17.08.2022: Who likes me and who doesn't? “Eavesdropping” is defined as observing others and acquiring information for one’s own benefit, which is self-evident for humans. With dogs, this is less clear. As early as 2020, a research paper ₁ from Vetmeduni casts doubt on the eavesdropping hypothesis for dogs. A study now published by the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at Vetmeduni examined dogs and wolves further adds to the uncertainty. The scientists concluded that the process of reputation formation might be more complex for animals than previously thought.

Reputation is a key factor in social interactions of animals living in groups. It plays an important role in establishing cooperative relationships. Animals can form judgments of other individuals by interacting directly with them or observing them interacting with third parties – an ability known in behavioural science as "eavesdropping". In dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), however, the research is inconclusive. And even if they are capable of eavesdropping, it is not known whether this ability evolved during the domestication process or whether it was inherited from their ancestor, the wolf (Canis lupus).

Study of dogs and wolves casts doubt on eavesdropping hypothesis

The study presented now therefore examined whether dogs or wolves can form a judgment about a person through indirect or direct experience. Nine wolves and six dogs living in the Wolf Science Center (WSC) of the Vetmeduni participated in the experiment. In the observation phase, the animals saw how two people interacted with a dog – one acted generously and fed the dog; the other was selfish and refused to feed the dog. The animals could then choose between the two people. In the following experience phase, the animals interacted directly with the two people. After that, they could again choose between the two people.

" Overall, neither dogs nor wolves distinguished between a generous or selfish human after indirect or direct experience. However, wolves showed more attention toward the generous person during the observation phase, and some dogs and wolves did prefer the generous person when looking at indirect and direct experiences combined," said first author Hoi-Lam Jim of the Wolf Science Center at the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at Vetmeduni. According to Jim, the study suggests that reputation formation may be more difficult for animals than previously thought, as shown in a study on Asian elephants ₂ (Elephas maximus) that was published in 2021. In addition, the study emphasizes the importance of study design to further investigate the process of reputation formation in animals and gain new insights.

The article “Wolves and dogs fail to form reputations of humans after indirect and direct experience in a food-giving situation” by Hoi-Lam Jim, Marina Plohovich, Sarah Marshall-Pescini and Friederike Range was published in PLOS ONE. Link

To the scientific paper

Further information:
₁  Press release: Dog decisions: the position of the people is the key factor
₂  Press release: Elephants do not judge humans