Final Exam Flashcards
Brian Hare argues that
Dogs evolved new abilities in human social cognition when they split from wolves
The capacity to recognize that other individuals have minds of their own which contain different knowledge than our own minds
Theory of Mind
When dogs that do not spontaneously follow pointing gestures are given extended practice on the task
Their performance gradually improves
Monique Udell’s studies show that
Neither dogs nor wolves will beg from a person whose back is turned
According to Monique Udell, shelter dogs perform worse in following human pointing gestures than pet dogs because
Shelter dogs have not had relevant recent experience with the movement of human limbs predicting the location of things that are important to a dog
Why don’t human-reared wolves understand that a person with a bucket over her head cannot see them?
Because they have no experience around people with buckets over their heads
Harry Frank believed
Dogs have better social intelligence than wolves
Which of the following is a plausible explanation for the failure of the dogs in Roberts & Macpherson’s experiment to gather help when their owners had difficulties:
The dogs were not fooled into believing their owners were in trouble; the dogs did not know how to get help; the dogs were not motivated to help their owners
Miklosi and colleagues showed dogs and wolves containers that could not be opened and found that
The dogs looked back at their owners for help
Why is imprinting important in a dog coming to follow a human pointing gesture?
Without imprinting the dog will not be attentive to the human being
Which of the following is true about MacPherson & Roberts’ experiments on dogs getting help for humans in distress
None of the dogs sought help under any conditions
The best example of “Selective imitation” is:
Imitating an individual who opens a door with her foot rather than her hand when her hands are free
Which of the following is a true statement about dog hearing?
Dogs hear higher frequencies than do humans; Dogs do not hear low frequencies that human can hear
When an object is dropped down a bent tube in view of a dog, the dog expects the object to end up
Directly beneath where it was put into the tube
Which of the following statements about dog olfaction is true?
Some dogs have a highly sensitive sense of smell
How much more sensitive is dog olfaction than human?
There is no single correct value; sensitivity varies with training, target scent, and other factors
Pre-exposure to an odor before olfactory detection training starts.
improves subsequent learning to find that odor, only if the odor was pre-exposed in a Pavlovian contingency.
What is the secondary olfactory organ of the dog called?
Jacobson’s organ; vomeronasal organ
Dog color vision is more limited than human because
Dogs have color vision typical of other non-primate mammals
When a dog is given a choice of pulling one of two diagonally crossed-over strings, one of which is connected to a piece of food
Dogs choose the string not connected to the food
Behaviors that occur during ‘good’ play can also sometimes lead to aggression.
True
Why might play be maladaptive in wild animals?
It exposes animals to an increased risk of predation; It uses up energy; It uses up time that may be needed for foraging.
Alexandra Horowitz’s experiment on the ‘guilty look’ in dogs demonstrates
That what looks like ‘guilt’ in dogs is a conciliatory behavior to an annoyed person
What evidence contradicts the idea that play is ‘purposeless?’
Dogs play more when people are paying attention to them
Which of the following has NOT been proposed as a play signal?
Raised-leg urination
According to Lindsay Mehrkam’s studies, when is play more likely to lead to aggression?
When dogs are crowded in a smaller park
Which of the following methods is NOT valuable for demonstrating ‘true imitation?’
Imitation control method
Which of these behaviors is characteristic of play?
Bowing; Self-Handicapping
According to Lindsay Mehrkam’s research, owners, when watching their of dogs playing,
Often confuse aggression and play
Which of the following is LEAST likely an example of local enhancement?
A dog pushes a screen to the left after seeing another dog push the screen to the left
According to Lindsay Mehrkam’s research, which behaviors do people discourage even though they are not dangerous?
Mounting; Muzzle licking
Which of the following has NOT been proposed as a function of dog play?
Play identifies the weakest individuals to winnow the pack
What kind of play is most likely to lead to aggression in a dog park?
Wrestling
Which canids play most, dogs, wolves or coyotes?
Dogs play more than wolves or coyotes
Pilley stopped trying to expand Chaser’s vocabulary because
He had difficulty finding toys he hadn’t already trained Chaser on
Lord and colleagues conclude that dogs bark more often than do wild canids because
Dogs are more often trapped; Dogs are punier than most wild canids
What are agonistic interactions among dogs?
Interactions associated with conflict
Dogs listening to recordings of other dogs barking
Distinguished barks recorded when the dogs were tethered alone vs. barks responding to a stranger
How do we know that Chaser really understood object names as nouns, and not just as commands to pick up objects?
Chaser could carry out different verbs (commands) on different objects, even if verb and object had never been trained together
Why isn’t Darwin’s observation of his dog Polly a scientific study?
Darwin’s observations were not systematic
Very few dogs have been found with a receptive vocabulary of more than a few human words because
Very few dogs understand much human language
Which of the following is (are) an advantage of pen and paper testing of dog temperament
No trained person is needed to administer the test; the test can be administered to very large number of dogs very cheaply
Why is repeated testing of the same animal necessary to prove that a behavior can be considered part of an individual’s temperament?
Because temperament is defined as relatively stable patterns of behavior
Which of the following could NOT be a component of dog temperament?
Height to shoulder
People listening to recordings of dog barks
Could identify the context in which barks were recorded, but not individual dogs
The most popular pen and paper test of dog temperament is called
CBARQ
Sue Sternberg’s “assess a pet”
Is a behavioral test of dog temperament
