‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication
The inner brow raiser is a muscle movement that increases the size of the orbital cavity, leading to the appearance of so-called ‘puppy dog eyes’. In domestic dogs, this expression was suggested to be enhanced by artificial selection and to play an important role in the dog-human relationship. Produ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.568935/full |
| _version_ | 1819290789527683072 |
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| author | Annika Bremhorst Annika Bremhorst Annika Bremhorst Daniel S. Mills Lisa Stolzlechner Hanno Würbel Stefanie Riemer |
| author_facet | Annika Bremhorst Annika Bremhorst Annika Bremhorst Daniel S. Mills Lisa Stolzlechner Hanno Würbel Stefanie Riemer |
| author_sort | Annika Bremhorst |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The inner brow raiser is a muscle movement that increases the size of the orbital cavity, leading to the appearance of so-called ‘puppy dog eyes’. In domestic dogs, this expression was suggested to be enhanced by artificial selection and to play an important role in the dog-human relationship. Production of the inner brow raiser has been shown to be sensitive to the attentive stance of a human, suggesting a possible communicative function. However, it has not yet been examined whether it is sensitive to human presence. In the current study, we aimed to test whether the inner brow raiser differs depending on the presence or absence of an observer. We used two versions of a paradigm in an equivalent experimental setting in which dogs were trained to expect a reward; however, the presence/absence of a person in the test apparatus was varied. In the social context, a human facing the dog delivered the reward; in the non-social context, reward delivery was automatized. If the inner brow raiser has a communicative function and dogs adjust its expression to an audience, we expect it to be shown more frequently in the social context (when facing a person in the apparatus) than in the non-social context (when facing the apparatus without a person inside). The frequency of the inner brow raiser differed between the two contexts, but contrary to the prediction, it was shown more frequently in the non-social context. We further demonstrate that the inner brow raiser is strongly associated with eye movements and occurs independently in only 6% of cases. This result challenges the hypothesis that the inner brow raiser has a communicative function in dog-human interactions and suggests a lower-level explanation for its production, namely an association with eye movements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:28:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-464979b2f4ef4412828ab78383c89cba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:28:20Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-464979b2f4ef4412828ab78383c89cba2022-12-21T17:17:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-02-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.568935568935‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not CommunicationAnnika Bremhorst0Annika Bremhorst1Annika Bremhorst2Daniel S. Mills3Lisa Stolzlechner4Hanno Würbel5Stefanie Riemer6Division of Animal Welfare, DCR-VPHI, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandSchool of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United KingdomGraduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB), University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandSchool of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United KingdomDepartment of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, AustriaDivision of Animal Welfare, DCR-VPHI, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDivision of Animal Welfare, DCR-VPHI, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandThe inner brow raiser is a muscle movement that increases the size of the orbital cavity, leading to the appearance of so-called ‘puppy dog eyes’. In domestic dogs, this expression was suggested to be enhanced by artificial selection and to play an important role in the dog-human relationship. Production of the inner brow raiser has been shown to be sensitive to the attentive stance of a human, suggesting a possible communicative function. However, it has not yet been examined whether it is sensitive to human presence. In the current study, we aimed to test whether the inner brow raiser differs depending on the presence or absence of an observer. We used two versions of a paradigm in an equivalent experimental setting in which dogs were trained to expect a reward; however, the presence/absence of a person in the test apparatus was varied. In the social context, a human facing the dog delivered the reward; in the non-social context, reward delivery was automatized. If the inner brow raiser has a communicative function and dogs adjust its expression to an audience, we expect it to be shown more frequently in the social context (when facing a person in the apparatus) than in the non-social context (when facing the apparatus without a person inside). The frequency of the inner brow raiser differed between the two contexts, but contrary to the prediction, it was shown more frequently in the non-social context. We further demonstrate that the inner brow raiser is strongly associated with eye movements and occurs independently in only 6% of cases. This result challenges the hypothesis that the inner brow raiser has a communicative function in dog-human interactions and suggests a lower-level explanation for its production, namely an association with eye movements.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.568935/fulldogDogFACSfacial expressionsinner brow raiserAU101puppy dog eyes |
| spellingShingle | Annika Bremhorst Annika Bremhorst Annika Bremhorst Daniel S. Mills Lisa Stolzlechner Hanno Würbel Stefanie Riemer ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication Frontiers in Psychology dog DogFACS facial expressions inner brow raiser AU101 puppy dog eyes |
| title | ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication |
| title_full | ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication |
| title_fullStr | ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication |
| title_short | ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication |
| title_sort | puppy dog eyes are associated with eye movements not communication |
| topic | dog DogFACS facial expressions inner brow raiser AU101 puppy dog eyes |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.568935/full |
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