Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) show special communicative skills in their interaction with people. Domestication and ontogeny processes play a key role in the origin of these abilities. Studies carried out on other species of canids, which have not been domesticated are relevant to this topic. We evaluate the ability of two species of captive foxes (Lycalopex gymnocercus y Cerdocyon thous) to discriminate human attentional state. To obtain food, foxes had to choose between a person facing forward (attentive) and another looking backwards (inattentive). Since individuals tend to differ in their levels of sociability, the preferences in the test may be modulated by these levels. For this reason we also applied a sociability test that allowed us to classify two groups: sociable and unsociable foxes. Results showed that foxes of the sociable group approached the attentive person to obtain food; those of the non-sociable group avoided approaching her, preferring to obtain the food from the inattentive, or do not approach any of them. This indicates that foxes are sensitive to the human attentional state, but their behavior is modified according to the level of sociability that they possess. Our results suggest that interaction with humans during ontogeny is important, and the ability is not exclusively explained by the processes of domestication.
Keywords:
canids, human attentional state detection, learning, captive foxes, Lycalopex gymnocercus, Cerdocyon thous
Fagnani, J., Bentosela, M., & Barrera, G. (2017). Detection of Human’s Attentional State in Captive Foxes: The Influence of Sociability Levels. Revista De Psicología, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-0581.2017.46392
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