Body language Flashcards
Why is aggressive body language interpretation very tempting?
You can’t be easily proven wrong
Why are body language observations contentious?
We don’t actually know whats going on. People can interpret in many different ways
Should we be conservative or aggressive when interpreting body language?
Conservative
Should you be afraid to say you don’t know?
No!
What should we do when we make a body language observation?
We should qualify it
What should we qualify body language observations with?
I’m really sure
I’m not so sure about this one
What should we be thinking about when we qualify our observations?
3 points
- Most dog people would go along with me
- I have experience with this
- Its well researched and has evidence behind it
MER
Should we question if there are other possible interpretations?
Yes! There could be other reasons, are we ruling them in/out?
How can we test our observation interpretations?
1 answer
Rule other reasons in or out
e.g. may be due to low light, anticipation of cookies, fear of a dog/person
What is a replication of stimulus behaviour contingency?
Ruling in/out alternative explanations
e.g. replicate the A to see if the B is replicated.
E.g., pupils dilated may be in low light - replicate in higher light.
What is JD favourite body language method?
Counting specific behaviours
What is the value of counting body language behaviours?
It’s about trends. Is he doing more or less over time.
What is the body language formula?
Interpret, bet, break down
What is interpret?
What do you think is going on in the photo or video or live!
What is bet?
How much confidence do you have in your interpretation? How much would you be willing to bet you’re right?
What is break down?
How would you break it down for a novice owner?
What is an artifact?
A result of a behaviour e.g. American Eskimo - tail up (Breed artifact)
Lip tuck (Chewing)
What is the downside to a consent test
There are none!
What are the upsides to a consent test?
Modelling for owners
Test your hypothesis
What is a meta signal? (meta communication)
Behaviour that qualifies play intent of other behaviours it precedes and follows
What is the problem with interpreting from photos?
They are a snapshot in time. We will look for
Why do dogs bother with meta signals
Because it announces intent, so dogs know they are playing
If we didn’t have meta signals what would the problem be?
Hunting, fighting, fleeing and reproduction –> it wouldn’t be clear to the dogs that they were playing not doing it for real
How would you explain meta signals to a 10-year-old
When dogs play they practice behaviours they would in the wild, such as fighting, chasing and mating.
The dog will say to the other dog “hey this is just a game”. They are talking to each other and telling each other it’s not the real thing, it’s just playing.
What makes play play?
The interspersing of meta communications (I Dunbar Atmosphere cues!) The content of play is the same as
How would you explain meta communications to a 15 year old?
Play consists of fight, flight hunting and courtship behaviours and so dogs need to say I’m just playing! So that the other dog knows.
What makes a dog dangerous?
Bites down causing injury
Can you tell jaw pressure from a photo?
No
What pro social behaviours do we count in body language
Lip lick, tongue flick
Ears high, rotated back
Play face
Play bow
Paw raise
Bouncy exaggerated movement
self handicapping
role reversal/activity shift
What prosocial behaviours do we count in body language
8
Lip lick, tongue flick
Ears high, rotated back
Play face
Play bow
Paw raise
Bouncy exaggerated movement
self-handicapping
role reversal/activity shift
what asocial/antisocial behaviours do we see
9
verticle lip retraction
growl (not in play)
snap
bite (not play bite)
freeze (cease consuming)
stiff waxy movements
pinning (not tolerating movement)
fighting
avoidance/flight/hiding
what trend do we want to see in body language
more prosocial
less antisocial
what is an artifact?
behaviour produced by non relevant or extraneous factors
Name some artifacts
Breed artifact - tail position
curled lip - artifact of chewing
dilated pupils - artifact of low light
Looking away - artifact of wrangling
what is local enhancement?
something in the environment making 2 dogs doing the same
What does insidious mean?
something as being sneaky or being secretly dangerous or harmful
What are the 4 FAPs seen in play
Fight
Fight/flee
Feeding
Reproduction
What do we see in play fighting?
Wrestling, biting, pinning
What do we see in play fleeing
Soliciting, chase, running away
What do we see in play hunting?
Chasing, biting, grab/shake
What do we see in play courtship?
Mounting & clasping
How can we tell the real thing from play?
1) self-handicapping
2) role reversal
3) activity shifts
4) meta signals - bouncy inefficient movement, play face and play bow
do dogs imitate people?
No more likely that owner is imitating dogs!
