Reward type and behavioural patterns predict dogs' success in a delay of gratification paradigm.

ABSTRACT: Inhibiting an immediate behaviour in favour of an alternative but more advantageous behaviour has been linked to individual success in life, especially in humans. Dogs, which have been living in the human environment for thousands of years, are exposed to daily situations that require inhibition different in context from other non-domesticated species. One task regularly used to study inhibitory control is the delay of gratification task, which requires individuals to choose between an immediate option of lower value and a delayed option of higher value. We tested sixteen dogs in a non-social delay of gratification task, conducting two different conditions: a quality and a quantity condition. While the majority of dogs failed to wait for more than 10 s, some dogs tolerated delays of up to

SUBMITTER: Brucks D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5341119 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature