Gaze Alternation Research Articles

Measures of spatial memory, peripheral inflammation and negative emotional state predict social-cognitive skills in healthy aging cats

Aging is a complex, multidimensional process. Normative aging is typically accompanied by declines in several cognitive domains, including memory and social cognition. As aging progresses, the often-overlooked early manifestations of cognitive decline can advance, leading to an inability to adapt to new situations and environments. Potential mechanisms influencing cognitive decline remain elusive, but, among other mechanisms, inflammaging, an age-related increase in the chronic production of pro-inflammatory mediators, and emotional stress are implicated. Cognitive function in cats is under-researched, with no studies on the link between potential risk factors and cognitive signs in aging subjects. Understanding this link is essential as it may facilitate the early identification of cognitive decline and encourage preventative, individualized interventions. We carried out a citizen science study to investigate, for the first time, the relationship between cognitive functions, stress, and the inflammatory markers interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-10 in 44 healthy, privately owned pet cats (7–14 years of age), who underwent standardized testing in their home environment. A task was employed to test spatial memory, requiring the cat to recall the location of a food-baited container. An unsolvable task was used to assess cats' social cognition and cognitive flexibility by measuring how they used referential communication (i.e., gaze alternation between the apparatus and the caregivers) compared to their persistence in trying to obtain food which was out of reach. Generalized linear regression analysis, conducted while adjusting for demographic factors and stress behaviors, revealed: 1) a predictive positive relationship connecting spatial memory and the use of social referencing with the caregiver (more gaze alternation) in the unsolvable task, highlighting the importance of the interplay between cognitive domains in sustaining complex behaviors, and 2) a reduced engagement in social referencing toward caregivers (less gaze alternation) in the presence of higher serum levels of IL-1β in the unsolvable task, especially as cats get older. A cat’s social cognitive performance was also negatively predicted by stress-related behaviors, which is not surprising given that cats are sentient creatures whose everyday behavior is also influenced by emotional states. These findings provide new insights into the crosstalk between different cognitive domains during aging and the potential contributions of emotions and inflammation to cognitive changes in healthy aging cats. Further research using this multidimensional approach will help explore these mechanisms of cognitive aging and potential markers for early detection of cognitive changes in older cats, which is critical for timely interventions.

Evidence for the communicative function of human-directed gazing in 6- to 7-week-old dog puppies

In human infants, the ability to show gaze alternations between an object of interest and another individual is considered fundamental to the development of complex social-cognitive abilities. Here we show that well-socialised dog puppies show gaze alternations in two contexts at an early age, 6–7 weeks. Thus, 69.4% of puppies in a novel object test and 45.59% of puppies during an unsolvable task alternated their gaze at least once between a person’s face and the object. In both contexts, the frequency of gaze alternations was positively correlated with the duration of whimpering, supporting the communicative nature of puppies’ gazing. Furthermore, the number of gaze alternations in the two contexts was correlated, indicating an underlying propensity for gazing at humans despite likely different motivations in the two contexts. Similar to humans, and unlike great apes or wolves, domestic dogs show gaze alternations from an early age if they are well-socialised. They appear to have a genetic preparedness to communicate with humans via gaze alternations early in ontogeny, but they may need close contact with humans for this ability to emerge, highlighting the interactive effects of domestication and environmental factors on behavioural development in dogs.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) display gaze alternation and referential communication in an impossible task

Gaze cues play a vital role in conveying critical information about objects and locations necessary for survival, such as food sources, predators, and the attentional states of conspecific and heterospecific individuals. During referential intentional communication, the continuous alternation of gaze between a communicative partner and a specific object or point of interest attracts the partner's attention towards the target. This behaviour is considered by many as essential for understanding intentions and is thought to involve mental planning. Here, we investigated the behavioural responses of seven bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that were given an impossible task in the presence of two experimenters (a ‘commanding experimenter’ and a ‘non-commanding experimenter’), whose attentional state towards the dolphins varied. We found that the dolphins spontaneously displayed gaze alternation, specifically triadic referential pointing, only when the human commanding experimenter was facing them. However, they ceased to alternate their gaze between the impossible object and the commanding experimenter when the experimenter had their back turned. Notably, the dolphins' behaviour differed from general pointing and gaze, as their triadic sequence occurred within a narrow time window. These findings suggest that the dolphins were sensitive to human attentional cues and utilized their own gaze cue (pointing) as a salient signal to attract the attention of the commanding experimenter towards a specific location.

When the owner does not know: comparing puppies and adult dogs’ showing behavior

Domestic dogs have been shown to engage in interspecific communication with their owners using a flexible repertoire of signals (i.e., gaze, vocalizations, and postures). This ability is influenced by ontogenetic development as well as breed selection. Different aspects of this phenomenon have been studied using the out of reach/hidden object task in which a piece of food is shown to the dog and then hidden in an unreachable spot by the experimenter. Dogs’ behavioral displays toward the target and the owner (ignorant about the location of the food) have been observed. The complex communicative behavior dogs exhibit in this context is defined as showing behavior and includes attention-getting components directed toward the owner, and directional components directed toward the target. No study has investigated the ontogenetic development of this behavior. In the current study, we compared the showing behavior in 4–6 month old puppies and 2–11 year old adults in an out of reach task involving the hiding of a food reward in one of two cabinets. Dogs were exposed to three conditions: (1) Owner with Food (OF), (2) Owner No Food (ONF), and (3) Alone with food (AF). Dogs showed more gaze alternations when both the food and the owner were present confirming the intentional and referential nature of this behavior. Contrary to our expectations, we found no differences between the showing behaviors of 4–6 month old puppies and adult dogs. This study provides interesting preliminary evidence of showing behavior in puppies. Further studies are needed to gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing this communicative behavior (i.e., breed, level of training). Furthermore, longitudinal studies should be performed from the age of 2 months up to 1 and 2 years to better clarify the influence of development and experience on showing behavior in domestic dogs.

Influence of reward and location on dogs’ behaviour toward an interactive artificial agent

Animal–robot interaction studies provide outstanding opportunities to understand the principles of social interactions. Here we investigated whether dogs’ behaviour toward a cooperative artificial agent (Unidentified Moving Object (UMO)) is influenced by receiving a reward directly from the agent, and by variability in the UMO’s location. In a problem-solving task, the UMO either helped dogs to obtain food (Direct Reward Group, DRG) or to fetch an object followed by an indirect reward from the owner/experimenter (Indirect Reward Group, IRG). During the Familiarization, the UMO either started from the same location or changed its starting location in all trials. In the Test phase, dogs faced the same task, but additionally a second, unfamiliar UMO was present. We found that both reward groups gazed at the UMO with decreasing latency during the Familiarization, with the IRG showing more gaze alternations between UMO and hiding location. Dogs showed no preference for either UMO in the Test phase but looked at the familiar UMO sooner if it had changed its location during the Familiarization. Thus, direct reward is not necessary to elicit elements of socially competent behavior in dogs, but variability in its motion may be important to improve the UMO’s animacy and promote flexible learning.

The Origins of Theory of Mind in Infant Social Cognition: Investigating Longitudinal Pathways from Intention Understanding and Joint Attention to Preschool Theory of Mind

ABSTRACT A growing body of literature has established longitudinal associations between key social cognitive capacities emerging in infancy and children’s subsequent theory of mind. However, existing work is limited by modest sample sizes, narrow infant measures, and theory of mind assessments with restricted variability and generalizability. The current study aimed to extend this literature by (a) recruiting a large sample of participants (n = 116; 53 boys; 63 girls; all U.S. residents; 88 White, 8 Hispanic or Latino, 2 Black or African American, 14 two or more races/ethnicities, 4 unknown; median family income: $74-122,000), (b) examining multiple measures of infant social cognition (intentional action understanding, responding to joint attention, initiating joint attention) at Time 1 (8–12 months), and (c) using an ecologically valid theory of mind assessment designed to capture individual differences in preschoolers’ mental state understanding (the Children’s Social Understanding Scale) at Time 2 (37–45 months). Measured variable path analysis revealed a significant longitudinal association between infants’ initiating joint attention and later theory of mind: infants who engaged in more attempts to initiate joint attention with experimenters through gaze alternation or gestures went on to show better parent-reported mental state understanding as preschoolers. Notably, the paths from infants’ responding to joint attention and intentional action understanding to later theory of mind did not emerge as significant. These findings bolster and clarify existing claims about how mental state reasoning is rooted in foundational social-cognitive capacities emerging in infancy.

High-Risk Siblings without Autism: Insights from a Clinical and Eye-Tracking Study.

Joint attention (JA)-the human ability to coordinate our attention with that of other people-is impaired in the early stage of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the JA skills in the younger siblings of children with ASD who do not develop ASD at 36 months of age [high-risk (HR)-noASD]. In order to advance our understanding of this topic, a prospective multicenter observational study was conducted with three groups of toddlers (age range: 18-33 months): 17 with ASD, 19 with HR-noASD and 16 with typical development (TD). All subjects underwent a comprehensive clinical assessment and an eye-tracking experiment with pre-recorded stimuli in which the visual patterns during two tasks eliciting initiating joint attention (IJA) were measured. Specifically, fixations, transitions and alternating gaze were analyzed. Clinical evaluation revealed that HR-noASD subjects had lower non-verbal cognitive skills than TD children, while similar levels of restricted and repetitive behaviors and better social communication skills were detected in comparison with ASD children. Eye-tracking paradigms indicated that HR-noASD toddlers had visual patterns resembling TD in terms of target-object-to-face gaze alternations, while their looking behaviors were similar to ASD toddlers regarding not-target-object-to-face gaze alternations. This study indicated that high-risk, unaffected siblings displayed a shared profile of IJA-eye-tracking measures with both ASD patients and TD controls, providing new insights into the characterization of social attention in this group of toddlers.

Chasing perception in domestic cats and dogs

Chasing motion is often used to study the perception of inanimate objects as animate. When chasing interaction and independent motions between two agents are displayed simultaneously on a screen, we expect observers to quickly perceive and recognise the chasing pattern (because of its familiarity) and turn their attention to the independent motion (novelty effect). In case of isosceles triangles as moving figures, dogs and humans both display this behaviour, but dogs initially preferred to look at the chasing pattern whereas humans started to increase their gaze towards the independent motion earlier. Here, we compared whether family cats perceive moving inanimate objects as animate and whether their looking behaviour is similar to that of small family dogs. We displayed a chasing and independent motion side by side on a screen in two consecutive trials and assessed subjects’ looking behaviour towards the motions. Similarly to previous studies, we found that dogs eventually looked longer at the independent motion, but cats preferred to look at the independent motion at the beginning of the video display and only later shifted their attention to the chasing motion. No difference was found in the frequency of gaze alternation of the two species. Thus, although cats discriminate between the chasing and independent motions, it is not clear whether this discrimination is controlled by animate motion cues. The difference may originate from their ecological situation and/or may be explained by specific perceptual mechanisms.

Social orienting and initiated joint attention behaviors in 9 to 12 month old children with autism spectrum disorder: A family home movies study.

According to the Social Motivation model children with autism show deficits in social orienting (looking at faces and responding to name) at the end of their first year of life. In this model, those deficits are both the earliest behavioral consequences of an alteration in the dopamine reward system balance and the foundation of the social impairments that characterize this neurodevelopmental disorder. The current study tests two of the main predictions of this model: that social orienting deficits are the first behavioral manifestation of autism, and that they are developmentally related to joint attention deficits. We retrospectively analyzed family home movies of 9- to 12-month-old infants, 29 of whom were later diagnosed with autism and 16 of whom were typically developing. After confirming that the videotapes of both groups were similar in content of the scenes recorded (contexts, type of social activity, etc.), we compared their social orienting (social gaze and responding to name) and joint attention behaviors (gaze alternation and gestures). No significant differences between groups were found in looking at faces, but the group with autism showed deficits in responding to name and initiations of joint attention (IJA). Looking at people was not significantly correlated with IJA behaviors, but response to name was. The lack of group differences in looking at faces between 9 and 12 months, and the existence of IJA difficulties in the ASD group without concurrent impairment in looking at faces, do not support predictions of the Social Motivation model. LAY SUMMARY: Various theories have been proposed to explain the emergence of autism symptoms early in life. This study tested two key predictions of the Social Motivation model. Comparing family movies of children 9- to 12-months-old later diagnosed with autism or with typical development, we did not observe difficulties in looking at other people's faces but children with autism responded to name and used gaze and gestures to direct the adult's attention to events of interest less frequently. This absence of difficulties in looking at faces does not fit with what the Social Motivation model of autism predicts and therefore we must develop alternative explanations.

Selection for specific behavioural traits does not influence preference of chasing motion and visual strategy in dogs

Perception of inanimate objects as animate based on motion cues alone seems to be present in phylogenetically distant species, from birth (humans and chicks). However, we do not know whether the species’ social and ecological environment has an influence on this phenomenon. Dogs serve as a unique species to investigate whether selection for specific behavioural traits influences animacy perception. We tested purebred companion dogs, and assigned them into two groups based on the type of work they were originally selected for: (1) Chasers, tracking and chasing prey; (2) Retrievers, mark and remember downed game. We displayed isosceles triangles presenting a chasing pattern vs moving independently, in parallel on a screen. We hypothesised that Chasers prefer to look at chasing and Retrievers eventually focus their visual attention on the independent motion. Overall, we did not find a significant difference between groups regarding the looking duration of dogs or the frequency of their gaze alternation between the chasing and independent motions. Thus it seems that selection for specific traits does not influence the perception of animate entities within the species.

Effect of different experiences with humans in dogs’ visual communication

Dogs are particularly skillful in communicating with humans, and growing evidence points towards the importance of both species intertwined evolutionary history and intense daily partnership. Gaze alternation is a communicative behavior used by dogs from a very young age and is affected by factors such as aging and experience. We analyzed how different degrees of daily human interaction affect dogs’ gazing behavior in the unsolvable task, where a desired food becomes inaccessible. Three groups with different degrees of daily exposure to humans were compared: pet dogs that live inside the house, pet dogs that live outside the house, and shelter dogs. We found no difference in latency to the first gaze, but pet dogs did show a higher proportion of individuals engaging in gaze alternation, a higher number of gaze alternations, and a longer duration of gaze than shelter dogs. Additionally, dogs living inside the house gazed more at the experimenter than dogs living outside. Overall, our results indicate a strong influence of experience over the development and use of these communicative behaviors in dogs, with groups that are closer to people in their daily lives being more willing to communicate with humans as a strategy to obtain a desired goal.

Feline communication strategies when presented with an unsolvable task: the attentional state of the person matters

Research on social cognitive ability in domestic cats is limited. The current study investigated social referencing in cats when exposed to first, a solvable, and then, an unsolvable scenario (i.e., reachable and unreachable treats) in the presence of either an attentive or an inattentive caregiver. Cats expressed more gaze alternation (P = 0.013), but less interaction with the caregiver (P = 0.048) and approached the treat container less frequently (P = 0.017) during the unsolvable test, compared to the solvable test. When in the presence of an attentive caregiver, cats initiated first gaze at the caregiver faster (P = 0.001); gazed at the caregiver for longer (P = 0.034); and approached the treat more frequently (P = 0.040), compared to when the caregiver was inattentive. Significant interaction was observed between test and caregiver’s attentional state on the expression of sequential behavior, a type of showing behavior. Cats exhibited this behavior marginally more with attentive caregivers, compared to inattentive caregivers, but only during the unsolvable test. There was a decrease in sequential behavior during the unsolvable test, compared to solvable test, but this was only seen with inattentive caregivers (P = 0.018). Our results suggest that gaze alternation is a behavior reliably indicating social referencing in cats and that cats’ social communication with humans is affected by the person’s availability for visual interaction.

A review of the unsolvable task in dog communication and cognition: comparing different methodologies.

Communication between dogs and humans is a topic of growing interest, and the "unsolvable task" is a common method used to measure human-directed communication. In this task, dogs learn how to solve a problem to obtain a reward. After a fixed number of trials, the reward becomes impossible to access, arguably leading to communicative attempts from the dog. Although useful to observe dogs' communicative behaviors in a fairly naturalistic situation, the methodology varies among studies regarding apparatus, number of trials, and other factors. The proxies used, for instance, gaze duration or frequency of gaze alternation, also vary, and there are discrepancies and a debate regarding what the task actually measures. Therefore, in this study, we reviewed the usage of the unsolvable task in canids of the genus Canis, searching Web of Science and Scopus for the terms "dog*", "Canis", "dingo*", "wolf" or "wolves" in the title and "unsolvable task" or "impossible task" in the topic. We included thirty-five studies in this review and discussed their different methodologies and proxies, such as different apparatuses, number of solvable trials, and different interpretations of "looking back", pointing out how they can affect results and hinder comparisons. Lastly, we used current data to propose strategies to homogenize the use of this important paradigm, with an ethogram of possible behaviors and their interpretation and a predefined set of methodological aspects for future research.

Kangaroos display gazing and gaze alternations during an unsolvable problem task.

Domestication is generally assumed to have resulted in enhanced communication abilities between non-primate mammals and humans, although the number of species studied is very limited (e.g. cats, Felis catus; dogs, Canis familiaris; wolves, Canis lupus; goats, Capra hircus; horses, Equus caballus). In species without hands for pointing, gazing at humans when dealing with inaccessible food during an unsolvable task, and in particular gaze alternations between a human and the unsolvable task (considered forms of showing), are often interpreted as attempts at referential intentional communication. We report that kangaroos, marsupial mammals that have never been domesticated, actively gazed at an experimenter during an unsolvable problem task (10/11 kangaroos tested), thus challenging the notion that this behaviour results from domestication. Nine of the 10 kangaroos additionally showed gaze alternations between the unsolvable task and experimenter. We propose that the potential occurrence of these behaviours displayed towards humans has been underestimated, owing to a narrow focus on domestic animals, as well as a more general eutherian research bias.

Showing behavior in Animal Assisted Intervention and pet dogs

A dog’s behavior can indicate the location of hidden food to a human who is unaware of its position. These behavioral patterns are known as showing behavior, which comprise gazing towards the target location and gaze alternation between the human and the target (i.e., hidden food). Although this ability has been extensively studied in pet dogs, research has not yet focused on dogs with other kinds of life experiences, such as dogs working in Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI). These dogs are exposed to novel environments under the guidance of their handlers and previous studies have highlighted the importance of gazing behavior in this population. Therefore, we evaluated AAI and pet dogs on a showing task. Results indicate that dogs overall engaged in showing behavior as they gazed more towards the baited pot and alternated their gaze more on showing trials than control ones. Contrary to our expectations, differences between AAI and pet dogs were minimal. However, owners of AAI dogs were more successful than owners of pet dogs in finding the hidden food in showing trials. This suggests they may be more skillful in reading their dogs' behavior, which can be crucial to ensure their welfare during AAI sessions.

Who turns to the human? Companion pigs\u2019 and dogs\u2019 behaviour in the unsolvable task paradigm

When facing an unsolvable problem, dogs exhibit spontaneous human-oriented behaviours (e.g. looking at the human partner, gaze alternations between the human and the target) sooner and for longer than domestic cats and hand-raised wolves. These behaviours have been interpreted as interspecific communicative acts aimed to initiate interaction. Here, we compare the emergence of human-oriented behaviours (e.g. orientation towards humans, orientation alternations, vocalizations) in similarly raised family dogs and miniature pigs utilising an unsolvable task paradigm which consists of Baseline (no task), Solvable and Unsolvable phases. Relative to the Baseline phase in which both species showed human-oriented behaviours to a similar extent, during the Unsolvable phase dogs showed more and pigs showed less such behaviours. Species-predispositions in communicative behaviour may explain why dogs have a higher inclination than pigs to initiate interspecific interactions with humans in problem-solving contexts.

Gazing as a help requesting behavior: a comparison of dogs participating in animal-assisted interventions and pet dogs.

Dogs tend to gaze at humans when they are confronted with inaccessible food during an unsolvable task, which is often interpreted as a help requesting behavior. Dogs who participate in animal-assisted interventions (AAI) interact with many people during their lives and prior studies have emphasized the importance of gazing in their communication. We compared the behavior of AAI (n = 15) and pet (n = 16) dogs during an unsolvable task, using a container fixed to a wooden board with inaccessible food inside, while the owner and an unfamiliar woman stood facing each other at the sides of the board ignoring the dog. Results showed that AAI dogs spent significantly more time gazing and alternated their gaze more frequently between the container and the people than pet dogs. In addition, they spent more time in contact with the unfamiliar person. However, no significant differences were found in the time dogs of either group gazed towards the owner compared to the unfamiliar person, in the frequency of gaze alternation or in the time spent interacting with the apparatus. In line with prior studies, these results suggest that gazing may be a significant communicative response in AAI dogs, which could probably contribute to having a better coordination with their handler. A greater understanding of the characteristics of this population may aid the selection and training of AAI dogs, which is particularly relevant given the increased popularity of AAI nowadays.

The development of communication in alarm contexts in wild chimpanzees

Animals have evolved a range of communicative behaviours in the presence of danger. Although the mechanisms and functions of some of these behaviours have been relatively well researched, comparatively little is known about their ontogeny, including how animals learn to inform social partners about impending danger. In adult chimpanzees, behaviours in response to dangers involve several channels, particularly alarm calls and simultaneous gaze alternations with nearby recipients. Gaze alternations may allow inexperienced individuals to learn from more experienced ones by assessing their reactions to unfamiliar objects or events, but they may also provide the basis for more advanced social referencing. Here, we were interested in the development of these two common behaviours, alarm calling and gaze alternations, in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) confronted with a threat. Using a cross-sectional design, we investigated those in 8 infant and 8 juveniles by experimentally exposing them to an unfamiliar but potentially dangerous object, a large, remotely controlled, moving spider model. For alarm calling, we found a positive relation with age, starting at around 28 months, although alarm calls were not consistently emitted until after 80 months. For gaze alternations, we found no age effect, with some of the youngest infants already showing the behaviour. Although its function remains unclear in infant and juvenile chimpanzees, gaze alternations emerge early in chimpanzee development. Alarm calling may require more advanced developmental stages, such as greater perceptual abilities, categorical capacities or more sophisticated social cognition, i.e. an understanding that danger is a collective experience that requires communication.Significance statementAlarm calling and other anti-predatory behaviours have been the topic of much research but their ontogenies are still poorly described and understood. Recent studies on the behaviour of wild chimpanzees in threatening contexts have suggested sophisticated social cognitive abilities in adults. How do these behaviours develop in ontogeny? We addressed this question using a field experiment with 8 infants and 8 juveniles exposed to a novel and potentially threatening object in their natural habitat. We found that gaze alternations are present in some of the youngest individuals, potentially revealing early social awareness in chimpanzees. Age did not have an effect on the presence of gaze alternation. We also found that alarm calling was more common in older individuals, suggesting that call production and context of usage must be learnt. We discuss our results in light of developmental theories of social cognition and the role of social learning in the primate lineage.

Alternating gaze in multi-party storytelling

We present a single case study on gaze alternation in three-party storytelling. The study makes use of the XML method, a ‘combinatorial approach’ (Haugh and Musgrave, 2019) involving multi-modal CA transcription converted into the XML syntax. We approach gaze alternation via (i) the addressee-status hypothesis, (ii) the texturing hypothesis, and (iii) the acceleration hypothesis. Hypothesis (i) proposes that the storyteller alternatingly looks at the recipients not only when their addressee status is symmetrical but also when their addressee status is asymmetrical. Hypothesis (ii) predicts that gaze alternation ‘textures’ the telling by occurring when the storytelling progresses from one segment to another. Hypothesis (iii) states that gaze alternation accelerates toward Climax and decelerates in Post-completion sequences. The analyses support the hypotheses. They suggest that alternating gaze works against the danger of exclusion caused by the dyadic structure of conversation. It further partakes in story organization as it occurs at points of transition from one story section to another section. Finally, accelerated gaze alternation constitutes an indexical process drawing the recipients' attention to the immediate relevance of stance display (Stivers, 2008). We conclude that the three hypotheses warrant further investigation to determine their generalizability across speakers and speech situations.

Human-directed behaviour in goats is not affected by short-term positive handling

In addition to domestication, interactions with humans or task-specific training during ontogeny have been proposed to play a key role in explaining differences in human–animal communication across species. In livestock, even short-term positive interactions with caretakers or other reference persons can influence human–animal interaction at different levels and over different periods of time. In this study, we investigated human-directed behaviour in the ‘unsolvable task’ paradigm in two groups of domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus). One group was positively handled and habituated to a plastic box by the experimenter to retrieve a food reward, while the other group only received standard husbandry care and was habituated to the box without human assistance. In the unsolvable task, the lid was fixed to the box, with the reward inaccessible to the subjects. The goats were confronted with the unsolvable task three times. We observed no difference between the two groups regarding gaze and contact alternations with the experimenter when confronted with the task they cannot solve by themselves. The goats did not differ in their expression rates of both gaze and contact alternations over three repetitions of the unsolvable task; however, they showed earlier gaze and contact alternations in later trials. The results do not support the hypothesis that short-term positive handling or task-specific training by humans facilitates human-directed behaviour in goats. In contrast, standard husbandry care might be sufficient to establish humans as reference persons for farm animals in challenging situations.