Question

people often notice that pets and their owners look alike. a person with curly hair might have a poodle, or someone tall might own a large, lean greyhound. sadahiko nakajima, a psychologist and researcher at the kwansei gakuin university of japan, wanted to know if this similarity was real or just imagination.

to test this idea, researchers showed people photos of dogs and their owners separately. the photos were mixed up, and volunteers had to guess which dogs belonged to which owners. people matched the correct pairs much more often than if they had just been guessing randomly.

nakajimas research also offers an explanation for why this happens. when choosing pets, people often pick animals that remind them of things they know well—including their own appearance. this follows a pattern that scientists have seen before: humans tend to like and choose things that seem familiar to them. just as friends often share similar features, people and their pets may look alike because we naturally seek out what feels comfortable and known.

which of the following inferences is best supported by the details in the passage?

given that researchers sought volunteers for their photo - matching tests, they were likely already confident that casual observers could spot the connections.

given that friends often share similar features, people likely pick pets based on appearances within their social circle.

given that people matched photos correctly more often than not, the similarities between pets and owners likely follow consistent patterns.

given that humans tend to like familiar things, people likely choose dogs that remind them of pets they have seen in photos.

Explanation:

The passage states that people matched the photos of dogs and their owners correctly more often than random guessing. This implies that there are consistent patterns in the similarities between pets and owners, which is why people could make the correct matches. The other options have no strong support in the given text. For example, there's no indication that researchers were already confident casual observers could spot connections before seeking volunteers. Also, there's no mention of people picking pets based on appearances within their social - circle or choosing dogs based on photos of other pets.

Answer:

Given that people matched photos correctly more often than not, the similarities between pets and owners likely follow consistent patterns.