A new study says that dogs not only capture the words we say, but also our intention to communicate with them, as published by the researchers in 'Current Biology'. These findings could help explain why so many people treat their furry friends as if they were children., the receptivity of the dogs for communication is surprisingly similar to the responsiveness of young children, say scientists.
ยซEl aumento de la evidencia apoya la idea de que seres humanos y perros comparten algunas habilidades sociales; the sociocognitivo of canine behavior, for example, It resembles a child of between 6 months and 2 years of age, en muchos aspectosยป, says Jรณzsef Topรกl, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, quien aรฑade que ยซla utilizaciรณn de seรฑales ostensibles es una de estas caracterรญsticas: dogs, as well as human babies, son sensibles a las seรฑales que indican la intenciรณn comunicativaยป. These signals include oral care and eye contact, although it is not yet clear whether dogs use similar pathways in the brain for signal processing..
Topรกl's team presented a group of dogs with video recordings of a person going to one of two identical plastic flower pots., While an eye tracker (tracking eye movement) capturing information about the reactions of the dogs. One of the times, the person looked at the dog directly contacting him with a voice; and a second time, the person addressed the dog in a lower tone, avoiding eye contact.
The data show that the dogs were more likely to listen and look at the pot when the person clearly expressed an intention to communicate. ยซNuestros hallazgos revelan que los perros son receptivos a la comunicaciรณn humana de una manera que se atribuรญa hasta ahora sรณlo a los bebรฉs humanosยป, says Topรกl.
The results, without a doubt, confirm what many dog owners and trainers know, say researchers. It should be noted, However, This is the first study to use eye tracking to study the social skills of the dogs.
Via: canarias7
Photo: psicolocosmedicajmv