally a sub- jective enterprise. All we can do to influ- ence the outcome is to do the best job with our individual dogs and to present each dog in such a manner that it looks like a good representation of the breed standard, groomed appropriately, and shown well. If you’re not certain about any aspect of how to do this, find a person in your breed who is willing to give you fair and objective advice so that you can present your dog in the best way possible. I can only hope that the little insight I have provided will possibly mitigate some of the negative emotions that we experi- ence when things do not go your way. I understand that nobody exhibits a dog with the intention of losing, and nobody likes losing, so control the variables that you can, do your best job, and have fun.
ABOUT MICHAEL NELINSON Michael Nelinson has been involved in purposefully bred dogs and AKC conformation shows for 45 years. His parents bred and showed Standard Poodles, and he spent his weekends at dog shows grooming and supporting his family’s efforts. This exposure led Michael to become interested in handling and he was fortunate to find wonderful mentors among the handlers with whom he spent time every weekend. He purchased his first American Staffordshire Terrier in 1979 and he’s been connected to the breed ever since. Michael was a part-time research assistant, supporting the work of a psychologist who was a longtime faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. Michael runs a successful business, writes on several topics relevant to social-sciences, and shows dogs on weekends.
108 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2022
Powered by FlippingBook