Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic
Abstract Several recent studies have investigated how dogs perceive human emotional expressions. They have measured the reactions of dogs when exposed to stimuli presented in different modalities, such as photographs, audio recordings or odor samples, or to humans simulating various emotional situat...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2024-09-01
|
| Series: | Animal Cognition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01899-x |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832585473489371136 |
|---|---|
| author | Juliane Bräuer Dorothea Eichentopf Nomi Gebele Louise Jandke Veronique Mann Katharina Schulte Yana Bender |
| author_facet | Juliane Bräuer Dorothea Eichentopf Nomi Gebele Louise Jandke Veronique Mann Katharina Schulte Yana Bender |
| author_sort | Juliane Bräuer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Several recent studies have investigated how dogs perceive human emotional expressions. They have measured the reactions of dogs when exposed to stimuli presented in different modalities, such as photographs, audio recordings or odor samples, or to humans simulating various emotional situations. In the current study, dog owners were manipulated to genuinely experience emotions of happiness, sadness, and neutrality. We measured how dogs responded to their owners’ authentic emotions in two different natural situations: induction of the emotion through a video clip and training of a new task. Through a detailed analysis of dog behavior in these naturalistic settings, we investigated whether dogs show behavioral responses to genuine human emotions. We found that dogs behaved differently depending on the owner’s emotional state: they gazed and jumped less at owners when they were sad, and their compliance with the ‘sit’ command was also diminished. When owners were happy, dogs performed better in the trained task. These results are discussed in light of how dogs perceive human emotional expressions and the adaptive value of this skill. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ad06739488c4892919a43b23f3cfdf9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ad06739488c4892919a43b23f3cfdf92025-01-26T12:43:51ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562024-09-0127111210.1007/s10071-024-01899-xDogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathicJuliane Bräuer0Dorothea Eichentopf1Nomi Gebele2Louise Jandke3Veronique Mann4Katharina Schulte5Yana Bender6DogStudies, Max Planck Institute for GeoanthropologyInstitute of Psychology, University of HamburgDogStudies, Max Planck Institute for GeoanthropologyDogStudies, Max Planck Institute for GeoanthropologyDogStudies, Max Planck Institute for GeoanthropologyVitos Kinder- und Jugendklinik für psychische Gesundheit EltvilleDogStudies, Max Planck Institute for GeoanthropologyAbstract Several recent studies have investigated how dogs perceive human emotional expressions. They have measured the reactions of dogs when exposed to stimuli presented in different modalities, such as photographs, audio recordings or odor samples, or to humans simulating various emotional situations. In the current study, dog owners were manipulated to genuinely experience emotions of happiness, sadness, and neutrality. We measured how dogs responded to their owners’ authentic emotions in two different natural situations: induction of the emotion through a video clip and training of a new task. Through a detailed analysis of dog behavior in these naturalistic settings, we investigated whether dogs show behavioral responses to genuine human emotions. We found that dogs behaved differently depending on the owner’s emotional state: they gazed and jumped less at owners when they were sad, and their compliance with the ‘sit’ command was also diminished. When owners were happy, dogs performed better in the trained task. These results are discussed in light of how dogs perceive human emotional expressions and the adaptive value of this skill.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01899-xDomestic dogsEmotionsEmpathySocial interactions |
| spellingShingle | Juliane Bräuer Dorothea Eichentopf Nomi Gebele Louise Jandke Veronique Mann Katharina Schulte Yana Bender Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic Animal Cognition Domestic dogs Emotions Empathy Social interactions |
| title | Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic |
| title_full | Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic |
| title_fullStr | Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic |
| title_short | Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic |
| title_sort | dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic |
| topic | Domestic dogs Emotions Empathy Social interactions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01899-x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT julianebrauer dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic AT dorotheaeichentopf dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic AT nomigebele dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic AT louisejandke dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic AT veroniquemann dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic AT katharinaschulte dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic AT yanabender dogsdistinguishauthentichumanemotionswithoutbeingempathic |