Man’s Best Friend: Dogs May Understand Human Perspective Better than Previously Thought
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/18/mans-best-friend-dogs-may-understand-human-perspective-better-than-previously-thought/#ixzz2LSmtjjyu
If you’re seeking a sympathetic friend, you may need to look no further than your dog. A recent study revealed that dogs are far more capable of understanding situations from a human’s point of view than previously believed.
The study, which was published in the journal Animal Cognition, was intended to see if dogs demonstrated a “flexible understanding” of a human’s point of view. Researchers conducted a test on84 dogs to assess the level at which they understood what a human was or was not experiencing using a very simple system: They turned out the lights.
The pets and their owners were put in a room with a bowl of dog treats, which the dog was made to understand he or she was not allowed to touch. The researchers hypothesized that if the dogs went for the forbidden snacks when the lights went down, they understood that their owners could no longer see — thus showing that the dogs understood that their human companion’s perspective had changed and could adapt their own behavior in response. If the dogs didn’t change their behavior — and didn’t go for the verboten snack — then the researchers hypothesized that dogs couldn’t understand that their owners could no longer see. (And, yes, the experiments was designed to avoid dogs falsely associating sudden darkness with someone giving them food.)
The results showed that dogs were four times more likely to steal the forbidden food when the lights were turned off and their humans could not see their “naughty” behavior. Dr Juliane Kaminski, from the University of Portsmouth’s psychology department, told the BBC that the study was “incredible because it implies dogs understand the human can’t see them, meaning they might understand the human perspective.” However, she did add that “we still can’t be completely sure if the results mean dogs have a truly flexible understanding of the mind,” noting that previously only humans were believed to have this ability.
Keep that in mind next time you’re looking for someone to complain to about your relationship.
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Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/18/mans-best-friend-dogs-may-understand-human-perspective-better-than-previously-thought/#ixzz2LSnHRsAu
Dogs understand human perspective, say researchers
Dogs can understand a human perspective, say researchers
Dogs are more capable of understanding situations from a human's point of view than has previously been recognised, according to researchers.
They found dogs were four times more likely to steal food they had been forbidden, when lights were turned off so humans in the room could not see.
This suggested the dogs were able to alter their behaviour when they knew their owners' perspective had changed.
The study, published in Animal Cognition, conducted tests on 84 dogs.
The experiments had been trying to find whether dogs could adapt their behaviour in response to the changed circumstances of their human owners.
It wanted to see if dogs had a "flexible understanding" that could show they understood the viewpoint of a human.
Dog's understanding
It found that when the lights were turned off, dogs in a room with their human owners were much more likely to disobey and steal forbidden food.
The study says it is "unlikely that the dogs simply forgot that the human was in the room" when there was no light. Instead it seems as though the dogs were able to differentiate between when the human was unable or able to see them.
Juliane Kaminski carried out the research into how dogs are influenced by human circumstances
The experiments had been designed with enough variations to avoid false associations - such as dogs beginning to associate sudden darkness with someone giving them food, researchers said.
Dr Juliane Kaminski, from the University of Portsmouth's psychology department, said the study was "incredible because it implies dogs understand the human can't see them, meaning they might understand the human perspective".
This could also be important in understanding the capacities of dogs that have to interact closely with humans, such as guide dogs for the blind and sniffer dogs.
Previous studies have suggested that although humans might think that they can recognise different expressions on their dogs' faces, this is often inaccurate and a projection of human emotions.
"Humans constantly attribute certain qualities and emotions to other living things. We know that our own dog is clever or sensitive, but that's us thinking, not them," said Dr Kaminski.
"These results suggest humans might be right, where dogs are concerned, but we still can't be completely sure if the results mean dogs have a truly flexible understanding of the mind and others' minds. It has always been assumed only humans had this ability."
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/new-study-dogs-understand-what-human-thoughts-sorta
DOG THOUGHTS
Dogs Sneakily Steal Things Because They Understand Human Behavior
By 
If you live with a dog, or hopefully several, you might already be aware of the vast underestimation on the part of science of the abilities of dogs to think, feel, and generally understand stuff in ways that have rough analogs in the thoughts, feelings, and understandings of human beings. I say this as someone that has an above-average distrust of intuition and anecdote: my dog gets stuff. He performs behaviors that make sense from a human's perspective, ones that are not based on mimicry for the sake of food and other necessities of dog life that I, as a gullible human, can provide.
I say this with some doubt, of course. I know the research: dogs are amazing learners and have exploitation down perfectly. This is how dogs evolved, exploiting the needs (hunting, emotional rescue, or otherwise) of humans for food and, thus, survival. (The dog/human thing is a case of co-evolution, more specifically; that is, we were obviously pushing the relationship too.) So, dogs don't really love us, or at least in any way we might recognize based on our own sense of love: they're just in it for the Taste of the Wild.
Today I come bearing good news for friends-of-dogs. First off, a journal exists called Animal Cognition that is focused entirely on what animals do and don't "get." Second, the new edition of said journal contains a study titled "Dogs Steal in the Dark," containing new evidence that dogs have a higher-level understanding of human behavior that previously thought. I'll give fair warning: this isn't the sort of thing that will make you never look at your dog the same again, but it is some validation.
Basically, the study took a bunch of dogs and tested them in an environment where they would have to understand a human perspective in order to react in a particular way. Researchers used 84 dogs and placed them in different lighting environments with a human and some food. The dog was told not to eat the food -- and were presumably well-trained enough to not do it anyway under any conditions, like some bad dogs would (kidding: there are no bad dogs) -- and in a situation when a human could be seen by the dog but the dog and food remained in the dark, the dogs went for it. So, dogs steal in the dark, OK.
The four test conditions of the study/Juliane Kaminski
So what, you ask? I did. I see a bottomless pool of dog behavior demonstrating that my dog understands human perspectives on a constant basis. Call it validation then, but also an interesting clue into the long-term evolutionary relationship between dogs and people--which, dog-friend or not, is important in the grand scheme of human development--and also the tantalizing whiff of more validation to come.
Lead researcher Juliane Kaminski told the BBC, "These results suggest humans might be right, where dogs are concerned, but we still can't be completely sure if the results mean dogs have a truly flexible understanding of the mind and others' minds. It has always been assumed only humans had this ability."
A friend of mine and fellow friend-of-dogs scoffed at the study, as most other friends-of-dogs probably will, but made this good point: "as long as it results in Neil DeGrasse Tyson having some goofy interaction with a border collie for a documentary I guess I'm all for it." Yes, please.
Reach this writer at michaelb@motherboard.tv. Top image: the author's dog Harley, by Abby Logsdon. 1 week ago Tags: dog thoughts, Juliane Kaminski, evolution, dogs
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