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Carrying their own weight: Dogs perceive changing affordances for reaching
Jeffrey B Wagman1, Matthew D Langley1, Valeri Farmer-Dougan1,2
11 Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|April 26, 2017
Summary
Behavioral transitions depend on action stability, not just capability limits. Dogs adjusted reaching strategies based on stability, suggesting cross-species invariant control patterns for movement.
Area of Science:
- Comparative Psychology
- Biomechanics
- Motor Control
Background:
- Behavioral mode transitions are influenced by the interplay between an organism's action capabilities and environmental factors.
- These transitions often depend on the relative stability of different action modes rather than absolute performance limits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether behavioral transitions, specifically reaching strategies in dogs, are governed by invariant stimulation patterns across species.
- To examine how manipulating the stability of a primary action mode affects the transition point to an alternative mode.
Main Methods:
- Dogs were tested on their transition height from head-only reaching to rearing to retrieve a treat, with and without a weighted backpack.
- The study compared transition heights and ratios of treat-height-to-shoulder-height between tall and short dogs, and under different stability conditions.
Main Results:
- Dogs transitioned to rearing at taller absolute heights than shorter dogs, but at a consistent relative height (treat-to-shoulder ratio).
- Wearing a weighted backpack, which reduced head-only reach stability, led to earlier transitions to rearing at shorter absolute and relative heights.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis that behavioral transitions are based on the relative stability of action modes.
- The results suggest that the perception of stability and control of behavior may rely on invariant stimulation patterns, potentially applicable across species.
