The domestication of social cognition in dogs

Brian Hare, Michelle Brown, Christina Williamson, Michael Tomasello

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

841 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dogs are more skillful than great apes at a number of tasks in which they must read human communicative signals indicating the location of hidden food. In this study, we found that wolves who were raised by humans do not show these same skills, whereas domestic dog puppies only a few weeks old, even those that have had little human contact, do show these skills. These findings suggest that during the process of domestication, dogs have been selected for a set of social-cognitive abilities that enable them to communicate with humans in unique ways.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1634-1636
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume298
Issue number5598
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 22 2002
Externally publishedYes

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