Dr Juliane Kaminski (Portsmouth): 'Through a dog's eyes...' School of Psychology and Neuroscience Seminar

In recent decades, dogs have become one of the most popular animal species in comparative psychology. One reason for this is the unique evolutionary history of dogs. Through domestication, dogs have undergone morphological and behavioural changes that have adapted them to human life. Here I discuss the extent to which dogs may also have adapted in their cognitive abilities.

Dr Juliane Kaminski, of the University of Portsmouth, proposes that as an adaptation to the dynamic social interactions between dogs and humans, traits exhibited by dogs create the illusion of human-like communication and emotion, and thereby the illusion of human-like understanding.