Is your dog watching you more closely than you think? Dogs are particularly sensitive to our behaviors and can form ideas about our actions, particularly based on their past experiences or what they observe in others. But are they capable of determining whether we are competent in a given situation? This is precisely the question studied by researchers from the University of Kyotowho were interested in the ability of dogs to evaluate human abilities. The objective of this study published in Behavioral Processes* was not to know whether your companion considers you “intelligent”, but rather to determine whether he can recognize, in a specific context, a person capable of accomplishing a task effectively.
An experiment with boxes and treats
To find out if dogs are capable of evaluating the competence of a human, researchers conducted an experiment with 60 dogs. Everyone first observed 2 people facing the same problem: opening a transparent box to take an object out. The first succeeded several times and was considered “competent”, while the second failed and was considered “incompetent”.
After these 2 demonstrations, the 2 people found themselves facing a new box. In half of the cases, it contained food; in the other half it was empty. The dogs who knew there was a reward in the box then looked longer at the person who had succeeded.
Females were also more likely to approach this person. On the other hand, when the box was empty, the dogs did not show any particular preference.
So, do dogs know who to trust?
The researchers' observations suggest that dogs are capable of taking into account the performance of a human and using what they have seen to guide their behavior, particularly when a reward is at stake. They therefore seem to be able to identify that one person has been more efficient than another in the face of a specific task. A discovery which once again illustrates the richness of their social cognition, and in particular their capacity for evaluating competence and heterospecific judgment (in other words their ability to observe and interpret the behavior of an individual of another species).
But be careful: this does not mean that your dog is judging your general intelligence or that he is giving you a “competence” rating! Rather, it is an ability to observe a situation, retain certain information and adapt one's reaction accordingly. In conclusion, before coming to ask for your help to open this particularly well-sealed box of treats, your dog may have already taken the time to check if you really know how to do it…
* Chijiiwa H, et al., “Female dogs evaluate levels of competence in humans”, Behavioral Processes, 2022 Nov, 203:104753.