Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984
Dogs know when they don't know
In the field of comparative psychology, researchers study animals in order to learn about the evolution of various traits and what this can tell us about ourselves. At the DogStudies lab at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, project leader Juliane Bräuer studies dogs to make these comparisons. In a recent study published in the journal Learning & Behavior, Bräuer and colleague Julia Belger, now of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, explore whether dogs have metacognitive abilities -- sometimes described as the ability to "know what one knows" -- and in particular whether they are aware of what information they have learned and whether they need more information.
To test this, the researchers designed an apparatus involving two V-shaped fences. A reward, either food or a toy, would be placed by one researcher behind one of the two fences while another researcher held the dog. In some cases, the dog could see where the reward was placed, while in others the dog could not. The researchers then analyzed how frequently the dogs looked through a gap in the fence before choosing an option. The question was whether, like chimps and humans, the dog would "check" through the gap when he or she had not seen where the reward was placed. This would indicate that the dog was aware that he or she did not know where the reward was -- a metacognitive ability -- and would try to get more information before choosing a fence.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday November 22 2018, @02:38AM (4 children)
That is why instinct is a razor-sharp double-edged sword across all species. It's why your dog walks you, rather than you walking him or her. It's why your kid asks you all those tough questions you aren't ready to answer. It's why, when you meet Jamal in some dark street-corner, you know when to run when you sense 5 minutes before that the dope deal's gonna go bad.
This is why we need to take Carl Jung seriously instead of dismissing him as a crackpot. When the evil in this world is non-stop appeals to your cerebrum, sometimes you have to listen to your cerebellum.
(Score: 1) by hopdevil on Thursday November 22 2018, @03:18AM (2 children)
I'm not sure I follow your logic
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @03:36AM
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @10:29AM
The real question is, could a dog follow his logic?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday November 22 2018, @01:41PM
Sorry, can't do. Not without appreciable quantities of alcohol, as you well know it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford