Context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs

Bray, Emily E.; MacLean, Evan L.; Hare, Brian

doi:10.1007/s10071-013-0633-z

Cited by 125 publications

(184 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…For example, dogs may have had difficulty inhibiting an impulse to approach E1 leading them to almost invariantly choose the container nearest to him (mean choices to container near E1 across conditions = 94%). This possibility is supported by numerous studies documenting the constraining role of inhibitory control on dogs’ problem solving skills (Bray et al, 2013; Osthaus et al, 2010; Pongracz et al, 2001; Tapp et al, 2003; Wobber & Hare, 2009). Second, the small barrier may not have been perceived as an obvious physical barrier to E1’s line of sight in the same way as the larger barrier used in Experiment 2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Dogs (Canis familiaris) account for body orientation but not visual barriers when responding to pointing gestures.

MacLean¹,

Krupenye²,

Hare³

2014

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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In a series of 4 experiments we investigated whether dogs use information about a human’s visual perspective when responding to pointing gestures. While there is evidence that dogs may know what humans can and cannot see, and that they flexibly use human communicative gestures, it is unknown if they can integrate these two skills. In Experiment 1 we first determined that dogs were capable of using basic information about a human’s body orientation (indicative of her visual perspective) in a point following context. Subjects were familiarized with experimenters who either faced the dog and accurately indicated the location of hidden food, or faced away from the dog and (falsely) indicated the un-baited container. In test trials these cues were pitted against one another and dogs tended to follow the gesture from the individual who faced them while pointing. In Experiments 2–4 the experimenter pointed ambiguously toward two possible locations where food could be hidden. On test trials a visual barrier occluded the pointer’s view of one container, while dogs could always see both containers. We predicted that if dogs could take the pointer’s visual perspective they should search in the only container visible to the pointer. This hypothesis was supported only in Experiment 2. We conclude that while dogs are skilled both at following human gestures, and exploiting information about others’ visual perspectives, they may not integrate these skills in the manner characteristic of human children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Dogs (Canis familiaris) account for body orientation but not visual barriers when responding to pointing gestures.

MacLean¹,

Krupenye²,

Hare³

2014

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…For example, in addition to extensive study in human samples, self-regulatory processes have been studied in non-human primates (e.g., Goursaud & Bachevalier, 2007; James et al, 2007; Kalin, Shelton, & Davidson, 2004; Schultz & Dunbar, 2010), rodents (e.g., Afonso, Sison, Lovic, & Fleming, 2007; Dalley, Cardinal, & Robbins, 2004; Davis, Walker, Miles, & Grillon, 2010), canines (e.g., Bray, MacLean, & Hare, 2014) and even fish (Parker, Brock, Walton, & Brennan, 2013), to name just a few.…”

Section: Foundational Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational transmission of self-regulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework.

Bridgett¹,

Burt²,

Edwards³

et al. 2015

Psychological Bulletin

490

476

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This review examines mechanisms contributing to the intergenerational transmission of self-regulation. To provide an integrated account of how self-regulation is transmitted across generations, we draw from over 75 years of accumulated evidence, spanning case studies to experimental approaches, in literatures covering developmental, social, and clinical psychology, and criminology, physiology, genetics, and human and animal neuroscience (among others). First, we present a taxonomy of what self-regulation is and then examine how it develops – overviews that guide the main foci of the review. Next, studies supporting an association between parent and child self-regulation are reviewed. Subsequently, literature that considers potential social mechanisms of transmission, specifically parenting behavior, inter-parental (i.e., marital) relationship behaviors, and broader rearing influences (e.g., household chaos) are considered. Finally, literature providing evidence that prenatal programming may be the starting point of the intergenerational transmission of self-regulation is covered, along with key findings from the behavioral and molecular genetics literatures. To integrate these literatures, we introduce the Self-Regulation Intergenerational Transmission Model, a framework that brings together prenatal, social, and neurobiological mechanisms (spanning endocrine, neural, and genetic levels, including gene-environment interplay and epigenetic processes) to explain the intergenerational transmission of self-regulation. This model also incorporates potential transactional processes between generations (e.g., children’s self-regulation and parent-child interaction dynamics that may affect parents’ self-regulation) that further influence intergenerational processes. In pointing the way forward, we note key future directions and ways to address limitations in existing work throughout the review and in closing. We also conclude by noting several implications for intervention work.

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“…This selection has created a diversity of temperamental profiles that might be explored by comparing subpopulations of dogs on cognitive tasks. Inhibitory control is one problem-solving skill that seems to be affected across taxa by levels of emotional arousal—a component of temperament (Hare et al 2007; Rosati and Hare 2013; Wright et al 2011, 2012; Topál et al 2009)—and is also known to vary widely between individuals and species (MacLean et al 2014; Moffitt et al 2011; Bray et al 2014). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing arousal enhances inhibitory control in calm but not excitable dogs

2015

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The emotional-reactivity hypothesis proposes that problem-solving abilities can be constrained by temperament, within and across species. One way to test this hypothesis is with the predictions of the Yerkes-Dodson law. The law posits that arousal level, a component of temperament, affects problem solving in an inverted U-shaped relationship: optimal performance is reached at intermediate levels of arousal and impeded by high and low levels. Thus, a powerful test of the emotional-reactivity hypothesis is to compare cognitive performance in dog populations that have been bred and trained based in part on their arousal levels. We therefore compared a group of pet dogs to a group of assistance dogs bred and trained for low arousal (N = 106) on a task of inhibitory control involving a detour response. Consistent with the Yerkes-Dodson law, assistance dogs, which began the test with lower levels of baseline arousal, showed improvements when arousal was artificially increased. In contrast, pet dogs, which began the test with higher levels of baseline arousal, were negatively affected when their arousal was increased. Furthermore, the dogs’ baseline levels of arousal, as measured in their rate of tail wagging, differed by population in the expected directions. Low-arousal assistance dogs showed the most inhibition in a detour task when humans eagerly encouraged them while more highly aroused pet dogs performed worst on the same task with strong encouragement. Our findings support the hypothesis that selection on temperament can have important implications for cognitive performance.

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Context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs

Cited by 125 publications

References 65 publications

Dogs (Canis familiaris) account for body orientation but not visual barriers when responding to pointing gestures.

Dogs (Canis familiaris) account for body orientation but not visual barriers when responding to pointing gestures.

Intergenerational transmission of self-regulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework.

Increasing arousal enhances inhibitory control in calm but not excitable dogs

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