NDLI: Increasing arousal enhances inhibitory control in calm but not excitable dogs

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Bray, Emily E. MacLean, Evan L. Hare, Brian A.
Copyright Year	2015
Abstract	The emotional-reactivity hypothesis proposes that problem-solving abilities can be constrained by temperament, within and across species. One way to test this hypothesis is with the predictions of the Yerkes–Dodson law. The law posits that arousal level, a component of temperament, affects problem solving in an inverted U-shaped relationship: Optimal performance is reached at intermediate levels of arousal and impeded by high and low levels. Thus, a powerful test of the emotional-reactivity hypothesis is to compare cognitive performance in dog populations that have been bred and trained based in part on their arousal levels. We therefore compared a group of pet dogs to a group of assistance dogs bred and trained for low arousal (N = 106) on a task of inhibitory control involving a detour response. Consistent with the Yerkes–Dodson law, assistance dogs, which began the test with lower levels of baseline arousal, showed improvements when arousal was artificially increased. In contrast, pet dogs, which began the test with higher levels of baseline arousal, were negatively affected when their arousal was increased. Furthermore, the dogs’ baseline levels of arousal, as measured in their rate of tail wagging, differed by population in the expected directions. Low-arousal assistance dogs showed the most inhibition in a detour task when humans eagerly encouraged them, while more highly aroused pet dogs performed worst on the same task with strong encouragement. Our findings support the hypothesis that selection on temperament can have important implications for cognitive performance.
Starting Page	1317
Ending Page	1329
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	14359448
Journal	Animal Cognition
Volume Number	18
Issue Number	6
e-ISSN	14359456
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2015-07-14
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Inhibitory control Arousal Canine Cognition Assistance dogs Behavioral Sciences Zoology Psychology Research
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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