The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Spoken language has always been the priority of humans. Indeed, there is no animal that is capable of conveying a cohesive idea with the help of its vocal apparatus – or, at least, this is what most people think. However, when it comes to defining the difference between people’s and animals’ minds, it is abstract thinking, not language, that draws the line between people and animals.

Language, or, to be more exact, the mean to convey their emotions, is obviously an important skill of animals in general and dogs in particular, the recent research published in Guardian (Sample, 2013, October 31) and titled Seeing left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging produces different emotional responses in dogs (Siniscalchi, Lusito, Vallortigara & Quaranta, 2013) says.

The research hypothesis is based on the fact that tail wagging is symmetrical in dogs for the most part; therefore, when the wagging becomes asymmetrical, it evokes particular emotional responses in dogs, from curiosity to aggression.

The researchers, therefore, link the mechanism of asymmetric tail wagging with brain activity and asymmetry, therefore, making a supposition that asymmetric tail wagging has a particular effect on social behavior among dogs. The research results have shown that the initial hypothesis of the researchers was, in fact, absolutely correct.

Indeed, the correlation between the static, the right wagging and the left wagging stimulus and the reaction of the dogs towards the given stimuli was obvious, the right wagging being deciphered as a positive signal, while the left one obviously triggered a negative reaction (Siniscalchi, Lusito, Vallortigara & Quaranta, 2013, 2282).

The positive aspects of the given research design and methodology are quite obvious. The fact that the experiment was conducted in real life, with a control group of dogs, a life-size dog model, a simultaneous observation of the dogs’ reaction and the immediate transcription of the results, is very fascinating.

It was important that the results of a research in animal behavior should be based on a real experiment and provide the researchers with an opportunity to make their notes real-time while the experiment is taking place.

The downsides of the given research design are also very clear. Though clearly being trained, the participants of the experiment are, nevertheless, dogs, and, therefore, are very hard to control, convince or reason with. Therefore, the research results might turn out rather rough and, thus, will need further testing.

It could be argued that dogs are relatively easy to control and command; however, the changes in the dogs’ mood are very hard to track down, as well as the factors inflicting these changes. Thus, in some cases, the results of the research may have been shaped by outside factors.

The follow-up study known as Investigating dogs’ emotional responses to tail-wagging behaviours of other dogs (Siniscalchi, Lusito, Vallortigara & Quaranta, 2013a), though not yet published, is going to tackle the issue regarding the way in which dogs respond to other dogs expressing emotions, i.e., wagging their tails.

Therefore, the researchers are going to push the envelope by deciphering the sign language of communication among animals. Moreover, the study is clearly going to define the ways in which dogs emote when communicating to each other.

The given research, therefore, may possibly lift the veil of secrecy surrounding the animal communication and will, probably, help figure out whether language truly is unique to humans only.

Reference List

Sample, I. (2013). . Guardian. Web.

Siniscalchi, M., Lusito, R., Vallortigara, G. & Quaranta, A. (2013). Seeing left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging produces different emotional responses in dogs. Current Biology 23(22), 2279–2282.

Siniscalchi, M., Lusito, R., Vallortigara, G. & Quaranta, A. (2013a). Investigating dogs’ emotional responses to tail-wagging behaviours of other dogs. Veterinary Record: Journal of the British Veterinary Association, 173(19), 478.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2019, April 20). The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-tail-wagging-the-dog-emotions-and-their-expression-in-animals-essay/

Work Cited

"The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals." IvyPanda, 20 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/the-tail-wagging-the-dog-emotions-and-their-expression-in-animals-essay/.

References

IvyPanda. (2019) 'The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals'. 20 April.

References

IvyPanda. 2019. "The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals." April 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-tail-wagging-the-dog-emotions-and-their-expression-in-animals-essay/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals." April 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-tail-wagging-the-dog-emotions-and-their-expression-in-animals-essay/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "The Tail Wagging the Dog: Emotions and Their Expression in Animals." April 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-tail-wagging-the-dog-emotions-and-their-expression-in-animals-essay/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1