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Why do dogs look back at the human in an impossible task? Looking back behaviour may be over-interpreted
Martina Lazzaroni1, Sarah Marshall-Pescini2, Helena Manzenreiter3
1Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. martina.lazzaroni@vetmeduni.at.ac.
Animal Cognition
|February 25, 2020
Summary
Dog behavior in unsolvable tasks shows that looking back is not a social problem-solving strategy. Instead, this canine behavior is linked to persistence and stimulus salience, not seeking help.
Area of Science:
- Animal Behavior
- Cognitive Science
- Canine Ethology
Background:
- The impossible task paradigm is often used to study looking back behavior in dogs.
- This behavior is commonly interpreted as a social problem-solving strategy where dogs seek human assistance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the looking back behavior in dogs during an impossible task truly represents a social problem-solving strategy.
- To differentiate between genuine help-seeking and other factors influencing this behavior.
Main Methods:
- A modified impossible task paradigm was employed, presenting dogs with both solvable and unsolvable trials simultaneously.
- Dogs were tested under four conditions: social (human experimenter), asocial (alone), 'dummy' human, and object (cardboard).
- Two dog populations were compared: pet dogs and free-ranging dogs from Morocco.
Main Results:
- Both pet and free-ranging dogs exhibited similar persistence with the impossible task across all tested conditions.
- Dogs showed comparable latencies in looking back at a human, a dummy human, and an object.
- Pet dogs demonstrated longer looking back durations towards humans compared to free-ranging dogs.
Conclusions:
- The looking back behavior in dogs facing impossible tasks does not appear to be a social problem-solving strategy.
- This behavior is more likely associated with the dog's persistence, the inherent salience of presented stimuli, and prior reinforcement history with humans.
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