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Cooperative Communication with Humans Evolved to Emerge Early in Dogs

View ORCID ProfileHannah Salomons, Kyle Smith, Megan Callahan-Beckel, Margaret Callahan, Kerinne Levy, Brenda S. Kennedy, View ORCID ProfileEmily Bray, View ORCID ProfileGitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, Daniel J. Horschler, Margaret Gruen, Jingzhi Tan, View ORCID ProfilePhilip White, Evan MacLean, Brian Hare
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.12.425620
Hannah Salomons
1Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University
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  • For correspondence: hannah.salomons@duke.edu
Kyle Smith
2Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University
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Megan Callahan-Beckel
3Wildlife Science Center, Stacy, Minnesota
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Margaret Callahan
3Wildlife Science Center, Stacy, Minnesota
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Kerinne Levy
4Canine Companions for Independence, Santa Rosa, California
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Brenda S. Kennedy
4Canine Companions for Independence, Santa Rosa, California
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Emily Bray
4Canine Companions for Independence, Santa Rosa, California
5School of Anthropology, University of Arizona
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Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan
5School of Anthropology, University of Arizona
6Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona
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Daniel J. Horschler
5School of Anthropology, University of Arizona
6Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona
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Margaret Gruen
7Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University
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Jingzhi Tan
8Department of Psychology, University of Leiden
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Philip White
9Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University
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Evan MacLean
5School of Anthropology, University of Arizona
10College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona
11Department of Psychology, University of Arizona
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Brian Hare
1Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University
12Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University
13Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University
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Abstract

While we know that dogs evolved from wolves through a process of domestication, it remains unclear how this process may have affected dog cognitive development. Here we tested dog (N=44) and wolf (N=37) puppies, 5-18 weeks old, on a battery of temperament and cognition tasks. Dog puppies were more attracted to humans, read human gestures more skillfully and made more eye contact with humans than wolf puppies. The two species were similarly attracted to objects and performed similarly on nonsocial measures of memory and inhibitory control. These results demonstrate the role of domestication in enhancing the cooperative communication skills of dogs through selection on attraction to humans, which altered developmental pathways.

One Sentence Summary

Domestication altered dogs’ developmental pathways to enhance their cooperative communication with humans.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted January 12, 2021.
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Cooperative Communication with Humans Evolved to Emerge Early in Dogs
Hannah Salomons, Kyle Smith, Megan Callahan-Beckel, Margaret Callahan, Kerinne Levy, Brenda S. Kennedy, Emily Bray, Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, Daniel J. Horschler, Margaret Gruen, Jingzhi Tan, Philip White, Evan MacLean, Brian Hare
bioRxiv 2021.01.12.425620; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.12.425620
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Cooperative Communication with Humans Evolved to Emerge Early in Dogs
Hannah Salomons, Kyle Smith, Megan Callahan-Beckel, Margaret Callahan, Kerinne Levy, Brenda S. Kennedy, Emily Bray, Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, Daniel J. Horschler, Margaret Gruen, Jingzhi Tan, Philip White, Evan MacLean, Brian Hare
bioRxiv 2021.01.12.425620; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.12.425620

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