A fly fisherman
and his golden retriever enjoy the Provo River in Utah. Canines,
emerging research suggests, are more like humans than we ever imagined.
It's likely no surprise to dog owners, but growing research suggests
that man's best friend often acts more human than canine.
Dogs can read facial expressions, communicate jealousy, display empathy, and even watch TV, studies have shown. They've picked up these people-like traits during their evolution from wolves to domesticated pets, which occurred between 11,000 and 16,000 years ago, experts say.
In particular, "paying attention to us, getting along with us, [and]
tolerating us" has led to particular characteristics that often mirror
ours, says Laurie Santos, director of the Yale Comparative Cognition Laboratory. (Read more about how dogs evolved in National Geographic magazine.)
Here are a few of the latest studies showing the human side of our canine companions.
Eavesdropping Dogs
Social eavesdropping—or people-watching—is central to human social
interactions, since it allows us to figure out who's nice and who's
mean.
According to a study published in August in the journal Animal Behaviour, our dogs listen in too. (Read "Animal Minds" in National Geographic magazine.)
In a new study, scientists tested 54 dogs that each watched their
owners struggle to retrieve a roll of tape from a container. The dogs
were divided into three groups: helper, non-helper, and control.
In the helper group, the owner requested help from another person,
who held the container. In the non-helper group, the owner asked for
help from a person, who then turned their back without helping. In the
control group, the additional person turned his or her back without
being asked for help. In all experiments, a third, "neutral" person sat
in the room.
Read full here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150720-dogs-animals-science-pets-evolution-intelligence/
No comments:
Post a Comment