Dogs can read human emotions, study finds (only other species shown to be capable of this)

Telegraph ^ | 13 Jan 2016 | Sophie Jamieson

[presidio9]

Dogs really are man's best friend, it seems, as researchers have shown they can recognise emotions in humans by combining information from different senses.

They are the only creatures outside of humans who have been observed to have that ability.

-SNIP-

"Our study shows that dogs have the ability to integrate two different sources of sensory information into a coherent perception of emotion in both humans and dogs.

"To do so requires a system of internal categorisation of emotional states. This cognitive ability has until now only been evidenced in primates and the capacity to do this across species only seen in humans."

Co-author Professor Daniel Mills, from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln, said: "It has been a long-standing debate whether dogs can recognise human emotions. Many dog owners report anecdotally that their pets seem highly sensitive to the moods of human family members.

"However, there is an important difference between associative behaviour, such as learning to respond appropriately to an angry voice, and recognising a range of very different cues that go together to indicate emotional arousal in another.

"Our findings are the first to show that dogs truly recognise emotions in humans and other dogs.

-SNIP-

[cripplecreek]

Sup?

[goldstategop]

Not ridiculous at all.

Dogs can read people’s faces from right to left and they share this instinct with humans.

They’re the only non-primate species known to do so.

[Smokin' Joe]

They are the only creatures outside of humans who have been observed to have that ability.

Haven't spent much time around horses, either, have they?

Sheesh.

[blam]

Opinion: We Did Not Domesticate Dogs. They Domesticated Us.

To see my doggies, click on my name.

The top photo is my present crew.

The bottom photo is the old crew that have passed on.

[gov_bean_ counter]

:)

[goldstategop]

And dogs show grief.

They really show how much they miss someone who has died.

[mylife]

Yes they do.

[EEGator]

I wasn’t sure if you were referencing Rush Hour, but it immediately came to mind.

[Shady]

My Pups are just wonderful. That is all that counts, and we miss our Big Black Dog every single day.

[presidio9]

Cats rule, dogs follow.

Just checking: Can cats HALO jump, and why would you want them to?

[gov_bean_ counter]

I was. You did well. :)

[Ken H]

My dogs can read my mind. They enjoy a little light reading.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

"Dogs can read human emotions"

Huh huh outrageous, dogs can't read.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Did the dog that Obama ate know that Obama was hungry?

[presidio9]

[TigersEye]

They haven’t checked out corvids either.

[KGeorge]

Here, too, but with politics. What I would like to know is how they know when the person they're pining for leaves to come home. Whether it's long distance (hours) or across town, one of our girls nails it almost to the minute.

[wrench]

Dogs handle zero Gs in an airplane just fine. Never try it with a cat, it won’t end well.

[palmer]

Don't worry, cats don't read either.

[Popman]

-——Anthropomorphizing-——

My absolute favorite word...