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Author Takimoto, A.; Fujita, K. pdf  openurl
  Title Are horses (Equus caballus) sensitive to human attentional states? Type Conference Article
  Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Horses; Attentional state; Begging behavior  
  Abstract The ability to reliably detect what others are attending to seems important for social species to interact with their partners. Domestic horses (Equus caballus) have lived with humans for over five thousand years, hence they might have developed sensitivity to human attention. In the present study, we investigated whether horses would discriminate the situation in which a human experimenter could see them from the situation in which she could not. Specifically, we tested whether horses understand the role of eyes in human attentional states, produce more visual gestures when the experimenter can see their begging behaviors and produce more auditory or tactile gestures when she can not. We used with a slight modification the paradigm that previously yielded support for chimpanzee understanding of human attention (Hostetter et al. 2007). Twelve horses were offered food by the experimenter who showed various attentional states in front of them. We scored frequency of begging behaviors by the horses. In experiment 1, we set three kinds of condition: hand over the eyes, hand over the mouth and away. In the last condition there was only a food in front of horses, which was a control condition. The results showed that horses produced more auditory or tactile begging behaviors when the experimenter“s eyes were not visible than when her eyes were visible, but there was no difference in visual begging behaviors. In experiment 2, we set two kinds of condition: eyes closed and eyes open. The horses also produced more auditory or tactile begging behaviors when the experimenter”s eyes were closed than when they were open. However, there was no difference in visual begging behaviors. These results show that horses discriminate the situation in which humans can see from that in which humans can not. Of special interest, horses increased only auditory or tactile behaviors, not all types of communicative behaviors, when the experimenter could not see their begging behaviors. This result suggests that horses are sensitive to human attentional states. Moreover, horses may do recognize the eyes as an important indicator of whether or not humans will respond to their behavior and they may be able to behave flexibly depending upon human attentional states  
  Address Kyoto University  
  Corporate Author Takimoto, A. Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Poster IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4481  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Proops, L.; McComb, K.; Reby, D. pdf  openurl
  Title Horse-human interactions: Attention attribution and the use of human cues by domestic horses (Equus caballus). Type Conference Article
  Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords social cognition; animal-human interaction; horses; attention  
  Abstract Recent research has shown that domestic dogs are particularly good at reading human attentional cues, often outperforming chimpanzees and hand reared wolves [1, 2]. It has been suggested that the close evolutionary relationship between humans and dogs has led to the development of this ability, however very few other species have been studied [3]. We tested the ability of 24 domestic horses to discriminate between an attentive and inattentive person when choosing whom to approach for food. While the attentive person faced forwards, the inattentive person either stood with their body turned 180° away from the subject (body orientation condition), stood with their body facing forwards but their head facing away (head orientation condition) or stood facing forwards but with their eyes closed (eyes closed condition). A fourth, mixed condition was included where the attentive person stood with their body facing away from the subjects but their head turned towards the subject while the inattentive person stood with their body facing the subject but their head turned away. Horses chose the attentive person significantly more often using the body cue (n = 24, k = 19, p = 0.003), the head cue (n = 24, k = 18, p = 0.011), and the eye cue (n = 24, k = 19, p = 0.003) but not the mixed cue (n = 24, k = 13, p = 0.42). In an additional pilot study, horses were tested in an object choice task. A human experimenter cued one of two buckets by either tapping the bucket (tap condition), orienting their body towards the bucket and pointing (body and point condition), pointing while facing forwards (point condition) or orienting their body towards the bucket (body condition). If the subjects chose the correct bucket they were rewarded. Subjects were able to use the tap cue (n = 31, k = 21, p = 0.035), body + point cue (n= 31, k = 21, p = 0.035) and the point cue (n = 30, k = 21, p = 0.021) but not the body cue (n = 31, k = 11, p = 0.076). These results taken together suggest that domestic horses are also very sensitive to human attentional cues, including gaze.

Keywords:

social cognition, animal-human interaction, horses, attention attribution, domestication

1. Hare, B., Brown, M., Williamson, C., and Tomasello, M. (2002). The domestication of social cognition in dogs. Science 298, 1634-1636.

2. Gacsi, M., Miklosi, A., Varga, O., Topal, J., and Csanyi, V. (2004). Are readers of our face readers of our minds` Dogs (Canis familiaris) show situation-dependent recognition of human’s attention. Animal Cognition 7, 144-153.

3. Hare, B., and Tomasello, M. (2005). Human-like social skills in dogs? Trends Cogn. Sci. 9, 439-444.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Proops, L. Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Poster IESM 2008 Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4502  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Vallortigara, G.; Rogers, L.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Abbreviated Journal Behav Brain Sci  
  Volume 28 Issue 4 Pages 575-89; discussion 589-633  
  Keywords Animals; Attention/*physiology; Behavior/*physiology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Dominance, Cerebral/*physiology; *Evolution; Humans; Models, Biological; Visual Perception/physiology  
  Abstract Recent evidence in natural and semi-natural settings has revealed a variety of left-right perceptual asymmetries among vertebrates. These include preferential use of the left or right visual hemifield during activities such as searching for food, agonistic responses, or escape from predators in animals as different as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are obvious disadvantages in showing such directional asymmetries because relevant stimuli may be located to the animal's left or right at random; there is no a priori association between the meaning of a stimulus (e.g., its being a predator or a food item) and its being located to the animal's left or right. Moreover, other organisms (e.g., predators) could exploit the predictability of behavior that arises from population-level lateral biases. It might be argued that lateralization of function enhances cognitive capacity and efficiency of the brain, thus counteracting the ecological disadvantages of lateral biases in behavior. However, such an increase in brain efficiency could be obtained by each individual being lateralized without any need to align the direction of the asymmetry in the majority of the individuals of the population. Here we argue that the alignment of the direction of behavioral asymmetries at the population level arises as an “evolutionarily stable strategy” under “social” pressures occurring when individually asymmetrical organisms must coordinate their behavior with the behavior of other asymmetrical organisms of the same or different species.  
  Address Department of Psychology and B.R.A.I.N. Centre for Neuroscience, University of Trieste, 34123 Trieste, Italy. vallorti@univ.trieste.it  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0140-525X ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16209828 Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4622  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Virányi, Z.; Topál, J.; Gácsi, M.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V. url  doi
openurl 
  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 Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15110918 Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4957  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Schwab, C.; Huber, L. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Obey or not obey? Dogs (Canis familiaris) behave differently in response to attentional states of their owners Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Journal of Comparative Psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 120 Issue 3 Pages 169-175  
  Keywords Animals; *Attention; Awareness; *Bonding, Human-Pet; *Cooperative Behavior; Cues; Dogs/*psychology; Humans; Motivation; *Nonverbal Communication; Social Perception; *Speech Perception; *Verbal Behavior  
  Abstract Sixteen domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) were tested in a familiar context in a series of 1-min trials on how well they obeyed after being told by their owner to lie down. Food was used in 1/3 of all trials, and during the trial the owner engaged in 1 of 5 activities. The dogs behaved differently depending on the owner's attention to them. When being watched by the owner, the dogs stayed lying down most often and/or for the longest time compared with when the owner read a book, watched TV, turned his or her back on them, or left the room. These results indicate that the dogs sensed the attentional state of their owners by judging observable behavioral cues such as eye contact and eye, head, and body orientation.  
  Address Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. cpriberskyschwab@yahoo.de  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16893253 Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4961  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Gácsi, M.; Kara, E.; Belényi, B.; Topál, J.; Miklósi, Á. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The effect of development and individual differences in pointing comprehension of dogs Type Journal Article
  Year 2009 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 12 Issue 3 Pages 471-479  
  Keywords Age Factors; Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Association Learning; Attention; Chi-Square Distribution; Choice Behavior; *Comprehension; *Concept Formation; Dogs/*psychology; Female; *Gestures; Humans; Male; Orientation; Statistics, Nonparametric  
  Abstract In spite of the rather different procedures actually used in comparative studies to test the ability of different species to rely on the human pointing gesture, there is no debate on the high performance of dogs in such tasks. Very little is known, however, on the course through which they acquire this ability or the probable factors influencing the process. Important developmental questions have remained unsolved and also some methodological concerns should be addressed before we can convincingly argue for one interpretation or another. In this study we tested 180 dogs of different age (from 2 months to adults) to investigate their performance in the human distal momentary pointing gesture. The results, analyzed at both the group and the individual levels, showed no difference in the performance according to age, indicating that in dogs the comprehension of the human pointing may require only very limited and rapid early learning to fully develop. Interestingly, neither the keeping conditions nor the time spent in active interaction with the owner, and not even some special (agility) training for using human visual cues, had significant effect on the success and explained individual differences. The performance of the dogs was rather stable over time: during the 20 trials within a session and even when subsamples of different age were repeatedly tested. Considering that in spite of the general success at the group level, more than half of the dogs were not successful at the individual level, we revealed alternative “decision-making rules” other than following the pointing gesture of the experimenter.  
  Address Department of Ethology, Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary. gm.art@t-online.hu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9456 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:19130102 Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4969  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Hostetter, A.B.; Cantero, M.; Hopkins, W.D. url  openurl
  Title Differential use of vocal and gestural communication by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in response to the attentional status of a human (Homo sapiens) Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Journal of Comparative Psychology Abbreviated Journal J. Comp. Psychol.  
  Volume 115 Issue 4 Pages 337-343  
  Keywords Animals; *Attention; *Communication Methods, Total; Female; *Gestures; Humans; Male; Motivation; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract This study examined the communicative behavior of 49 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), particularly their use of vocalizations, manual gestures, and other auditory- or tactile-based behaviors as a means of gaining an inattentive audience's attention. A human (Homo sapiens) experimenter held a banana while oriented either toward or away from the chimpanzee. The chimpanzees' behavior was recorded for 60 s. Chimpanzees emitted vocalizations faster and were more likely to produce vocalizations as their 1st communicative behavior when a human was oriented away from them. Chimpanzees used manual gestures more frequently and faster when the human was oriented toward them. These results replicate the findings of earlier studies on chimpanzee gestural communication and provide new information about the intentional and functional use of their vocalizations.  
  Address Department of Psychology, Berry College, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:11824896 Approved yes  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4970  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Scheidhacker, M.; Bender, W.; Vaitl, P. url  openurl
  Title Die Wirksamkeit des therapeutischen Reitens bei der Behandlung chronisch schizophrener Patienten Type Journal Article
  Year 1991 Publication Der Nervenarzt Abbreviated Journal Nervenarzt  
  Volume 62 Issue 5 Pages 283-287  
  Keywords Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Animals; Attention; Chronic Disease; Female; Follow-Up Studies; *Horses; Humans; Male; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotherapy/*methods; Schizophrenia/*rehabilitation; *Schizophrenic Psychology; Self Concept; *Sports  
  Abstract After describing horse-riding as a facility in managing mentally ill patients, a program for chronic schizophrenic in-patients is presented. Clinical experience with this program and also results of a controlled study are reported. The therapeutic value and slope for horse-riding are discussed in relation to different diagnoses.  
  Address Bezirkskrankenhaus Haar b. Munchen  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language German Summary Language Original Title Die Wirksamkeit des therapeutischen Reitens bei der Behandlung chronisch schizophrener Patienten. Experimentelle Ergebnisse und klinische Erfahrungen  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0028-2804 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes [The effectiveness of therapeutic horseback-riding in the treatment of chronic schizophrenic patients. Experimental results and clinical experiences] Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5067  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Krueger, K.; Flauger, B.; Farmer, K.; Maros, K. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention Type Journal Article
  Year 2011 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 14 Issue 2 Pages 187-201  
  Keywords Human–horse interaction – Horse – Attention-reading – Position – Familiarity  
  Abstract This study evaluates the horse (Equus caballus) use of human local enhancement cues and reaction to human attention when making feeding decisions. The superior performance of dogs in observing human states of attention suggests this ability evolved with domestication. However, some species show an improved ability to read human cues through socialization and training. We observed 60 horses approach a bucket with feed in a three-way object-choice task when confronted with (a) an unfamiliar or (b) a familiar person in 4 different situations: (1) squatting behind the bucket, facing the horse (2) standing behind the bucket, facing the horse (3) standing behind the bucket in a back-turned position, gazing away from the horse and (4) standing a few meters from the bucket in a distant, back-turned position, again gazing away from the horse. Additionally, postures 1 and 2 were tested both with the person looking permanently at the horse and with the person alternating their gaze between the horse and the bucket. When the person remained behind the correct bucket, it was chosen significantly above chance. However, when the test person was turned and distant from the buckets, the horses’ performance deteriorated. In the turned person situations, the horses approached a familiar person and walked towards their focus of attention significantly more often than with an unfamiliar person. Additionally, in the squatting and standing person situations, some horses approached the person before approaching the correct bucket. This happened more with a familiar person. We therefore conclude that horses can use humans as a local enhancement cue independently of their body posture or gaze consistency when the persons remain close to the food source and that horses seem to orientate on the attention of familiar more than of unfamiliar persons. We suggest that socialization and training improve the ability of horses to read human cues.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5178  
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Author Baragli, P.; Mariti, C.; Petri, L.; De Giorgio, F.; Sighieri, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Does attention make the difference? Horses' response to human stimulus after 2 different training strategies Type Journal Article
  Year 2011 Publication Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research Abbreviated Journal J Vet Behav Clin Appl Res  
  Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages 31-38  
  Keywords attention; exploration; horse; human stimulus; training  
  Abstract We hypothesized that in an open environment, horses cope with a series of challenges in

their interactions with human beings. If the horse is not physically constrained and is free to move

in a small enclosure, it has additional options regarding its behavioral response to the trainer. The

aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of 2 different training strategies on the horse’s behavioral

response to human stimuli. In all, 12 female ponies were randomly divided into the following 2

groups: group A, wherein horses were trained in a small enclosure (where indicators of the level of

attention and behavioral response were used to modulate the training pace and the horse’s control over

its response to the stimuli provided by the trainer) and group B, wherein horses were trained in a closed

environment (in which the trainer’s actions left no room for any behavioral response except for the one

that was requested). Horses’ behavior toward the human subject and their heart rate during 2 standardized

behavioral tests were used to compare the responses of the 2 groups. Results indicated that the

horses in group A appeared to associate human actions with a positive experience, as highlighted by

the greater degree of explorative behavior toward human beings shown by these horses during the tests.

The experience of the horses during training may have resulted in different evaluations of the person, as

a consequence of the human’s actions during training; therefore, it seems that horses evaluate human

beings on daily relationship experiences.
 
  Address attention; exploration; horse; human stimulus; training  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1558-7878 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number (up) Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5286  
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