Abstract In 1970 Dr Martin Seligman
proposed psychological preparedness theory (On
The Generality of the Laws of Learning: 1970
Psychological Review vol 77, pp. 406-418).
Accordingly there are certain learning tasks
which are contraprepared, or next to impossible.
That a dog can not easily learn to yawn on cue
was presented as such a contraprepared learning
task. Juarbe-Diaz and Houpt (1996 p2) proposed
that, because dogs are scent-dominated, they
have a greater preparedness to learn via the
stimulus of the citronella antibarking collar
when compared with the static pulse electronic
antibarking collar. This proposal is disputed.
To date no-one has claimed to have taught a dog
to yawn on cue easily, which has been taken by
proponents of the theory as "proof". There is
also the question of phylogeny: humans can yawn
on cue, can dogs?
click to see the video
My group taught dogs to yawn on cue within a
few trials. Another dog has been taught to
sneeze on cue. The dogs are each part of a close
multi-dog family household receiving a very
large amount of human contact. Breed and age
varies. Dogs 1,2 and 4 are a part of my own
household, and represent every dog in that
household. Dog 3 is a part of a co-workers
household, which has three dogs in total. The
time taken to2 train each dog varied from
minutes to days. Each dog was easily trained to
yawn on command using a combination of
traditional gentle training methods. The primary
method was yawning at the dog to solicit yawning
which was then rewarded and put on cue. A hand
signal was composed (a modification of the
"speak" signal with the hand open but thumb and
forefinger touching) and the yawn prompt rapidly
faded. It is important to reward only full yawns
from the outset. Dogs 2 and 4 learned by
observing another dog yawn on cue for reward:
dog 2 learned from dog 1 and dog 4 from dog 2.
Furthermore, dogs 2 and especially 4 appeared
motivated to compete using yawning to secure
resources ahead of another dog.
It is proposed to limit Preparedness Theory
to physiological preparedness, and that
psychological preparedness either be revised (to
exclude dogs yawning on cue) or abandoned: which
depends on the theory of mind adopted and that
is a subject for further research. Motivation
and rapport with the trainer are more likely
obstacles to teaching dogs social learning tasks
and a lack of apparent learning does not imply
those tasks are contraprepared. In a profoundly
social animal such as the dog, many if not most
behaviours are under social influence. Dogs may
serve as a model for other species less able to
accept humans into their social structure. Dogs
may have greater cognitive abilities than
previously believed. A close rapport with humans
may be required for humans to measure their true
cognitive abilities. Naïve dogs confined to
a laboratory environment may be a confounding
variable because it alters motivational status.
The role of yawning within canine culture is
elusive, but it may be used by pack leaders to
synchronise group sleep. See accompanying video
footage supporting my conclusions.
Introduction
Yawning is a little studied puzzling
behaviour performed by most vertebrates. It is a
Modal Action Pattern and socially facilitated
releasing stimulus (Provine 1996). A yawn
follows an almost identical sequence in any
individual, takes around 6 seconds and is easily
recognised (Provine 1996). It includes slowly
hyperextending the temporo-mandibular joint with
a brief pause at hyper-extension, sometimes
screwing up the eyes or closing them (sometimes
causing the eyes to water), sometimes curling
the tongue (seen in many dogs), sometimes
includes a short rising vocalisation, is always
accompanied by a short rapid 3 inhalation, then
quickly returning the temporo-mandibular joint
to a more physiological position and
exhaling.
Just how voluntary is it across species,
given that humans can yawn voluntarily? What
purpose does it serve? To date studies indicate
yawning may be positively correlated with
ability to empathise (Platek, Critton, Myers,
Gallup 2003), maleness in sexually dimorphic
species (Provine 1996; Deputte 1994), comfort
movement in carnivores and rodents (Deputte
1994), certain hormones (testosterone, oxytocin,
ACTH) (Provine 1996), certain drugs
(apomorphine, pilocarpine) (Provine 1996),
maturity, dominance, boredom (Provine 1996),
within an hour of sleeping or waking (Provine
1996), and as a transitional behaviour following
social interactions (Deputte 1994).
Interestingly, it has been found to not be
primarily influenced by blood oxygen or carbon
dioxide levels (Provine 1996). Yawning is
associated with cholinergic and peptidergic
excitation, and dopaminergic inhibition (Provine
1996).
Yawning has been claimed to serve various
social functions including displacement
behaviour (Provine 1996), and appeasement
behaviour (Rugaas). There are social sanctions
against public yawning in human society (Provine
1996 p181).
The hypothesis tested was that dogs can not
be easily trained to yawn on command whereas,
presumably, humans can yawn on cue easily. This
hypothesis was presented by Martin Seligman in
1970 as a prime example of a psychological
canine learning limitation. Learning limitations
were hypothesised to occur because the dog's
brain was said to be contra-prepared to easily
learn certain tasks. The theory of psychological
preparedness formed to explain this "phenomena".
This theory has been accepted for many years and
appears in most major texts. Juarbe-Diaz and
Houpt use the theory to explain why they found
citronella antibarking collars to be more
effective than static pulse electronic
antibarking collars (1967 p2).
The notion of psychological preparedness
presented by Seligman apparently conflates
anatomical, physiological and psychological
preparedness. "…although the organism may
have the necessary receptor and effector
apparatus to deal with events, there is much
variation in its ability to learn about
relations 4 between events (Seligman p 409)."
Seligman is saying that despite all circuitry
and parts being present, if a behaviour is
psychologically contraprepared then it takes
numerous trials to teach if it can be taught at
all.
With an additional 35 years of research
behind us, we are now in a better position to
understand that if all parts and circuitry are
present, and the behaviour is difficult or
impossible to teach, then some part of the
circuitry may be missing ie Seligman's
requirement that necessary receptor and effector
apparatus being present, has not been met eg
Seligman's example of psychological
contrapreparedness that rats fail to learn by
footshock (we now understand that at these
levels of electrical shock, pain pathways
dominate and learning pathways are suppressed,
footshock alters the circuitry). This is an
example of physiological contrapreparedness, not
psychological contrapreparedness. All
preparedness may be anatomical or physiological
dependent on theory of mind. The theory of mind
presumed influences the distinction between
physiological and psychological preparedness.
The theory of mind presumed herein is an
epiphenomenon theory of mind in which behaviour
and accompanying emotive states are not
metaphysically identical to the underlying
anatomy and physiology, hence psychological
preparedness is distinct from physiological.
This discussion warrants further consideration
not undertaken herein.
Methods and Results
Together with two co-workers, in March 2003
we set out in an attempt to train dogs to yawn
on command to question the validity of
psychological preparedness theory. In total, we
trained four dogs to yawn on command. They are
each part of a close multi-dog family household
receiving a very large amount of human contact.
Breed and age vary. Dogs 1,2 and 4 are a part of
my own household, and represent every dog in my
household. Dog 3 is a part of a co-workers
household, which has three dogs in total. The
time taken to train each dog varied from minutes
to days. Each dog was easily trained to yawn on
command using a combination of traditional
gentle training methods. A brief outline of each
dog, unusual behaviours, and the method used
follows (in order of training):
(1) "Dog1" a desexed male red with
black/graying mask Staffordshire Terrier named
Sargie. Dog1 came to live with my family in mid
2002 as a mature entire male exact age unknown.
Dog1 had at least two previous homes and had
aggression problems. He had mildly subluxating
patellae and walked with straight hind legs
dragging his hind nails. Dog1 received Rimadyl
50 mgs once daily long term. Dog1 had apparently
not received even a basic education, and very
slowly learned the house rules. Dog1 took over 3
months to train to sit reliably. A co-worker (my
husband) developed an especially close
relationship with Dog1. On the CBTI (Canine
Behaviour Type Index) he was a SAM (spontaneous
dominant low energy) personality type.
In March 2003, a co-worker began teaching
Dog1 to yawn on command by yawning at dog1 and
making it a game for him to yawn back. During
the very first session dog1 yawned back 3 times
in response to 7 or 8 human yawns directed at
dog1 from a semi-crouch about 3 feet away. Dog1
was rewarded with verbal praise and games. Each
yawn by dog1was precisely marked with "yes"
previously trained-in as a reward marker. A hand
signal was composed and introduced. The hand
signal is a modification of the "speak" signal
(open hand palm facing with thumb held apart
from four fingers together, then close hand),
but with the thumb and forefinger touching. The
yawn prompt was faded over a few sessions. Dog1
was given a yawn training session early each
morning for only a few minutes while on his
special "place" or "mat" in the lounge room.
After 2 sessions dog1 would pre-empt the first
yawn cue and commence yawning and looking for
his reward before the first cue, typical of any
newly trained behaviour. Each yawn was marked
with the word "yes" then rewarded with food
immediately (initially dates, a favourite
treat). Within a few trials over a few days Dog1
was yawning on cue reliably. Dog1 died in July
2004. He was not given a postmortem. The
presumed cause of death was a bleeding
hemangiosarcoma.
(2) "Dog2" a four year old desexed female
red and white Staffordshire Terrier named
Bladey. Dog2 was purchased from a breeder at 8
weeks of age. Dog2 learned to yawn on cue by
observing dog1 receive food rewards for the
action, marking the behaviour with rewards, plus
shaping and approximation. The shaping and
approximation were deemed to be a mistake. Dog 2
took longer to train to yawn on cue than the
other 3 dogs giving many more mouth opens
instead of yawns, apparently because the mouth
opens had previously 6 been rewarded as part of
the largely unsuccessful shaping procedure. Dog
2 is a very submissive dog and participates in
the canine sport of Flyball. On the CBTI scale
she is a SGH (spontaneous submissive high
energy) personality type.
(3) "Dog3" a four year old desexed male
camp-dog/dingo named Habari. Dog3 took just a
few trials over a few days to train to yawn on
cue, and was trained independently of dogs 1, 2
and 4 by another co-worker in a separate
household. Dog3 belongs to a dog trainer
veterinary nurse and is obedience trained
weekly. Dog3 is dog aggressive and was rescued
as a puppy from an aboriginal reserve. Dog3 had
large scald burns on his back, heavy scarring
persists. Dog3 was cued to yawn by his human
yawning at him, then rewarded with food and
praise. His human repeats the word "yawning"
while yawning at dog3. On the CBTI scale he is
an OBM (organised defiant low energy)
personality type.
(4) "Dog4" a 20 month old desexed male
German Shepherd Dog named Czar. Dog4 came to my
home in July 2004. His full history is known. He
was s successful show dog and went to stud but
developed severe testiculitis and infertility
resulted. He had been successfully obedience
trialed at novice level qualifying twice. Dog4
is now used for companionship, personal
protection, and participates in the canine sport
of Flyball. Dog4 is very easy to train. Dog4
learned to yawn on cue in one trial within
minutes by observing dog2 yawn for food rewards.
Dog4 was new to the household and appeared keen
to learn the new house rules and was seen to be
observing dog2 closely. Dog4 lined up beside dog
2 when yawning for food, orientated towards the
handler and yawned. This is a case of adult
canine observational learning. Dog4 is not
highly motivated by food but yawns for attention
and petting. Dog4 can yawn the most repeatedly
and reliably without fatiguing and with almost
no approximating. Dog 4 took 6 months to train
to fetch a tennis ball. The reason for this is
assumed to be that the size of the tennis ball
is below his prey threshold because dog 4
enthusiastically fetched a larger oblong shaped
toy bone on the first trial. On the CBTI scale
he is an OBH (organised defiant high energy)
personality type.
(5) "Dog5" a 6 year old desexed female blue
Australian Cattle Dog named Chase. Dog5 learned
to sneeze on cue by the owner marking and
rewarding the naturally occurring behaviour.
Dog5 was first studied by me after trained to
sneeze on cue. Her human is thought to recount
the training procedure reliably and notes that
dog5 sneezes exceptionally well when motivated
by cheese, her favourite treat. Dog5 learned
within 1- 3 trials. Dog5 belongs to a dog
trainer who acquired dog5 from an animal shelter
at 1 year of age. Dog5 displays fear and
dominance aggression and had been returned to
the animal shelter twice previously. Dog5 cocks
her leg to urinate on vertical objects, has
received extensive quantities of obedience
training including in the canine sport of
flyball. On the CBTI scale she is an OAH
(organised dominant high energy) personality
type.
Discussion
Yawning may synchronise the transition into
group sleep in social animals which explains why
it has been positively correlated by other
researchers with empathy and the leadership
qualities of maleness and dominance; it is the
leader's role to cue the group for sleep. It may
additionally be used to "change the subject" (as
a transitional behaviour) appearing as a
displacement or an appeasing gesture in an
attempt to alleviate social discomfort. Yawning
research has been done on a limited number of
species including rodents, primates and now
dogs. Findings may not generalise to other
species.
The findings herein indicate that dogs have
the ability to empathise with their cohort as
demonstrated by the intra and interspecial
socially facilitated nature of yawning, in
contrast with Anderson, Masako and Tetsuro who
claim that "contagious yawning has only been
reported in humans" (1st page)... they go on to
demonstrate it in mature chimpanzees. Contagious
yawning also occurs between humans and
dogs.
All four dogs use the yawn in spontaneous
attempts to solicit resources including human
food, prized positions, and attention. It has
become a tool for communication as do other
learned behaviours. Dogs 1-4 in rank order of
best at displaying yawning on cue (based on low
number of: trials to acquire the behaviour;
approximations when cued to yawn; and high
reliability) are dog 4, 1 & 3, 2. This is in
part explained by the theory that the high
ranking male dogs are likely to be less socially
inhibited to yawn on cue, if initiating yawning
is indeed the leader's role. Dog2 and 3 by seem
to be socially inhibited to yawn on cue (eg
turns the head away). Like any acquired
behaviour, its ease of acquisition is positively
correlated with youth. Dog4 was the youngest dog
and the best yawner.
Factors found to negatively impact canine
ability to yawn on cue included commanding more
than 3 yawns per session, high ambient
temperature, presence of non-pack members, and
various environmental distractions. After
performing repeated yawn cueing, I personally
found yawning to be inherently aversive. The
Premack Principle explains that to increase the
incidence of a low-incidence behavior (eg
yawning), a high incidence behaviour should be
used to reward it (eg a game or treat), rather
than another yawn (which in this context becomes
a punisher). It is best to end a yawn training
session with a food treat and a rewarding
activity after just one good yawn. Low incidence
behaviours such as yawning and sneezing also
pose the practical difficulty of training them
to cue simply because it is difficult to catch
the naturally occurring behaviour to mark and
reward.
When dogs are panting due to a high ambient
temperature, they are understandably reluctant
to reduce their panting in order to yawn. It may
be inhumane to expect a panting dog to yawn on
cue hence yawn training sessions were regularly
scheduled for 4-6 am in the subtropics. Also,
the dogs were wide awake and keen to follow
instruction at this time.
Positive factors when yawn training include
using good behaviour principles, a shared social
system, active and food rewards, conducting
sessions on the dogs secure "place", and
multiple dogs to incite competitive operant
learning. The reward marker must follow the
conclusion of the yawn as closely as possible
without interrupting it. Treat the yawn as an
all-or-nothing behaviour and reward only full
convincing yawns from the beginning. Adopting
the Behaviourist principle "you get what you pay
for" seemed the most effective way to
unambiguously communicate to the dog that a yawn
was required and not a mouth open. Konorski
(1967) apparently rewarded yawn approximations,
or mouth opens, and reported that his dogs were
truncating the yawn. Such is, however, not
evidence for dogs' lack of ability to yawn on
cue; the best training method of yawn training
only rewards full yawns from the outset.
Dogs 2 and 4 learned to yawn on cue
primarily through observational learning. They
each observed another dog in the household
receive rewards for yawning then likewise yawned
for a reward. Dog 2 learned from observing dog
1, and dog 4 learned from observing dog 2. That
they each orientated towards the trainer using
hand signal only, and not the yawning dog,
indicated it was a learned behaviour for reward
and not merely a response to the releasing
stimulus of a yawning dog. Dog 4 learned in a
single trial and dog 2 learned within a few
trials. According to Lindsay observational
learning in adult dogs "remains in doubt, at
least until more conclusive research is
available. No experiment to date (that I know
of) demonstrates observational learning in adult
dogs." (Lindsay 2000 vol 1 p 272) Observational
learning in adult dogs (dogs 2 and 4) has been
demonstrated during training dogs to yawn on
cue. Furthermore they actively compete with
one-an-other during yawn training sessions for
rewards thus improving their performance and
enhancing the training process.
Dog 4 has refused to yawn on cue when near
other unfamiliar dogs but obeyed when taken to a
quieter more private corner of the park. It is
unclear if this is simply a proofing issue or if
there is some socially inhibiting factor/s
involved eg yawning front-on near unfamiliar
dogs may be a social faux pas. The coworker and
owner of dog3 noticed an improvement in
inter-dog relationships within the household
since yawn training further reinforcing the idea
that yawning has social significance within
canine culture.
Dogs have complex motives and it would be
premature to suggest any behaviour to be
contraprepared without thorough research.
Juarbe-Diaz and Houpt may be incorrect in
suggesting that dogs are contraprepared to learn
via the stimuli produced by static pulse
electronic collars. Another explanation for the
disappointing performance of the static pulse
collar used in their study is that the
programming of that device was too forgiving in
that it shut off the delivery of the aversive
stimulus if the dog continued to bark (p3). Thus
the wearing dog was negatively rewarded for
barking and it may be predicted that barking
would increase. Reportedly the level of barking
overall did decrease though perhaps the pattern
of barking altered to reflect negative rewards
for bursts of constant barking. It is noteworthy
that the citronella collar 10 used to compare
performance with the static pulse collar was not
limited by the same "decisive feature" (p1) and
could re-trigger each and every time the wearing
dog barked.
Conclusion A close rapport with humans may
be required for humans to measure dogs' true
cognitive abilities. Thus dogs are a good
experimental model because they are capable of
forming a close rapport with humans to the point
of sharing a social system. Social behaviours
such as yawning seem to have social significance
within canine culture. This factor can not be
ignored when attempting to teach such
behaviours. Perhaps the higher ranking dogs are
more confident to perform social behaviours out
of context even committing a canine social faux
pas. The role of yawning may be to cue a
transition into synchronised group sleep. As
such it is a leader's role.
Adult dogs do learn by observation as
evidenced by dogs 2 and 4 learning to yawn for
reward through observing another dog rewarded
for the action. Dogs may have greater cognitive
abilities than previously believed. They can
yawn and sneeze on cue, learn by observation,
and Rico, a Border Collie in Germany appears
capable of fast-mapping, that is forming a rough
hypothesis about the meaning of a new word based
on a single trial. Rico has a vocabulary of 200
and his abilities are comparable with a 2 year
old child (Kaminski, Call, Fisher 2004).
Yawning on cue is not a point of difference
between humans and dogs; mental time travel is a
superior candidate (Suddendorf and Busby 2003).
That dogs can yawn on cue suggests that other
mammals, particularly carnivores, may also have
the ability. Difficulties in demonstrating this
may be due to barriers of a practical nature
rather than in principle and dogs make a good
model for overcoming some of these barriers due
to their apparent ability to include humans in
their social structure.
Preparedness theory needs to either be
limited to anatomical and physiological
preparedness, or if psychological preparedness
is deemed to exist separately (depending on the
theory of mind presumed) then the learning task
of dogs yawning on cue needs to be added to the
list of prepared behaviours for 11 physiological
and/or psychological preparedness. Dogs' state
of preparedness to learn via the stimuli
produced by a static pulse electronic collar
remains largely anecdotal with my own
observations indicating they are prepared.
References
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