An investigation of the emotional contagion in dogs to the emotional sounds of humans.
Have you ever wondered why your dog might whimper or wine when you speak angrily around them? Or if you were feeling sad, have you ever wondered why your dog also expresses behaviors associated with it being sad? According to Huber et al., dogs are really good at emotional state-matching or emotional contagion for negative sounds of humans. Dogs are able to adjust their emotions in order to match the negative mood of their human owner. Their research has added a new layer to the saying that dogs are a man’s best friend. It is possible for a dog, a non-human sentient being, to be also “in their feelings” because they are able to recognize the emotions of their humans and adjust their response accordingly.
Empathy is an important social phenomenon characterized by the capacity to be affected by and share the emotional state of another being. Dogs have been shown to express comfort-offering behaviors to their humans through actions such as pretending to cry when their human is also crying. The researchers, Huber et al., conducted a study testing the dogs’ emotional response to acoustic stimuli. They evaluated the dogs’ behavioral responses towards their owner and towards a loudspeaker broadcasting the stimulus. They also analyzed behaviors that have been identified in previous studies as being indicative for arousal and negative emotional states in dogs. In two equally sized labs there was one loudspeaker per room, which was connected to an audio cable to a laptop outside. On the opposite wall, a blanket for the dog was put on the ground for the dog to sit on. Then, sounds of humans and non-living objects found in the dog’s environment were played. Then in a next trial, sounds of humans and the con-specifics were played with both negative and positive sounds. For example, for the human stimuli, laughing was played back as a positive and crying as a negative stimulus. In interpreting the response of the dogs, the researchers used barks as a positive stimulus and isolation whines as a negative stimulus. The results were that overall, the dogs’ behavior response matched the valence of the perceived negative emotional sound.
These results indicate that interpreting the dogs’ response to negative emotional sounds is based upon the emotional contagion. This suggests that dogs can feel the same negative emotions as their humans. These results give further insights concerning influential emotional effects on the inter-species relationship between dogs and humans. Additionally, becoming more aware of dog’s emotional contagion is important to its’ overall animal welfare. When dogs emotionally resonate with vocalizations they hear from humans, this will affect their own emotional state and, consequently, their welfare. You should care for your dog’s emotional health just as much as you care for your own emotional health. So, the next time you get angry be careful not to also make your dog angry.
References
Huber, A., Barber, A., Faragó, T., Müller, C., & Huber, L. (2017). Investigating emotional contagion in dogs (Canis familiaris) to emotional sounds of humans and conspecifics. Animal Cognition, 20(4), 703–715. Retrieved from http://0search.ebscohost.com.sophia.agnesscott.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eoah&AN=41788593&site=pfi-live
Kayla Bolden
October 15, 2018 — 2:17 pm
I found this summary interesting. People use to always tell me that dogs and cats have feelings just like humans but I never paid it any attention. Now, considering all the research and implications it all makes sense why dogs may need comfort or support just like humans. This article demonstrates how mental health would look from an animals perspective in my opinion.