{"id":37226,"date":"2023-12-16T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/911f598c-fbb4-4885-a675-97531c781472"},"modified":"2023-12-16T11:46:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T10:46:13","slug":"heres-how-to-tell-if-your-dog-actually-loves-you-according-to-science","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/heres-how-to-tell-if-your-dog-actually-loves-you-according-to-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how to tell if your dog actually loves you, according to science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your dog is so pleased to see you when you get home. Then again, that\u2019s also when you feed them. So does your dog see you as their best friend or merely a food delivery system? <\/p>

By Prof Alexandra Horowitz\n <\/p>

Published: Saturday, 16 December 2023 at 10:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

You won\u2019t find the word \u2018love\u2019 in the published papers of scientists who research non-human animals. Ironically, though, most animal behaviour scientists were drawn to the subject because of their deep and abiding interest in them. <\/p>

And yet, generations of researchers have been trained not to use anthropomorphic words like \u2018love\u2019 to describe something a non-human animal might be feeling. Indeed, the use of anthropomorphism (descriptions of non-human behaviour or characteristics with terminology used to describe humans) has long been condemned in the field of animal behaviour. Hence, researchers talk of \u2018temperament\u2019 instead of \u2018personality\u2019 and \u2018positive cognitive bias\u2019 instead of \u2018optimism\u2019.<\/p>

This hard-line stance against the applicability of human terms to nonhumans is loosening, however. Partly for the usefulness of some of the terms for describing animal behaviour, but also for the strong evolutionary reasons to believe that non-human animals are not entirely dissimilar to humans. <\/p>