Abstract
Domestic dogs have assisted humans for millennia. However, the extent to which these helpful behaviors are prosocially motivated remains unclear. To assess the propensity of pet dogs to actively rescue distressed humans without explicit training, this study tested whether sixty pet dogs would release their seemingly trapped owners from a large box. To examine the causal mechanisms that shaped this behavior, the readiness of each dog to open the box was tested in three conditions: 1) the owner sat in the box and called for help (distress test), 2) an experimenter placed high-value food rewards in the box (food test), and 3) the owner sat in the box and calmly read aloud (reading test). Dogs were as likely to release their distressed owner as to retrieve treats from inside the box, indicating that rescuing an owner may be a highly rewarding action for dogs. After accounting for opening ability, dogs released the owner more often when the owner called for help than when the owner read aloud calmly. In addition, opening latencies decreased with test number in the distress test but not the reading test. Thus, rescuing the owner could not be attributed solely to social facilitation, stimulus enhancement, or social contact-seeking behavior. Dogs displayed more stress behaviors in the distress test than in the reading test, and stress scores decreased with test number in the reading test but not in the distress test. This evidence of emotional contagion supports the hypothesis that rescuing the distressed owner was an empathetically-motivated prosocial behavior. Success in the food task and previous (in-home) experience opening objects were both strong predictors of releasing the owner. Thus, prosocial behavior tests for dogs should control for physical ability and previous experience.
Highlights
Prosocial behaviors occur when individuals voluntarily act to benefit one or more individuals other than themselves [1]
To test whether releasing the owner from the apparatus in the distress test could be attributed to social-contact seeking behavior, the frequencies of opening in the distress and reading tests were compared using a logistic regression analysis
A general linear mixed model (GLMM) was constructed with opening modeled as a binomial outcome, study subjects treated as a random intercept, and test condition treated as a fixedeffect with two levels
Summary
Prosocial behaviors occur when individuals voluntarily act to benefit one or more individuals other than themselves [1]. Most authors describe prosocial behaviors in terms of costs and benefits (e.g., [2]), some definitions require that the prosocial actor demonstrate concern for the receiver and an understanding of the receiver’s emotional state [3, 4]. The extent to which empathy and sympathy shape prosociality in non-human animals remains unclear [5, 6]. Prosociality has been experimentally demonstrated in corvids, parrots, canids, rodents, and social insects (for review, see [9]), research on prosociality in non-human animals has primarily focused on primates [10, 11]. A broader phylogenetic framework is needed to clarify the evolutionary origins of prosocial behavior [12, 13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
