| Records |
| Author |
Virányi, Z.; Topál, J.; Gácsi, M.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V. |
| Title |
Dogs respond appropriately to cues of humans' attentional focus |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
| Volume |
66 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
161-172 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; Bonding, Human-Pet; Communication; *Cues; Dogs; Humans; Recognition (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Dogs' ability to recognise cues of human visual attention was studied in different experiments. Study 1 was designed to test the dogs' responsiveness to their owner's tape-recorded verbal commands (Down!) while the Instructor (who was the owner of the dog) was facing either the dog or a human partner or none of them, or was visually separated from the dog. Results show that dogs were more ready to follow the command if the Instructor attended them during instruction compared to situations when the Instructor faced the human partner or was out of sight of the dog. Importantly, however, dogs showed intermediate performance when the Instructor was orienting into 'empty space' during the re-played verbal commands. This suggests that dogs are able to differentiate the focus of human attention. In Study 2 the same dogs were offered the possibility to beg for food from two unfamiliar humans whose visual attention (i.e. facing the dog or turning away) was systematically varied. The dogs' preference for choosing the attentive person shows that dogs are capable of using visual cues of attention to evaluate the human actors' responsiveness to solicit food-sharing. The dogs' ability to understand the communicatory nature of the situations is discussed in terms of their social cognitive skills and unique evolutionary history. |
| Address |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary. zsofi.viranyi@freemail.hu |
| Corporate Author |
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Thesis |
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| Publisher |
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Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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| Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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| Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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| Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0376-6357 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:15110918 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial  |
4957 |
| Permanent link to this record |
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| Author |
Shapiro, A.D.; Janik, V.M.; Slater, P.J.B. |
| Title |
A gray seal's (Halichoerus grypus) responses to experimenter-given pointing and directional cues |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Journal of Comparative Psychology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
117 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
355-362 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cognition/physiology; Conditioning, Operant/physiology; *Cues; Eye Movements/physiology; Female; Seals, Earless |
| Abstract |
A gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) was trained to touch a target on its left or right by responding to pointing signals. The authors then tested whether the seal would be able to generalize spontaneously to altered signals. It responded correctly to center pointing and head turning, center upper body turning, and off-center pointing but not to head turning and eye movements alone. The seal also responded correctly to brief ipsilateral and contralateral points from center and lateral positions. Pointing gestures did not cause the seal to select an object placed centrally behind it. Like many animals in similar studies, this gray seal probably did not understand the referential character of these gestures but rather used signal generalization and experience from initial operant conditioning to solve these tasks. |
| Address |
School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom |
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Thesis |
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Place of Publication |
Washington, D.C. : 1983 |
Editor |
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| Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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| Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0735-7036 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:14717636 |
Approved |
yes |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4977 |
| Permanent link to this record |
