Visual perception of emotion cues in dogs: a critical review of methodologies.

Comparative studies of human-dog cognition have grown exponentially since the 2000's, but the focus on how dogs look at us (as well as other dogs) as social partners is a more recent phenomenon despite its importance to human-dog interactions. Here, we briefly summarise the current state of research in visual perception of emotion cues in dogs and why this area is important; we then critically review its most commonly used methods, by discussing conceptual and methodological challenges and associated limitations in depth; finally, we suggest some possible solutions and recommend best practice for future research. Typically, most studies in this field have concentrated on facial emotional cues, with full body information rarely considered.

How do children view and categorise human and dog facial expressions?

Children are often surrounded by other humans and companion animals (e.g., dogs, cats); and understanding facial expressions in all these social partners may be critical to successful social interactions.

CalliFACS: The common marmoset Facial Action Coding System.

Facial expressions are subtle cues, central for communication and conveying emotions in mammals. Traditionally, facial expressions have been classified as a whole (e.g.

Bodily emotional expressions are a primary source of information for dogs, but not for humans.

Dogs have remarkable abilities to synergise their behaviour with that of people, but how dogs read facial and bodily emotional cues in comparison to humans remains unclear. Both species share the same ecological niche, are highly social and expressive, making them an ideal comparative model for intra- and inter-species emotion perception. We compared eye-tracking data from unrestrained humans and dogs when viewing dynamic and naturalistic emotional expressions in humans and dogs.

Extending the MaqFACS to measure facial movement in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) reveals a wide repertoire potential.

Facial expressions are complex and subtle signals, central for communication and emotion in social mammals. Traditionally, facial expressions have been classified as a whole, disregarding small but relevant differences in displays. Even with the same morphological configuration different information can be conveyed depending on the species.

Perception of dynamic facial expressions of emotion between dogs and humans.

Facial expressions are a core component of the emotional response of social mammals. In contrast to Darwin's original proposition, expressive facial cues of emotion appear to have evolved to be species-specific. Faces trigger an automatic perceptual process, and so, inter-specific emotion perception is potentially a challenge; since observers should not try to "read" heterospecific facial expressions in the same way that they do conspecific ones.