RISE August-September 2011 - University of Salford

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RISE Magazine Yawning gap between man and dog When someone else yawns do you yawn too? When you hear someone yawning does it make you yawn as well? This is known as contagious yawning; where only reading the word ‘yawn’ is sufficient to induce yawning in some people. (Have you yawned yet?) R ecent research has suggested one’s propensity to ‘catch’ yawns from others might be linked to empathy, as people who score highly on an empathy index are more likely to catch yawns than others. But can this putative empathic link cross the species divide? Dr Sean O’Hara, a lecturer in wildlife cognition and behaviour in the School of Environment & Life Sciences, here at the University, is working to provide an answer to this question. Domestic dogs are especially noted for their attentiveness to human behaviour and are impressive in responding to only very subtle cues. This attention to another’s behavioural and emotional state led researchers of a 2008 study to report that dogs catch yawns from humans, and at rates that even exceeded those of contagious yawning reported for humans and chimpanzees. The report’s authors suggested dogs might therefore possess rudimentary empathy (and empathy capable of crossing the species divide). Sean’s study attempted to test dogs under conditions that were designed to preserve the dogs’ sense of familiarity and emotional connectedness to the yawner However, Sean’s (and co-author Amy Reeve’s) research, recently published in the journal Animal Behaviour, has cast doubt on this finding. Unlike the original 2008 research, Sean’s study attempted to test dogs under conditions that were designed to preserve the dogs’ sense of familiarity and emotional connectedness to the yawner. Above: Sean and Chico, the Lurcher So dogs were tested in their own homes and the yawner, in some trials, was the owner; thus homing in on any empathicpropensities. Under these more natural conditions, however, dogs failed to catch yawns. One reason why dogs may have yawned in the 2008 study could have been because the lab testing conditions induced yawning as a consequence of anxiety. In Sean’s study heart rate measurements were taken before, during and after the trials to demonstrate that his subjects were not being psychologically stressed by the test conditions. This meant any yawns seen could be attributed to contagion rather than stress induced. Under these affable conditions though, subjects didn’t catch yawns from familiar or unfamiliar people and they didn’t even catch yawns when played videos of fellow dogs yawning. 26 | August/September
ehaviour and is believed to be cognitively challenging but, increasingly studies are beginning to show that some animals, like many non-human primates, elephants, social carnivores, and even some invertebrates, are also capable of social learning. The empathy and emotional-connectedness with owners link appears to have been dealt a blow. As Sean said when interviewed for the May edition of Science News: “I’m afraid it’s not looking good for canines and contagious yawning”. However, it need not be a fatal blow as empathy is not a two way street; just because people feel emotionally-connected to their dogs doesn’t mean that dogs must reciprocate emotionally. Sean continued: “Our pets probably don’t feel for us the way we feel about them, they rely on us as the source of their needs and they are clever at using us to help them acquire what they need, but they needn’t feel anything towards us despite us often thinking that they might care about us, or us wanting them to! In contrast however we know people are often very emotionally-connected to their pets. Previous research has shown that the bereavement following the loss of a dog is as emotionally stressful as the loss of a (human) loved one. Clearly we do empathise with our pets”. Contagion does not constitute social learning – it’s only a ‘matching’ response that is ‘released’ when one sees another performing the action. Top Right: Chico, played a role in Sean’s research Sean is currently researching into the reverse idea. If owners are emotionally-connected to their dogs will they ‘catch’ yawns from their pets? Dog owners are currently being recruited to test whether they are more likely to yawn in response to seeing their own dog yawn rather than an unfamiliar dog yawning. Cross-species contagious yawning has recently suffered a setback but, who knows, with this new research it might make a comeback – just in the reverse direction! Name: Sean O’Hara Email: s.ohara@salford.ac.uk Contagion is an important aspect of behavioural research because evidence of its existence in a species promotes the idea that the species might be capable of social learning. However, it provides initial evidence that individuals might respond to others’ social cues, and if ‘matching’ is coupled with individual learning this constitutes social learning. Solving problems via social learning is a hallmark of human August/September | 27
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