Social interaction triggers canine attention

Fresh research shows that dogs and humans are similarly attuned to social interaction, but staring longer at non-conspecifics (dogs at humans and humans at dogs). Study, conducted in co-operation with the universities Aalto and Helsinki was published in Royal Society Open Science -journal in Sept 2015

The visuo-social gazing behaviour of dogs and humans was examined to distinguish both similarities and differences between the two species. Researchers recorded the eye movements of dogs while they viewed images containing humans or dogs either interacting with each other or facing away, and the results were compared with the equivalent data gathered from humans. Study is led by professor Outi Vainio, and is part of COGNIDOG projects funded by the Finnish Academy.

Comparison of dogs and humans in visual scanning of social interaction, Heini Törnqvist, Sanni Somppi, Aija Koskela, Christina M. Krause, Outi Vainio, Miiamaaria V. Kujala, http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/2/9/150341

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