Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds”
In their recent paper, Hansen Wheat et al. (Ecology and Evolution, 2022, 12, e9299) claimed that hand raised 23‐week‐old wolves showed the same attachment behaviour towards their handler in the Strange Situation Test (SST) (Determinants of infant behavior, 1969, 4, 111) as dogs. At first glance, the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10514 |
| _version_ | 1797542888922415104 |
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| author | Márta Gácsi Ádám Miklósi József Topál |
| author_facet | Márta Gácsi Ádám Miklósi József Topál |
| author_sort | Márta Gácsi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In their recent paper, Hansen Wheat et al. (Ecology and Evolution, 2022, 12, e9299) claimed that hand raised 23‐week‐old wolves showed the same attachment behaviour towards their handler in the Strange Situation Test (SST) (Determinants of infant behavior, 1969, 4, 111) as dogs. At first glance, their results seem to contradict previous findings that domestication caused a unique change in social‐affiliative behaviours in dogs (Animal Behaviour, 2005, 70, 1367). We argue that no persuading evidence was presented to claim that “wolves can show attachment behaviours towards humans comparable to those of dogs”. When dealing with a behaviour system (Child Development, 1977, 48, 1184), the subjects' behaviour must meet consistent criteria (Behavioural and Brain Science, 1978, 3, 417), and a few behavioural preferences should not be used to claim the presence of an attachment system, especially, if the experiment violates basic assumptions of the original test. We believe the intriguing scientific question is whether the dog‐owner relationship is qualitatively different from what could be observed in the wolf‐hand raiser relation. Assessing all available data, our answer is still yes; dogs are unique in this respect. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:36:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8d381df67ef5413795fbf7133f5cd1b4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:36:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d381df67ef5413795fbf7133f5cd1b42023-11-21T07:26:26ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582023-09-01139n/an/a10.1002/ece3.10514Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds”Márta Gácsi0Ádám Miklósi1József Topál2ELKH‐ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group Budapest HungaryELKH‐ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group Budapest HungaryInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences Budapest HungaryIn their recent paper, Hansen Wheat et al. (Ecology and Evolution, 2022, 12, e9299) claimed that hand raised 23‐week‐old wolves showed the same attachment behaviour towards their handler in the Strange Situation Test (SST) (Determinants of infant behavior, 1969, 4, 111) as dogs. At first glance, their results seem to contradict previous findings that domestication caused a unique change in social‐affiliative behaviours in dogs (Animal Behaviour, 2005, 70, 1367). We argue that no persuading evidence was presented to claim that “wolves can show attachment behaviours towards humans comparable to those of dogs”. When dealing with a behaviour system (Child Development, 1977, 48, 1184), the subjects' behaviour must meet consistent criteria (Behavioural and Brain Science, 1978, 3, 417), and a few behavioural preferences should not be used to claim the presence of an attachment system, especially, if the experiment violates basic assumptions of the original test. We believe the intriguing scientific question is whether the dog‐owner relationship is qualitatively different from what could be observed in the wolf‐hand raiser relation. Assessing all available data, our answer is still yes; dogs are unique in this respect.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10514Zoology |
| spellingShingle | Márta Gácsi Ádám Miklósi József Topál Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds” Ecology and Evolution Zoology |
| title | Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds” |
| title_full | Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds” |
| title_fullStr | Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds” |
| title_short | Comment on “Human‐directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human‐dog attachment bonds” |
| title_sort | comment on human directed attachment behaviour in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human dog attachment bonds |
| topic | Zoology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10514 |
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