Canine Telepathy: Can Dogs Read Peoples Minds?
Dogs can predict human behavior based on specific cues, context, and learning from experience, according to a new study. (Photos.com) Dogs respond to human body language and verbal commands, but what exactly they are reacting to is unclear. For example, how do dogs know to preferentially beg for food from attentive people, and to behave badly when people are not looking?
According to new research published in Springer's journal Learning & Behavior, dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) can predict human behavior based on specific cues, context, and learning from experience.
Monique Udell and colleagues at the University of Florida set out to understand this complex social cognition, and determine whether species and the animals rearing and living environment (shelter or human home) affect performance by comparing behavior in pet domestic dogs, shelter dogs, and wolves.
The researchers looked at how the three different types behaved when allowed to beg for foodeither from an attentive person or someone unable to see the animal.
They found that wolves beg successfully for food from attentive humans, just like dogs, and both species rapidly improve with practice.
Here we provide the first evidence that non-domesticated canids, grey wolves (Canis lupus), are also sensitive to human attentional state under some conditions, write the researchers in the study abstract.
The team also found that dogs have varying sensitivity to different visual cues of human attention, with pet dogs reacting more to stimuli they have learned, while those with less human exposure not being very successful at begging.
According to new research published in Springer's journal Learning & Behavior, dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) can predict human behavior based on specific cues, context, and learning from experience.
Monique Udell and colleagues at the University of Florida set out to understand this complex social cognition, and determine whether species and the animals rearing and living environment (shelter or human home) affect performance by comparing behavior in pet domestic dogs, shelter dogs, and wolves.
The researchers looked at how the three different types behaved when allowed to beg for foodeither from an attentive person or someone unable to see the animal.
They found that wolves beg successfully for food from attentive humans, just like dogs, and both species rapidly improve with practice.
Here we provide the first evidence that non-domesticated canids, grey wolves (Canis lupus), are also sensitive to human attentional state under some conditions, write the researchers in the study abstract.
The team also found that dogs have varying sensitivity to different visual cues of human attention, with pet dogs reacting more to stimuli they have learned, while those with less human exposure not being very successful at begging.
Related Articles
The type of attentional cues, the context in which the command is presented, and previous experience are all important.
- Seeing Red Boosts Short-Term Reactions
The type of attentional cues, the context in which the command is presented, and previous experience are all important.
Comments