Research Articles: End of Week 4

Espinosa, J. H. (2022). The physical world of the dog (Order No. 28963625). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2692014822). Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/physical-world-dog/docview/2692014822/se-2

I was familiar with Julia Espinosa, the head of this work, from her TED talk on "The Secret Life of Dogs," where she highlighted the worldview of dogs that humans often disregard. She spoke about how she published a research article, so I searched her name in Google Scholar, and this article popped up. In her study, she test's dogs understandings of gravity and object permanence by dropping a treat behind a screen both on a shelf, and removing the shelf so that the treat would drop to the floor. She found that most dogs understood where to look for the treat with the shelf divider there or not, even when they only saw the treat be dropped, not where it landed.

For scientists, discovering that dogs are capable of this type of understanding is the tip of the iceberg. Babies and primates are able to understand these concepts in early stages of development. So, what does this discovery mean for future cognitive research with dogs? I think this article may be a good story for an article, but there is not a lot to develop upon. It could be a good story if I could introduce other studies that Espinosa is currently working on based on her findings from this research.

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Espinosa, J., Tecwyn, E.C. & Buchsbaum, D. Searching high and low: domestic dogs’ understanding of solidity. Anim Cogn 25, 555–570 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01568-3

This article I also discovered on Google Scholar, by searching keywords and phrases such as "cognition" and "developmental studies" to find an article that compliments the above research by Espinosa. In this study, researchers used methods of retrieval, laterality, hiding-finding exercises, inhibitory control and cylinder reversal learning, gesture use, arm pointing, odor control, and more to test and track dog's abilities to demonstrate cognitive skills that they develop in early life.

This study could help us to understand at what points in their lives dogs adopt various skills and if they can improve them over time. This article could be used as an interesting story because it is a building block like study, which could prove an interesting development in a storytelling style.