scholarly journals The performance of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) on two versions of the object choice task

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Clark ◽  
David A. Leavens
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Testing Environment ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Object Distance ◽  
Comparable Performance ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Set Up

AbstractObject choice task (OCT) studies are widely used to assess the phylogenetic and ontogenetic distribution of the understanding of communicative cues, with this understanding serving as a proxy for the discernment of communicative intentions. Recent reviews have found systematic procedural and methodological differences in studies which compare performances across species on the OCT. One such difference concerns the spatial configuration of the test set-up, specifically the distances between the two containers (inter-object distance) and the subject–experimenter distance. Here, we tested dogs on two versions of the task: a central version in which the containers were in the subjects’ direct line of vision, and a peripheral version in which the position of the containers was distal to the subject. Half of the subjects were tested with a barrier in the testing environment (as nonhuman primates are tested) and the other half without. We found that dogs tested with a barrier performed significantly better in the central version and were more likely to fail to make a choice in the peripheral version. Dogs tested without a barrier showed comparable performance on the two versions. We thus failed to find support for the distraction hypothesis in dogs. We discuss potential explanations for this, highlighting how methodological differences in the presentation of the OCT can influence outcomes in studies using this paradigm.

scholarly journals Goats follow human pointing gestures in an object choice task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Nawroth ◽  
Zoe Martin ◽  
Alan G. McElligott
Keyword(s):  
Index Finger ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Capra Hircus ◽  
Middle Position ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Pointing Gestures ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Pointing Gesture ◽  
Human Pointing

Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are extremely adept in interpreting human-given cues, such as the pointing gesture. However, the underlying mechanisms on how domestic non-companion species use these cues are not well understood. We investigated the use of human-given pointing gestures by goats (Capra hircus) in an object-choice task, where an experimenter surreptitiously hid food in one of two buckets. Subjects first had to pass a pre-test where the experimenter indicated the location of the food to the subject by a proximal pointing gesture. Subjects that succeeded in the use of this gesture were transferred to the actual test. In these subsequent test trials, the experimenter indicated the location of the food to the subject by using three different pointing gestures: proximal pointing from a middle position (distance between target and index finger: 30 cm), crossed pointing from the middle position (distance between target and index finger: 40 cm), asymmetric pointing from the position of the non-baited bucket (distance between target and index finger: 90 cm). Goats succeeded in the pointing gestures that presented an element of proximity (proximal and crossed) compared to when the experimenter was further away from the rewarded location (asymmetric). This indicates that goats can generalise their use of the human pointing gesture but might rely on stimulus/local enhancement rather than referential information. In addition, goats did not improve their responses over time, indicating that no learning took place. The results provide a greater understanding of human-animal interactions and social-cognitive abilities of livestock, which allows for the provision of enhanced management practices and welfare conditions.

scholarly journals Ovariectomy Impairs Socio-Cognitive Functions in Dogs

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Scandurra ◽  
Alessandra Alterisio ◽  
Anna Di Cosmo ◽  
Antonio D’Ambrosio ◽  
Biagio D’Aniello
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Navigation Strategy ◽  
Pointing Gestures ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Choice Frequency

Recent studies have underlined the effect of ovariectomy on the spatial cognition of female dogs, with ovariectomized dogs showing a clear preference for an egocentric rather than an allocentric navigation strategy whereas intact females did not show preferences. Intact females had better performances than gonadectomized females in solving a learning task in a maze. Ovariectomy also affects socio-cognitive abilities, reducing the dog’s level of attention on the owner. We tested dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in the object choice task paradigm to assess whether an ovariectomy could impair females’ ability to follow human signals. Forty pet dogs (18 intact females (IF) and 22 gonadectomized females (GF)) were tested in the object choice task paradigm using the human proximal pointing gesture. For the analysis, the frequency of correct, wrong and no-choices was collected; moreover, the latency of the correct choices was also considered. The IF group followed the pointing gestures more often than the GF group and with a lower latency, whereas a significantly higher no-choice frequency was recorded for the GF group. These results show a detrimental effect of ovariectomy on dogs’ socio-cognitive skills related to the responsiveness to human pointing gestures.

scholarly journals Working Smarter Not Harder: Oxytocin Increases Domestic Dogs’ (Canis familiaris) Accuracy, but Not Attempts, on an Object Choice Task

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Lee Oliva ◽  
Manuel Mengoli ◽  
Tiago Mendonça ◽  
Alessandro Cozzi ◽  
Patrick Pageat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Canis Familiaris ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Object Choice Task

Conspecific discrimination in an object-choice task in African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)

2009 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Giret ◽  
Marie Monbureau ◽  
Michel Kreutzer ◽  
Dalila Bovet
Keyword(s):  
Choice Task ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Object Choice Task

Capuchin monkeys’ use of human and conspecific cues to solve a hidden object-choice task

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 985-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Essler ◽  
Lindsay P. Schwartz ◽  
Mattea S. Rossettie ◽  
Peter G. Judge
Keyword(s):  
Choice Task ◽  
Capuchin Monkeys ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Conspecific Cues

scholarly journals Juvenile domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) use human-given cues in an object choice task

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Nawroth ◽  
Mirjam Ebersbach ◽  
Eberhard von Borell
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Domestic Pigs ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Sus Scrofa Domestica

scholarly journals Do pet dogs ( Canis familiaris ) follow ostensive and non-ostensive human gaze to distant space and to objects?

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 170349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Duranton ◽  
Friederike Range ◽  
Zsófia Virányi
Keyword(s):  
Canis Familiaris ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Chance Level ◽  
Gaze Following ◽  
Food Location ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Gaze Cues

Dogs are renowned for being skilful at using human-given communicative cues such as pointing. Results are contradictory, however, when it comes to dogs' following human gaze, probably due to methodological discrepancies. Here we investigated whether dogs follow human gaze to one of two food locations better than into distant space even after comparable pre-training. In Experiments 1 and 2, the gazing direction of dogs was recorded in a gaze-following into distant space and in an object-choice task where no choice was allowed, in order to allow a direct comparison between tasks, varying the ostensive nature of the gazes. We found that dogs only followed repeated ostensive human gaze into distant space, whereas they followed all gaze cues in the object-choice task. Dogs followed human gaze better in the object-choice task than when there was no obvious target to look at. In Experiment 3, dogs were tested in another object-choice task and were allowed to approach a container. Ostensive cues facilitated the dogs’ following gaze with gaze as well as their choices: we found that dogs in the ostensive group chose the indicated container at chance level, whereas they avoided this container in the non-ostensive group. We propose that dogs may perceive the object-choice task as a competition over food and may interpret non-ostensive gaze as an intentional cue that indicates the experimenter's interest in the food location she has looked at. Whether ostensive cues simply mitigate the competitive perception of this situation or they alter how dogs interpret communicative gaze needs further investigation. Our findings also show that following gaze with one's gaze and actually choosing one of the two containers in an object-choice task need to be considered as different variables. The present study clarifies a number of questions related to gaze-following in dogs and adds to a growing body of evidence showing that human ostensive cues can strongly modify dog behaviour.

scholarly journals Captive gibbons (Hylobatidae) use different referential cues in an object-choice task: insights into lesser ape cognition and manual laterality

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai R. Caspar ◽  
Larissa Mader ◽  
Fabian Pallasdies ◽  
Miriam Lindenmeier ◽  
Sabine Begall
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Hand Preferences

Background Utilization of visual referential cues by non-human primates is a subject of constant scientific interest. However, only few primate species, mostly great apes, have been studied thoroughly in that regard, rendering the understanding of phylogenetic influences on the underlying cognitive patterns difficult. Methods We tested six species of captive gibbons in an object-choice task (n = 11) for their ability to interpret two different pointing gestures, a combination of body orientation and gaze direction as well as glancing as referential cues. Hand preferences were tested in the object-choice task and in a bimanual tube task (n = 18). Results We found positive responses to all signals except for the glancing cue at the individual as well as at the group level. The gibbons’ success rates partially exceed results reported for great apes in comparable tests and appear to be similarly influenced by prior exposure to human communicative cues. Hand preferences exhibited by the gibbons in the object-choice task as well as in a bimanual tube task suggest that crested gibbons (Nomascus sp.) are strongly lateralized at individual but not at population level for tasks involving object manipulation. Discussion Based on the available data, it can be assumed that the cognitive foundations to utilize different visual cues essential to human communication are conserved in extant hominoids and can be traced back at least to the common ancestor of great and lesser apes. However, future studies have to further investigate how the social environment of gibbons influences their ability to exploit referential signals. Gibbons’ manual laterality patterns appear to differ in several aspects from the situation found in great apes. While not extensive enough to allow for general conclusions about the evolution of hand preferences in gibbons or apes in general, our results add to the expanding knowledge on manual lateralization in the Hylobatidae.

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