animal cognition.pdf (1.31 MB)
Domestic horses (Equus caballus) prefer to approach humans displaying a submissive body posture rather than a dominant body posture
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posted on 2023-06-09, 08:13 authored by Amy Victoria Smith, Clara Wilson, Karen Mccomb, Leanne ProopsSignals of dominance and submissiveness are central to conspecific communication in many species. For domestic animals, sensitivities to these signals in humans may also be beneficial. We presented domestic horses with a free choice between two unfamiliar humans, one adopting a submissive and the other a dominant body posture, with vocal and facial cues absent. Horses had previously been given food rewards by both human demonstrators, adopting neutral postures, to encourage approach behaviour. Across four counterbalanced test trials, horses showed a significant preference for approaching the submissive posture in both the first trial and across subsequent trials, and no individual subject showed an overall preference for dominant postures. There was no significant difference in latency to approach the two postures. This study provides novel evidence that domestic horses may spontaneously discriminate between, and attribute communicative significance to, human body postures of dominance; and further, that familiarity with the signaller is not a requirement for this response. These findings raise interesting questions about the plasticity of social signal perception across the species barrier.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Animal CognitionISSN
1435-9448Publisher
Springer-VerlagExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
21Page range
307-312Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Notes
Data supporting this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.25377/sussex.5536444.v1Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-10-09First Open Access (FOA) Date
2017-10-24First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-10-09Usage metrics
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