Using judgement bias to measure positive affective state in dogs

Burman, Ohp; McGowan, Ragen T. S.; Mendl, Michael; Norling, Yezica; Paul, Elizabeth S.; Rehn, Therese; Keeling, Linda J.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2011.04.001

Cited by 124 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Individuals harbouring a negative state of mind are more likely to attend to aversive stimuli, recall more negative memories and judge ambiguous stimuli as more negative than individuals with a more positive affective state (Paul et al 2005;Mendl et al 2009;Mendl, Brook, Basse, Burman, Paul et al 2010). Cognitive bias tasks have been used successfully in an effort to shed light on the affective state and welfare of a wide range of animals [for reviews see Bethell, 2015;Roelofs, Boleij, Nordquist & van der Staay, 2016), including rats (e.g., Harding, Paul & Mendl, 2004), birds (Bateson & Matheson, 2007;Matheson, Asher & Bateson, 2008), sheep (e.g., Destrez, Deiss, Levy, Calandreau, Lee, Chaillou-Sagon et al 2013) and, of pertinence to this paper, dogs (Burman, McGowan, Mendl, Norling, Paul, Rehn et al 2011;Mendl et al 2010;Titulaer, Blackwell, Mendl & Casey, 2013). 4 An animal's tendency towards a positive or negative cognitive bias appears to be related to dominance of the left or right cerebral hemisphere (Rogers, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive bias and paw preference in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).

Wells¹,

Hepper²,

Milligan³

et al. 2017

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Limb use, an indicator of hemispheric functioning, may be a useful predictor of cognitive bias and hence vulnerability to welfare risk. The relationship between cognitive bias and motor asymmetry, however, has been subject to little investigation. This study explored the association between motor asymmetry and cognitive bias in the domestic dog, a species that displays lateral bias in the form of paw preferences and exhibits positive and negative affective states. Thirty pet dogs had their paw preferences assessed using the Kong ball test. The subjects' affective state was assessed using a cognitive bias test in which the animals' latency to approach a bowl placed in 1 of 3 ambiguous positions was recorded. Animals veering more toward a left-paw preference were found to be significantly slower to approach the bowl placed in 1 of the ambiguous positions than ambilateral or right-pawed dogs. Left-pawed subjects approached the bowl located at the 3 ambiguous positions at roughly the same speed, while ambilateral and right-pawed animals became increasingly slower to approach the bowl the further it was located from the baited food bowl. The study points to a possible relationship between cognitive bias and paw preference in the dog, with left-pawed animals being more negative or "pessimistic" in their cognitive outlook than right-pawed or ambilateral individuals. It is proposed that limb preference testing might offer a more practical and straightforward way of identifying individuals at risk from poor welfare by virtue of how they perceive the world than more time-consuming cognitive bias tests.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive bias and paw preference in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).

Wells¹,

Hepper²,

Milligan³

et al. 2017

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…In this way, it was possible to quantify the cats' appetitive (pre), consummatory (during), and post-consummatory (post) behavior around each litter box event. Typically, the appetitive phase of a behavior sequence is linked to states such as excitement and anticipation, the consummatory phase is linked to liking and pleasure, and the post-consummatory phase linked to satisfaction and relaxation (Keeling et al, 2008;Burman et al, 2011;Seehuus et al, 2013). Disruption of any part of this cycle by blocking or not providing the resources necessary for an animal to successfully carryout its motivated behavior can potentially lead to frustration or other negative affective states (Seehuus et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ins and outs of the litter box: A detailed ethogram of cat elimination behavior in two contrasting environments

McGowan¹,

Ellis²,

Bensky³

et al. 2017

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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A B S T R A C TFew studies have sought to describe cat elimination behavior in detail and much of the information presently available focuses on factors that potentially cause cats to reject a litter box. Thus, the ethograms published in the current veterinary and scientific literature largely focus on macro behaviors (e.g., enter box, dig, squat, cover, and exit box) and lack the detail necessary to make distinctions between types of litter box experiences for cats. To facilitate our understanding of what positive and negative litter box experiences look like for cats, we observed cats eliminating in both an enriched ("positive") and in a clinic-like ("restricted") environment. Our results reveal that cat elimination behavior is complex and may include up to 39 different behaviors expressed during urination and defecation events. We further evaluated each event, examining the behaviors occurring pre-, during, and post-elimination as a means to better understand the behaviors associated with the appetitive, consummatory, and post-consummatory phases of the reward cycle around elimination. In doing so, we found clear differences in behavior at different stages of the elimination sequence between our two environments. In general, the elimination sequence was prolonged in the clinic-like environment compared to the enriched environment (P < 0.005) and most of the extra time was spent interacting with the box post-elimination (P < 0.005). In the clinic-like environment cats were hesitant to enter the box, spent a considerable amount of time pawing at surfaces other than the litter (P < 0.02) and spent a great deal of time sniffing eliminations postelimination (P < 0.005). In addition, cats in the clinic-like environment had less frequent urination events and their events were longer in duration than when in the enriched environment (P < 0.0039). Thus, although seemingly counterintuitive, a relatively brief elimination sequence may be indicative of a more positive litter box experience. In addition, when given the opportunity cats will utilize a large amount of space during their elimination sequence. Despite popular perception that cats will immediately turn to out-of-box elimination if they are dissatisfied with their litter box environment, we discovered that cats will continue to use a box (and not eliminate outside the box) even when their behavior is indicative of frustration.

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“…Firstly, most cognitive bias experiments in animals describe a relative negative bias when comparing a negatively manipulated group with an appropriate control group that shows a more positive bias and show no differences in reaction to the positive and negative cues [12,19,57]. Here all groups tested under bright light conditions, irrespective of whether they were tested on either a negative or a positive odour, revealed an increase in latency to explore and pick up the almond, indicating a general anxiety-induced behavioural inhibition.…”

Section: Page 24 Of 46mentioning

confidence: 99%