Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate
Abstract We conducted four experiments with 56 adult dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) involving tasks where food was dropped through an opaque tube connected either vertically or diagonally to one of two or three goal boxes. In the first experiment, modelled after studies with children and primates, th...
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crwiley:10.1111/1467-7687.00306 2024-09-15T18:01:19+00:00 Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate Osthaus, Britta Slater, Alan M. Lea, Stephen E.G. 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00306 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2F1467-7687.00306 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-7687.00306 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Developmental Science volume 6, issue 5, page 489-497 ISSN 1363-755X 1467-7687 journal-article 2003 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00306 2024-08-27T04:26:07Z Abstract We conducted four experiments with 56 adult dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) involving tasks where food was dropped through an opaque tube connected either vertically or diagonally to one of two or three goal boxes. In the first experiment, modelled after studies with children and primates, the dogs first searched significantly more often in the location directly beneath the drop‐off point (a gravity bias), although this box was not connected with the tube. These results are comparable to those of human infants and cotton‐top tamarins. Experiments 2–4 tested which problem solving strategy the dogs applied to find the food. Results show that they do not understand the physical mechanism of the tube itself, and they apply one of three search strategies: search the gravity box (the one below the drop‐off box); search the box in the middle; learn the correct location of the goal box. When the goal box was in the same location the dogs learned to search there over trials, that is, they learned to ‘defy gravity’, but when the location of the goal box changed over trials they showed no learning. These findings are compared with those from human infants and cotton‐top tamarins: like these species, the dogs can learn to overcome a gravity bias, but only when the reward is to be found in a consistent location. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Wiley Online Library Developmental Science 6 5 489 497 |
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English |
description |
Abstract We conducted four experiments with 56 adult dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) involving tasks where food was dropped through an opaque tube connected either vertically or diagonally to one of two or three goal boxes. In the first experiment, modelled after studies with children and primates, the dogs first searched significantly more often in the location directly beneath the drop‐off point (a gravity bias), although this box was not connected with the tube. These results are comparable to those of human infants and cotton‐top tamarins. Experiments 2–4 tested which problem solving strategy the dogs applied to find the food. Results show that they do not understand the physical mechanism of the tube itself, and they apply one of three search strategies: search the gravity box (the one below the drop‐off box); search the box in the middle; learn the correct location of the goal box. When the goal box was in the same location the dogs learned to search there over trials, that is, they learned to ‘defy gravity’, but when the location of the goal box changed over trials they showed no learning. These findings are compared with those from human infants and cotton‐top tamarins: like these species, the dogs can learn to overcome a gravity bias, but only when the reward is to be found in a consistent location. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Osthaus, Britta Slater, Alan M. Lea, Stephen E.G. |
spellingShingle |
Osthaus, Britta Slater, Alan M. Lea, Stephen E.G. Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
author_facet |
Osthaus, Britta Slater, Alan M. Lea, Stephen E.G. |
author_sort |
Osthaus, Britta |
title |
Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
title_short |
Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
title_full |
Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
title_fullStr |
Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can dogs defy gravity? A comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
title_sort |
can dogs defy gravity? a comparison with the human infant and a non‐human primate |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00306 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2F1467-7687.00306 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-7687.00306 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Developmental Science volume 6, issue 5, page 489-497 ISSN 1363-755X 1467-7687 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00306 |
container_title |
Developmental Science |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
489 |
op_container_end_page |
497 |
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1810438483245793280 |