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animal psychology

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·January 17, 2020·3 min read

Scientists unexpectedly witness wolf puppies play fetch

Wolf pups can interpret human social communicative cues, enabling them to play fetch. The findings shed light on the evolutionary behavior of domestic dogs.

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·January 15, 2020·2 min read

What keeps couples together

Study supports the "male services hypothesis" which states males provide useful services as caregivers for the offspring and defending territory against intruders, while females are more involved in relationship management.

This shows the researcher and a dog next to an fMRI machine

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·December 18, 2019·4 min read

Dogs process numerical quantities in similar brain region as humans

fMRI neuroimaging reveals the parietotemporal cortex of dogs responds to numeric concepts. The study provides evidence that numerosity is a shared evolutionary neural mechanism.

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·December 12, 2019·3 min read

How humans learned to dance; from the Chimpanzee Conga

Studying the evolution of human dance, psychologists discovered chimpanzees also perform duo dance-like behaviors similar to a conga line.

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·December 2, 2019·3 min read

Cats’ faces hard to read, except for ‘cat whisperers’

People can infer a cat's affective state from subtle aspects of their facial expressions.

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·November 11, 2019·4 min read

Humans’ ability to read dogs’ facial expressions is learned, not innate

The human ability to recognize the facial expressions of dogs is acquired through age and experience and is not an evolutionarily selected trait.

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·November 6, 2019·4 min read

Horses blink less and twitch eyelids more when stressed

Spontaneous blink rate decreases while eyelid twitches increase when a horse experiences a stressful situation.

This shows the researcher and a very cute, black and white cat

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·September 23, 2019·4 min read

Cats, like children and dogs, develop attachments to their caregivers

Popular belief suggests cats are more independent and less likely to form close attachments with humans. However, a new study casts doubt on this myth. Researchers have found cats display the same main attachment styles to their owners as dogs, and babies to their parents.

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·June 18, 2019·4 min read

Puppy love: Why puppy dog eyes evolved to benefit communication with humans

Domestication transformed the facial muscle anatomy of dogs specifically for facial communication with humans. The muscular movement around the eyebrows resembles expressions humans produce when upset, triggering a nurturing response from the dog's owners.

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·April 20, 2019·4 min read

Hello, kitty: Cats recognize their own names

Domestic cats are able to discriminate the content of human speech, including recognizing their names, based upon phonemic differences.

This shows a male chimp sitting with his arms crossed

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·April 5, 2019·3 min read

Social insecurity also stresses chimpanzees

Aggression levels are reduced in male chimpanzees when social relations within their group become unstable.

This shows a young gorilla grooming a close social member who has recently died

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·April 3, 2019·4 min read

Gorillas gather around and groom their dead

Researchers observe grooming and mourning behaviors by gorillas towards others in their social groups who recently died. The study sheds light on how animals perceive and process death.