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Animals
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Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions
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Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Human-Animal Interactions, Animal Behaviour and Emotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 31425

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Miiamaaria V. Kujala

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
2. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Interests: comparative cognition; human-animal interaction; cognitive and affective neuroscience; sensory perception; social cognition; face processing; emotion; affective states; empathy; domestic dogs; companion animals; mammals
Dr. Peter F. Cook

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, USA
Interests: comparative cognition; systems neuroscience; comparative neuroscience; marine mammal cognition; hippocampal connectivity; memory; affective states; ecologically valid study design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human and non-human animals have traditionally been studied with very different methods, and often with very different aims, and this has been the clear trend in psychological and neuroscientific study of emotion and affective states. Human research has progressed holistically, examining complex psychosocial emotions from a whole organism and whole-brain perspective. In contrast, animal research has more often attempted to clarify granular neurophysiological details linked with circumscribed behavioral states. Fortunately, human research approaches are being increasingly applied to work with animals. We now see an increasing number of animal emotion studies utilizing the psychological and non-invasive systems neuroscience methods typically deployed in human research. The aim of this Special Issue is to encourage such open-mindedness in approaches to studying affect and emotion in non-human animals and to promote interdisciplinary cooperation in these endeavors.

Careful observation of animal behavior continues to be highly relevant to understanding affective processing in non-human animals. Here, however, we are interested in research that bolsters behavioral assessment with objective and rigorously applied physiological methods. We particularly encourage novel, ecologically valid approaches to comparing human and non-human animal emotions and affective states and related neural function. We are interested in studies making use of cutting edge techniques such as, but not limited to, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and hormone analysis, and are particularly eager to examine work linking behavior, brain, and context to emotion and affect across species. Preliminary studies conducted with high scientific rigor are invited, as are innovative applications of pre-established methods. All studies are expected to value animal welfare and adopt a non-invasive experimental approach.

We invite articles, reviews, and commentaries on the topic, and we are especially interested in studies considering wild/domestic mammals and birds. As this Special Issue is opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, we take the increased workloads into account by offering an extended period for submissions.

Dr. Miiamaaria V. Kujala
Assist. Prof. Peter F. Cook
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • comparative cognition
  • emotion
  • affective states
  • physiology

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2082 KiB  
Article
Pet dogs’ Behavioural Reaction to Their Caregiver’s Interactions with a Third Party: Join in or Interrupt?
by Sabrina Karl, Kristina Anderle, Christoph J. Völter and Zsófia Virányi
Animals 2022, 12(12), 1574; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12121574 - 18 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5177
Abstract
Pet dogs are promising candidates to study attachment-related and potentially jealousy-like behaviours in non-human animals, as they form a strong and stable bond with their human caregivers who often engage in affiliative interactions with diverse social partners. Nevertheless, it is still debated whether [...] Read more.
Pet dogs are promising candidates to study attachment-related and potentially jealousy-like behaviours in non-human animals, as they form a strong and stable bond with their human caregivers who often engage in affiliative interactions with diverse social partners. Nevertheless, it is still debated whether non-human animals are capable of experiencing such complex emotions. Even though caregivers frequently report observations of jealousy-like behaviours in dogs, behavioural studies in dogs have thus far led to contradictory results. Adding to this complexity, dogs appear extraordinarily skilled in understanding humans’ communicative behaviour and can flexibly and diversely interact with them in social contexts. Here, we aimed at investigating (1) whether dogs indeed respond in a jealousy-consistent manner when seeing their caregiver interact in an affiliative way with a remotely controlled, realistic-looking fake dog, or (2) whether they would rather synchronize their reaction to the fake dog with the caregiver’s behaviour, or (3) whether they respond directly to the caregiver without paying much attention to the third party. To address what drives the dogs’ behaviours in this triadic situation, we compared four groups of dogs who first observed and then joined the interaction of either the caregiver or a stranger greeting or medically examining the fake dog. We found that the dogs initially responded negatively or neutrally when the fake dog entered the room but changed to more positive reactions when the caregiver approached the fake dog, especially if initiating a positive interaction. When being released, more dogs showed friendly behaviours towards the fake dog when the caregiver—rather than the stranger—was interacting with it. At the same time, however, the dogs tried to block the interaction of the caregiver with the fake dog more often than the one of the stranger. In conclusion, we did not find clear evidence for jealousy-like behaviours in dogs during the human–fake dog interactions, but we observed indicators of behavioural synchronization with the caregivers, suggesting that the caregivers’ affiliative behaviours directed at a third party may more often facilitate positive than negative interactions in dogs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions)
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21 pages, 1049 KiB  
Article
Dog–Owner Relationship, Owner Interpretations and Dog Personality Are Connected with the Emotional Reactivity of Dogs
by Sanni Somppi, Heini Törnqvist, Aija Koskela, Antti Vehkaoja, Katriina Tiira, Heli Väätäjä, Veikko Surakka, Outi Vainio and Miiamaaria V. Kujala
Animals 2022, 12(11), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12111338 - 24 May 2022
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 11622
Abstract
We evaluated the effect of the dog–owner relationship on dogs’ emotional reactivity, quantified with heart rate variability (HRV), behavioral changes, physical activity and dog owner interpretations. Twenty nine adult dogs encountered five different emotional situations (i.e., stroking, a feeding toy, separation from the [...] Read more.
We evaluated the effect of the dog–owner relationship on dogs’ emotional reactivity, quantified with heart rate variability (HRV), behavioral changes, physical activity and dog owner interpretations. Twenty nine adult dogs encountered five different emotional situations (i.e., stroking, a feeding toy, separation from the owner, reunion with the owner, a sudden appearance of a novel object). The results showed that both negative and positive situations provoked signs of heightened arousal in dogs. During negative situations, owners’ ratings about the heightened emotional arousal correlated with lower HRV, higher physical activity and more behaviors that typically index arousal and fear. The three factors of The Monash Dog–Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS) were reflected in the dogs’ heart rate variability and behaviors: the Emotional Closeness factor was related to increased HRV (p = 0.009), suggesting this aspect is associated with the secure base effect, and the Shared Activities factor showed a trend toward lower HRV (p = 0.067) along with more owner-directed behaviors reflecting attachment related arousal. In contrast, the Perceived Costs factor was related to higher HRV (p = 0.009) along with less fear and less owner-directed behaviors, which may reflect the dog’s more independent personality. In conclusion, dogs’ emotional reactivity and the dog–owner relationship modulate each other, depending on the aspect of the relationship and dogs’ individual responsivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions)
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16 pages, 4256 KiB  
Article
Testing for the “Blues”: Using the Modified Emotional Stroop Task to Assess the Emotional Response of Gorillas
by Jennifer Vonk, Molly McGuire and Jessica Leete
Animals 2022, 12(9), 1188; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12091188 - 6 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2610
Abstract
We adapted the emotional Stroop task developed for primates to test whether gorillas would show response slowing for images of ‘negative’ compared to images of ‘positive’ items placed within previously reinforced borders. Three zoo-housed male gorillas participated in six phases of an emotional [...] Read more.
We adapted the emotional Stroop task developed for primates to test whether gorillas would show response slowing for images of ‘negative’ compared to images of ‘positive’ items placed within previously reinforced borders. Three zoo-housed male gorillas participated in six phases of an emotional Stroop paradigm. In Phase One, they learned to select blue borders over yellow borders in a forced choice task presented on the touchscreen. In Phase Two, neutral yellow or blue two-dimensional shapes were placed within the borders. On congruent trials, blue images were presented within both blue and yellow borders. On incongruent trials, yellow images were placed within both blue and yellow borders. We continued to use these trials as control trials in subsequent phases. We predicted that response latencies would be slower and accuracy would be lower on incongruent trials. Although the gorillas responded more quickly to incongruent trials, in contrast to predictions, they were more accurate on congruent trials, consistent with predictions. Therefore, we proceeded with Phase Three in which photographs of images assumed to have positive and negative valences for the gorillas were placed within the borders. On test trials, the same positive or negative image was placed within both borders. In Phase Four, a positive image was paired with a negative image on each trial and the positive image appeared in either the blue (congruent trials) or yellow border (incongruent trials). Phases Five and Six replicated Phases Three and Four with images of novel positive and negative items. The gorillas responded more quickly on congruent trials compared to incongruent trials on test trials but not on control trials throughout Phases 3–6. These findings provide some validation for the emotional Stroop task to test attentional shift with emotionally valenced items. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions)
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20 pages, 3210 KiB  
Article
Is There an Association between Paw Preference and Emotionality in Pet Dogs?
by Tim Simon, Elisa Frasnelli, Kun Guo, Anjuli Barber, Anna Wilkinson and Daniel S. Mills
Animals 2022, 12(9), 1153; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12091153 - 29 Apr 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6433
Abstract
Research with humans and other animals has suggested that preferential limb use is linked to emotionality. A better understanding of this still under-explored area has the potential to establish limb preference as a marker of emotional vulnerability and risk for affective disorders. This [...] Read more.
Research with humans and other animals has suggested that preferential limb use is linked to emotionality. A better understanding of this still under-explored area has the potential to establish limb preference as a marker of emotional vulnerability and risk for affective disorders. This study explored the potential relationship between paw preference and emotionality in pet dogs. We examined which paw the dogs preferentially used to hold a Kong™ and to perform two different locomotion tests. Dogs’ emotionality was assessed using a validated psychometric test (the Positive and Negative Activation Scale—PANAS). Significant positive correlations were found for dogs’ paw use between the different locomotion tasks, suggesting that dogs may show a more general paw preference that is stable across different types of locomotion. In comparison, the correlations between the Kong™ Test and locomotion tests were only partially significant, likely due to potential limitations of the Kong™ Test and/or test-specific biomechanical requirements. No significant correlations were identified between paw preference tests and PANAS scores. These results are in contrast to previous reports of an association between dog paw preference and emotionality; animal limb preference might be task-specific and have variable task-consistency, which raises methodological questions about the use of paw preference as a marker for emotional functioning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions)
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10 pages, 1557 KiB  
Article
Using Live and Video Stimuli to Localize Face and Object Processing Regions of the Canine Brain
by Kirsten D. Gillette, Erin M. Phillips, Daniel D. Dilks and Gregory S. Berns
Animals 2022, 12(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12010108 - 4 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3541
Abstract
Previous research to localize face areas in dogs’ brains has generally relied on static images or videos. However, most dogs do not naturally engage with two-dimensional images, raising the question of whether dogs perceive such images as representations of real faces and objects. [...] Read more.
Previous research to localize face areas in dogs’ brains has generally relied on static images or videos. However, most dogs do not naturally engage with two-dimensional images, raising the question of whether dogs perceive such images as representations of real faces and objects. To measure the equivalency of live and two-dimensional stimuli in the dog’s brain, during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we presented dogs and humans with live-action stimuli (actors and objects) as well as videos of the same actors and objects. The dogs (n = 7) and humans (n = 5) were presented with 20 s blocks of faces and objects in random order. In dogs, we found significant areas of increased activation in the putative dog face area, and in humans, we found significant areas of increased activation in the fusiform face area to both live and video stimuli. In both dogs and humans, we found areas of significant activation in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (ectosylvian fissure in dogs) and the lateral occipital complex (entolateral gyrus in dogs) to both live and video stimuli. Of these regions of interest, only the area along the ectosylvian fissure in dogs showed significantly more activation to live faces than to video faces, whereas, in humans, both the fusiform face area and posterior superior temporal sulcus responded significantly more to live conditions than video conditions. However, using the video conditions alone, we were able to localize all regions of interest in both dogs and humans. Therefore, videos can be used to localize these regions of interest, though live conditions may be more salient. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Approaches to Comparative Study of Human and Animal Emotions)
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