Wolves Beat Dogs on Logic Tests
source: http://www.livescience.com/animals/090903-wolf-smart.html
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- DeliaTheArtist
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"In experiments, dogs followed human cues to perform certain tasks despite evidence they could see suggesting a different strategy would be smarter, while wolves made the more logical choice based on their observations.
In fact, dogs' responses were similar to human infants, who also prioritize following the example of adult humans.
During the tests, a researcher would repeatedly place an object in Box A and allow the subjects to find it. When the experimenter then switched and put the object in Box B, human babies and dogs were confused and continued to search for it in the first box. Wolves, however, easily followed the evidence of their eyes and located the object in Box B.
The finding could help scientists learn more about the evolution of social behavior, not just in dogs but in humans as well.
"I wouldn't say one species is smarter," said Adam Miklosi of Eötvös University in Hungary, co-author of a paper describing the results in the Sept. 4 issue of the journal Science. "If you assume an animal has to survive without human presence, then wolves are smarter. But if you are thinking that dogs have to survive in a human environment where it's very important to follow the communications of humans, then in this aspect, dogs are smarter."
In fact, dogs' responses were similar to human infants, who also prioritize following the example of adult humans.
During the tests, a researcher would repeatedly place an object in Box A and allow the subjects to find it. When the experimenter then switched and put the object in Box B, human babies and dogs were confused and continued to search for it in the first box. Wolves, however, easily followed the evidence of their eyes and located the object in Box B.
The finding could help scientists learn more about the evolution of social behavior, not just in dogs but in humans as well.
"I wouldn't say one species is smarter," said Adam Miklosi of Eötvös University in Hungary, co-author of a paper describing the results in the Sept. 4 issue of the journal Science. "If you assume an animal has to survive without human presence, then wolves are smarter. But if you are thinking that dogs have to survive in a human environment where it's very important to follow the communications of humans, then in this aspect, dogs are smarter."
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TheDecemberists
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Then why is the Husky so low on the charts as far as dog intelligence goes? I'm not 100% sure, but I think it is #46 on the list... Labs are #6
- 2 years ago
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TheDecemberists
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samthesixth
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Cool read. Thanks.
- 2 years ago
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samthesixth
