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Can Dogs Catch Yawns From Humans?
Can Dogs Catch Yawns From Humans?
According to Dr. Gordon Gallup, a leading researcher at the University of Albany, “contagious yawning is triggered by empathic mechanisms which function to maintain group vigilance.” (news.bbc.co.uk) Studies conducted by a team led by Dr. Atsushi Senju from Birkbeck College, University of London showed that dogs may have an empathetic response to a human yawn. Who knew your trusty pet cared so much?
The Experiment
Dr. Senju and his team developed an experiment, which tested 29 canines in reading a human yawn signal (news.bbc.co.uk). Two conditions were used in the experiment to ensure accuracy of results.
1. Under the first condition, a stranger was placed in a room with the dog. The human called out to the dog and when it made eye contact, the human yawned.
2. Under the second condition, the stranger followed the same steps with each animal, but rather than actually yawn, the human simply opened and closed their mouth. This would show if the animals were responding to an open mouth or a real yawn.
The Results
Of the 29 canines participating in the study, 21 showed a contagious yawning response to the human yawns (news.bbc.co.uk). Under the second condition when the human did not show a real yawn, there were no yawning responses from the canines. Although Dr. Senju noted that they couldn’t entirely rule out stress-induced yawning, which is common, this is still quite a step toward showing empathy from canines to humans.
The dogs you love and trust apparently feel quite the same way. Dogs are already obedient and loyal companions and the communication abilities between humans and animals give each species excellent understanding of the other. To add empathy toward their human counterparts to the list of reasons why they make excellent domestic pets is a bonus.
Resources
1. mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2010_05_06_slnmlb_phimlb_1
2. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7541633.stm
http://myevt.com/news/can-dogs-catch-yawns-humans
What do you think? Do dogs have empathy?
Posts
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Permalink Reply by Sue & the Crew on
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I understand empathy to be an experience where one feels and understands another's feelings. I.e. I experience happiness because you are happy that you got a new job.
So do I understand that the dog's empathy is that you're feeling sleepy so I am feeling sleepy (i.e. actual experience)? But you faking a yawn is not a feeling; therefore, I will not respond.
Interesting study. Do I think dogs have empathy? I don't know that I am convinced but I imagine that since empathy in dogs is not well understood yet, it is quite possible.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
I thought is was a relatively small study but the question is a good one. I would certainly like to see more studies like this to better understand the human/canine bond.
Personally, I know when I am tired and run down the dogs lay around. When I am sad or crying watching a movie or sad, they will come and put their head on my lap or gather closer. If happy, they are all bouncy and kissy. So whether it is body language or empathy, I don't know, but I do believe they are in tune with their family, somehow.
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Actually, it seems this one small study is quite significant in researching dog - human behaviour. I too thought about how sometimes when I am not feeling well, or I am sad, the girls seem to share my mood. But I wonder if that is sympathy, which could be a whole other can of worms. I.e. I understand you are sad, but I have not really experienced your sadness.
I agree with you Lynne that dogs are very much in tune with their humans. I'm sure many people can share a story where their dogs surprised us with their "almost human" behaviour.
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How about "doggy depression"? There are times when my girls are very noticeably "down" themselves with no real explanation (not sick or in any pain - well at least from what I can tell). Or the most noticeable case of doggy depression was when my one golden retriever passed away, the other was just "down" for a very long time afterwards. In fact, I would say she never got over it.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
Oh, I definitely believe they feel their own sadness or loss, too. My Cody was very depressed after Magic died. He moped around for 2 weeks or more. And just look into the eyes of dogs in a shelter picture and you read he was abandoned by his family, the sadness in his eyes is huge. I am not sure what it is, but all creatures do have feelings. I would like to see some studies done that confirm this and bring changes to the shelter system.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
Another article in same area of study -
Dogs imitate their owners, says study
From: NewsCore July 28, 2010
DOGS really do copy their owners' movements with their mouths and paws, according to a newly published study.
Humans are known to have what scientists call 'automatic imitation' where another person's body movement triggers a similar reaction in the observer.
The new study by cognitive biologists at the University of Vienna, Austria, and detailed in the journal of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found our four-legged friends do the same.
Ten dogs were trained to open a sliding door using their heads and paws with a reward of food.
Five - three border collies, an Australian Shepherd and a mongrel - were trained to open the door with their paw, after their owner used their hand.
The other five - four border collies and a mongrel - were instructed to use their paw but this time after seeing the owner use their head.
These dogs took significantly longer to respond than the other dogs who were imitating their owner.
Dr Friederike Range, the lead researcher, said: "The dogs brought with them to the experiment a tendency to automatically imitate hand use and/or paw use; to imitate these actions even when it was costly to do so, when imitation interfered with the efficient performance of an ongoing task."
Other scientists involved in the experiment said: "The results provide the first evidence of automatic imitation and of automatic counter-imitation in dogs.
"Dogs are special animals, both in terms of their evolutionary history of domestication and the range and intensity of their development training by humans."
In another study two years ago, researchers found that dogs yawn when they see a human doing the same.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/breaking-news/dogs-imitate-their...
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Interesting article. This made me think of something - how my girls will look where I point. I've never taken a moment to consider that it is rather interesting that they understand my "pointing".
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
I know, it's interesting that they would come to know our body language, mannerisms and actions. But I guess that since we are creatures and they are creatures of habit, it would make sense. We do certain things because that is how we always do them, and they must learn them because of the outcome. Interesting thinking, Sue.
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Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by Jeannine, Gamine & Thalie on -
I watched on t.v. a study of dogs and wolves. Both packs were raised by the same humans. They grew up from puppies to adults with their humans.
The study was to see if dogs and wolves will follow their humans' movements all the time. The dogs were doing exactly what their human was doing,., ex. turning right or left.
One of the most important parts of the study was placing a treat under one of two buckets and pointing one finger to one or the other. The dogs always went to the bucket the human pointed at, whether there was a treat under it or not. As for the wolves, they always went to where the treat was and never even paid attention to the human pointing.
It shows how much dogs have adapted to us and feel closer to humans now than their wolf ancestors.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
I would have liked to see that study, J. Do you remember the name of it? I would think it would be a trust factor, too. The dogs have a longer history with humans where the wolves do not. The nature vs. nurture debate, again.
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Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by Jeannine, Gamine & Thalie on -
It was yesterday or the night before at the Animal Planet. The study was from Russia I thing or a north country, not sure.
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