Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance
Abstract Exceptional performance is present in various human activities but its origins are debated and challenging to study. We report evidence of exceptional performance and qualitative variation in learning object-names in dogs. 34 naïve family dogs and 6 knowledgeable individuals that knew multi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93581-2 |
| _version_ | 1818840303725969408 |
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| author | Claudia Fugazza Shany Dror Andrea Sommese Andrea Temesi Ádám Miklósi |
| author_facet | Claudia Fugazza Shany Dror Andrea Sommese Andrea Temesi Ádám Miklósi |
| author_sort | Claudia Fugazza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Exceptional performance is present in various human activities but its origins are debated and challenging to study. We report evidence of exceptional performance and qualitative variation in learning object-names in dogs. 34 naïve family dogs and 6 knowledgeable individuals that knew multiple toy names, found in 2 years of search around the Globe, were exposed to 3 months of training to learn two novel toy-names and were tested in two-way choice tests. Only 1 naïve and all 6 knowledgeable dogs passed the tests. Additionally, only these dogs learned at least 10 new toy names over the 3 months, showing qualitative variation in this capacity. Although previous object-name knowledge could provide an explanation for the superior performance of the knowledgeable dogs, their rarity and the absence of previous training of this skill point to exceptional giftedness in these individuals, providing the basis to establish dogs as a model-species for studying talent. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:08:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3de4523c77f543e688a8cd71016e5b6f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:08:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-3de4523c77f543e688a8cd71016e5b6f2022-12-21T20:36:29ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-07-011111910.1038/s41598-021-93581-2Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performanceClaudia Fugazza0Shany Dror1Andrea Sommese2Andrea Temesi3Ádám Miklósi4Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityDepartment of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityDepartment of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityDepartment of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityDepartment of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityAbstract Exceptional performance is present in various human activities but its origins are debated and challenging to study. We report evidence of exceptional performance and qualitative variation in learning object-names in dogs. 34 naïve family dogs and 6 knowledgeable individuals that knew multiple toy names, found in 2 years of search around the Globe, were exposed to 3 months of training to learn two novel toy-names and were tested in two-way choice tests. Only 1 naïve and all 6 knowledgeable dogs passed the tests. Additionally, only these dogs learned at least 10 new toy names over the 3 months, showing qualitative variation in this capacity. Although previous object-name knowledge could provide an explanation for the superior performance of the knowledgeable dogs, their rarity and the absence of previous training of this skill point to exceptional giftedness in these individuals, providing the basis to establish dogs as a model-species for studying talent.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93581-2 |
| spellingShingle | Claudia Fugazza Shany Dror Andrea Sommese Andrea Temesi Ádám Miklósi Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance Scientific Reports |
| title | Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance |
| title_full | Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance |
| title_fullStr | Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance |
| title_short | Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance |
| title_sort | word learning dogs canis familiaris provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93581-2 |
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