Despite what the phrases, "dog experiments," and "dog research" might convey, the field of dog behavior and cognition research has nothing to do with testicles and car batteries.
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| Dogs sit cradled in our arms. How did that come to be? |
Recent research into dog behavior and cognition examines how in the bejeesus dogs came to be part of human society. And more specifically, what are the behaviors and cognitive skills that make this union what it is.
Behind every experiment mentioned on this blog, a group of researchers somewhere in the world stayed up very late contemplating the following questions:
1. Who’s going to fund your project? Your grandma, the NIH or Leona Helmsley’s will? This was initially last on the list, but we all know money is the biggest priority. You might be dying to explore coat color and personality in the Afghan Hound, but if no one, not even your grandma, wants to fund your Afghan Hound Personality Research (because she doesn't like the acronyn AHPR), you’re funding your research out of your own pocket or not studying these majestic dog carpets.
2. What’s your scientific question? You all remember from elementary school that a scientific question must be something which can be examined by collecting observable and measurable data. These are valid scientific questions:
If you can define and collect data on ‘love’ using observable behavior or maybe a physiological change, bring on the love question. Maybe we even should consider other things before bringing on this abstract thing called, LOVE. We could ask things like, “What would be the behavioral correlate of love, for a dog?” Think about what love would be for a dog within the dog's personal evolutionary history. Is this an emotion that could have evolved in canids and how would it manifest itself in a canine-like way? This is not to say dogs can't or don't experience human-like emotions; of course they can. But we need to consider and explore behavior and emotions in terms of individual species and their unique perspectives. And investigating love is quite an abstract concept, for dogs and humans alike.
3. How will the question be examined? In other words, what will the study’s methodology look like? First off, know that methodology is a doozie; this is because you need to make sure your experiment is explicitly addressing your scientific question. You don’t want to design an experiment and at the end someone says, “Well, these other factors were at play and maybe you were actually measuring this other thing.”
I had a six-month time frame to design and execute an experiment; more than half that time was spent on experimental design. This is because there is no methodology rule book where you open the book and read, Chapter 1: How to study contagious yawning in dogs. Every design is just one of many possible ways to examine a scientific question. If you are exploring a question similar to another study, you can either stay in line with their methodology, or you might want to utilize a different design.
If two studies with different methodologies have similar results, the evidence for those results is strengthened; the case could be weakened if a different methodology reveals conflicting results.
Of course, there are guidebooks when it comes to methodology and experimental design. For many, Measuring Behaviour: An Introductory Guide is the tome when studying animal behavior.
4. Who will be study subjects? Which dogs should participate in your study? Is breed an important factor? Do you want subjects of a particular age or with a certain level of human socialization? Are you asking questions about a particular population of dogs: shelter dogs, street dogs, service dogs or dogs who spend their time living in a garden?
5. Finally, where should the study take place?
Dog lab
This is a recent concept. Within academic institutions, a room is set aside to conduct experiments, and people bring their companion dogs to join the study. In some institutions, the dog is dropped off, the researchers run the experiment and the owner picks the dog up later in the day (like dog school instead of dog daycare). In other institutions, the owner is present with the dog and might even participate in the experiment. The Family Dog Project in Budapest, where I did my dissertation research, was an institution where owners stayed with their dogs and often directly participated in the experiment.
The Lab environment offers particular benefits: the room is equipped with video cameras and all experiments are recorded and later analyzed by researchers (perhaps by watching the video in slow motion). Additionally, in this setting, researchers have more opportunity to control the environment and eliminate distractions.
On the other hand, depending on the question under analysis, the Lab setting could do a disservice to the experiment. The Lab might be a novel place for the dog. Some dogs might not easily acclimatize, and therefore might not exhibit normal behavior.
Natural settings
Depending on the question you’re asking, the experiment could be conducted in a more familiar environment, such as a park, dog run, animal shelter or the dog’s own home. A natural environment can be beneficial and help the dog act as normal as possible. Potential drawbacks are that you can’t necessarily control the environment. For example, you might be running an experiment in the park, and a group of Alzheimer's Walk participants power-walk through your experiment (true story).
You should now have a more accurate understanding of the behind-the-scene considerations and questions involved in dog behavior and cognition research. You now know:
a) It is acceptable to use the word doozie in a blog post
b) You should fund my research
References
Traumatic avoidance learning: Acquisition in normal dogs
A Dog's Got Personality: A Cross-Species Comparative Approach to Personality Judgments in Dogs and Humans
2. What’s your scientific question? You all remember from elementary school that a scientific question must be something which can be examined by collecting observable and measurable data. These are valid scientific questions:
- Do growls in different social contexts differ in their acoustic properties?
- When humans yawn, do dogs yawn as well?
- Do dogs of the same breed, but who live in different countries, differ in their personalities? (Ooh please! Someone want to fund it?)
- But how about: Does Sparky love me?
If you can define and collect data on ‘love’ using observable behavior or maybe a physiological change, bring on the love question. Maybe we even should consider other things before bringing on this abstract thing called, LOVE. We could ask things like, “What would be the behavioral correlate of love, for a dog?” Think about what love would be for a dog within the dog's personal evolutionary history. Is this an emotion that could have evolved in canids and how would it manifest itself in a canine-like way? This is not to say dogs can't or don't experience human-like emotions; of course they can. But we need to consider and explore behavior and emotions in terms of individual species and their unique perspectives. And investigating love is quite an abstract concept, for dogs and humans alike.
3. How will the question be examined? In other words, what will the study’s methodology look like? First off, know that methodology is a doozie; this is because you need to make sure your experiment is explicitly addressing your scientific question. You don’t want to design an experiment and at the end someone says, “Well, these other factors were at play and maybe you were actually measuring this other thing.”
I had a six-month time frame to design and execute an experiment; more than half that time was spent on experimental design. This is because there is no methodology rule book where you open the book and read, Chapter 1: How to study contagious yawning in dogs. Every design is just one of many possible ways to examine a scientific question. If you are exploring a question similar to another study, you can either stay in line with their methodology, or you might want to utilize a different design.
If two studies with different methodologies have similar results, the evidence for those results is strengthened; the case could be weakened if a different methodology reveals conflicting results.
Of course, there are guidebooks when it comes to methodology and experimental design. For many, Measuring Behaviour: An Introductory Guide is the tome when studying animal behavior.
4. Who will be study subjects? Which dogs should participate in your study? Is breed an important factor? Do you want subjects of a particular age or with a certain level of human socialization? Are you asking questions about a particular population of dogs: shelter dogs, street dogs, service dogs or dogs who spend their time living in a garden?
5. Finally, where should the study take place?
Dog lab
This is a recent concept. Within academic institutions, a room is set aside to conduct experiments, and people bring their companion dogs to join the study. In some institutions, the dog is dropped off, the researchers run the experiment and the owner picks the dog up later in the day (like dog school instead of dog daycare). In other institutions, the owner is present with the dog and might even participate in the experiment. The Family Dog Project in Budapest, where I did my dissertation research, was an institution where owners stayed with their dogs and often directly participated in the experiment.
The Lab environment offers particular benefits: the room is equipped with video cameras and all experiments are recorded and later analyzed by researchers (perhaps by watching the video in slow motion). Additionally, in this setting, researchers have more opportunity to control the environment and eliminate distractions.
On the other hand, depending on the question under analysis, the Lab setting could do a disservice to the experiment. The Lab might be a novel place for the dog. Some dogs might not easily acclimatize, and therefore might not exhibit normal behavior.
Natural settings
Depending on the question you’re asking, the experiment could be conducted in a more familiar environment, such as a park, dog run, animal shelter or the dog’s own home. A natural environment can be beneficial and help the dog act as normal as possible. Potential drawbacks are that you can’t necessarily control the environment. For example, you might be running an experiment in the park, and a group of Alzheimer's Walk participants power-walk through your experiment (true story).
You should now have a more accurate understanding of the behind-the-scene considerations and questions involved in dog behavior and cognition research. You now know:
a) It is acceptable to use the word doozie in a blog post
b) You should fund my research
References
Traumatic avoidance learning: Acquisition in normal dogs
A Dog's Got Personality: A Cross-Species Comparative Approach to Personality Judgments in Dogs and Humans
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