2016
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0907
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Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion in the domestic horse ( Equus caballus )

Abstract: Whether non-human animals can recognize human signals, including emotions, has both scientific and applied importance, and is particularly relevant for domesticated species. This study presents the first evidence of horses' abilities to spontaneously discriminate between positive (happy) and negative (angry) human facial expressions in photographs. Our results showed that the angry faces induced responses indicative of a functional understanding of the stimuli: horses displayed a left-gaze bias (a lateralizati… Show more

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Cited by 157 publications
(168 citation statements)
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“…Lateralized eye use has been observed in a wide variety of vertebrate species, including mammals (Braccini, Lambeth, Schapiro, & Fitch, 2012;Guo, Meints, Hall, Hall, & Mills, 2009;Racca, Guo, Meints, & Mills, 2012;Smith, Proops, Grounds, Wathan, & McComb, 2016;Versace, Morgante, Pulina, & Vallortigara, 2007), birds (Martinho, Burns, Von Bayern, & Kacelnik, 2014;McKenzie, Andrew, & Jones, 1998;Rogers, 2012;Ventolini et al, 2005;Zucca & Sovrano, 2008), reptiles (Bonati & Csermely, 2011;Hews & Worthington, 2001;Robins, Chen, Beazley, & Dunlop, 2005), amphibians (Vallortigara, Rogers, Bisazza, Lippolis, & Robins, 1998), and fish (Bisazza, De Santi, & Vallortigara, 1999;Bisazza, Facchin, Pignatti, & Vallortigara, 1998;Karenina, Giljov, & Malashichev, 2013). In vertebrates, the right brain hemisphere (which processes information obtained by the left eye) is thought to control emotions and spatial perception, while the left hemisphere (right eye) is responsible for attention, perceptual processing and the control of motor responses (Rogers, Vallortigara, & Andrew, 2013;Vallortigara, Chiandetti, & Sovrano, 2011).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Lateralized eye use has been observed in a wide variety of vertebrate species, including mammals (Braccini, Lambeth, Schapiro, & Fitch, 2012;Guo, Meints, Hall, Hall, & Mills, 2009;Racca, Guo, Meints, & Mills, 2012;Smith, Proops, Grounds, Wathan, & McComb, 2016;Versace, Morgante, Pulina, & Vallortigara, 2007), birds (Martinho, Burns, Von Bayern, & Kacelnik, 2014;McKenzie, Andrew, & Jones, 1998;Rogers, 2012;Ventolini et al, 2005;Zucca & Sovrano, 2008), reptiles (Bonati & Csermely, 2011;Hews & Worthington, 2001;Robins, Chen, Beazley, & Dunlop, 2005), amphibians (Vallortigara, Rogers, Bisazza, Lippolis, & Robins, 1998), and fish (Bisazza, De Santi, & Vallortigara, 1999;Bisazza, Facchin, Pignatti, & Vallortigara, 1998;Karenina, Giljov, & Malashichev, 2013). In vertebrates, the right brain hemisphere (which processes information obtained by the left eye) is thought to control emotions and spatial perception, while the left hemisphere (right eye) is responsible for attention, perceptual processing and the control of motor responses (Rogers, Vallortigara, & Andrew, 2013;Vallortigara, Chiandetti, & Sovrano, 2011).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…There is evidence that the ability to recognize the emotional expressions of conspecifics has a positive effect on the individual's fitness [3,4]. In addition, it has been shown recently that appropriate response to the emotional status of heterospecific individuals could provide similar functional value [5][6][7].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In sheep, for instance, the sight of conspecific faces during social isolation has strong stress-dampening effects, such as reduced activity and protest vocalizations, heart rate, and concentrations of the adrenal hormones cortisol and adrenaline in comparison to pre-isolation levels [36]. A recent study investigated the responses of horses to the presentation of pictures of human emotional facial expressions [7]. The horses' heart rates rose significantly faster when exposed to angry compared with happy faces.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In other words, the horse comes to follow the human handler without the use of physical force. Horses were used in these workshops because of their keen ability to read and respond to people's non-verbal behavior (Keeling, Jonare & Lanneborn, 2009) and emotions (Smith, Proops, Grounds, Wathan & McComb, 2016).…”
Section: Non-violent Horse-handling Workhops In Guatemalamentioning
confidence: 99%