Charlotte Duranton

Behavioural synchronization from an ethological perspective

Synchronized behaviours are found in various species, among all taxa of live beings. Being synchronized with other individuals is defined by doing the same thing, at the same time and at the same place as others. It is observed within intraspecific groups and dyads. We aim to provide a synthetic overview of what is behavioural synchronization and focus on the adaptive value of such a phenomenon among individuals. Then, as it is observed that some stable groups or dyads consist of individuals from different species, we finally propose to investigate the existence of interspecific behavioural synchronization.

Inverse sex effects on performance of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in a repeated problem-solving task.

The authors investigated differences between female and male pet dogs in physical cognition using an object manipulation task. Subjects (24 females and 23 males of different breeds) had to open a box in order to obtain a food reward during 3 consecutive trials, and latency times before success were measured. Males were significantly more successful in opening the box during the first trial. However, this sex difference was inversed when successful individuals were retested. During the following 2 trials, females were more successful than males, indicating that they were able to improve their skills more quickly once they had managed to succeed for a first time. Sex-specific dynamics in repeated problem-solving tasks might be an important contributor to individual differences in cognitive performance of pet dogs.

Interspecific behavioural synchronization: dogs exhibit locomotor synchrony with humans

Behavioural synchronization is widespread among living beings, including humans. Pairs of humans synchronize their behaviour in various situations, such as walking together. Affiliation between dyadic partners is known to promote behavioral synchronization. Surprisingly, however, interspecific synchronization has recived little scientific investigation. Dogs are sensitive to human cues, and share strong affiliative bonds with their owners. We thus investigated whether, when allowed to move freely in an enclosed unfamiliar space, dogs synchronize their behaviour with that of their owners’. We found that dogs visibly synchronized their location with their owner (staying in close proximity and moving to the same area), as well as their activity and temporal changes in activity (moving when their owner moved, standing still when their owner stood still, and gazing in the same direction as their owner). The present study demonstrates that owners act as attractors for their dogs in an indoor space, as mothers do for their children.

Pet dogs synchronize their walking pace with that of their owners in open outdoor areas

Abstract Affiliation between interacting partners is associated with a high level of behavioural synchronization in many species. Pet dogs are known to share strong affiliative bonds with their owners and to synchronize their behaviour with them when moving freely indoors. Surprisingly, outdoor dog–human interspecific synchronization has seldom been investigated. We therefore explored whether, when allowed to move freely in a familiar outdoor space, dogs synchronize their behaviour with their owners’ movements. We found that dogs visibly synchronized both their location (staying in close proximity) and their activity (moving when their owner moved, and at the same pace, and standing still when their owner stood still) with those of their owners. By demonstrating that owners act as attractors for their dogs in an outdoor space, the present study contributes new data to the understanding of interspecific behavioural synchronization.

Behavioral synchronization and affiliation: Dogs exhibit human-like skills

Behavioral synchronization is evolutionary adaptive, fostering social cohesion. In humans, affiliation between partners is associated with a high level of behavioral synchronization; people show increased affiliation towards people who synchronize with them. Surprisingly, until recently, little was known about these phenomena at an interspecific level, which is, however, essential to better understand the respective roles of evolution and ontogeny. After presenting why dog–human dyads are a relevant biological model to study this field of social cognition, we review the recent findings about dog–human behavioral synchronization. We summarize recently published findings on behavioral synchronization and affiliation between dogs and humans. We also review results showing that genetic selection modulates behavioral synchronization propensity in dogs, emphasizing the role of genetic selection on dog’s social behaviors towards humans. Finally, we discuss the possible evolutionary influences and proximate mechanisms of this phenomenon. We conclude that, as in humans, behavioral synchronization acts as a social glue between dogs and humans. After dogs’ ability to use human-directional cues or to produce referential cues towards humans, we evidenced a new human-like social process in the dog, at the interspecfic level with humans.

La mémoire autobiographique/épisodique : le chien, un modèle d’étude ?

The ability to remember past events in all of their dimensions (what? where? when? i.e. autobiographic/episodic memory) is highly adaptive. Conversely, individuals who do not have such ability are less likely to benefit from recognizing situations similar to previous ones, e.g. to avoid being defeated several times. We will present the different types of memory and their ontogeny, focusing on those that are found in dogs. We will then describe more precisely the episodic memory, i.e. remembering events or actions from others, and their location and the time of the events and will present to which degree such a skill is found in dogs. We will show that, even if dogs are a social species whose specificities should reveal the existence of an episodic-like memory, dogs remember who and what happened but no study evidenced yet that they remember the precise time it was done. Further studies are thus needed, especially as dogs represent a relevant biological model for comparative cognition to study the ontogeny or senescence of non verbal episodic memory.