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Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion in the domestic horse (Equus caballus).
Abstract: Whether non-human animals can recognize human signals, including emotions, has both scientific and applied importance, and is particularly relevant for domesticated species. This study presents the first evidence of horses' abilities to spontaneously discriminate between positive (happy) and negative (angry) human facial expressions in photographs. Our results showed that the angry faces induced responses indicative of a functional understanding of the stimuli: horses displayed a left-gaze bias (a lateralization generally associated with stimuli perceived as negative) and a quicker increase in heart rate (HR) towards these photographs. Such lateralized responses towards human emotion have previously only been documented in dogs, and effects of facial expressions on HR have not been shown in any heterospecific studies. Alongside the insights that these findings provide into interspecific communication, they raise interesting questions about the generality and adaptiveness of emotional expression and perception across species.
© 2016 The Author(s).
Publication Date: 2016-02-13 PubMed ID: 26864784PubMed Central: PMC4780548DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0907Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research paper presents a study on horses’ ability to distinguish between human emotions, displaying the first evidence of horses discriminating between happy and angry human facial expressions. The study showed that when horses were presented with angry faces, they displayed a left-gaze bias and increased heart rate – a reaction associated with perceiving negative stimuli.
Objective of Research
- The study aimed to explore if non-human animals, specifically horses, can recognize human emotional signals given it has significant implications in both scientific and applied fields.
- The research focused on horses’ ability to discriminate between positive (happy) and negative (angry) expressions on human faces using photographs.
Results of the study
- The study found that horses exhibited functional comprehension of the negative emotion presented in the photographs. They displayed a left-gaze bias and a rapid increase in heart rate when faced with photographs of angry human faces. This indicates that horses perceived angry faces as negative stimuli.
- This left-gaze bias towards negative stimuli was previously only documented in dogs, making this the first observed instance in horses.
- The effect of facial expressions on heart rate, a biological measure of emotional response, has not been observed in any heterospecific (different species) studies prior to this.
Significance and Implications of Findings
- These findings provide valuable insights into interspecies communication, suggesting that horses can interpret emotional cues from humans. They contribute to a more robust understanding of animal cognition and emotions.
- The study results also invite further research into the generality and adaptability of emotional expression and perception across different species, highlighting the unexplored complexity of emotional intelligence in animals.
Cite This Article
APA
Smith AV, Proops L, Grounds K, Wathan J, McComb K.
(2016).
Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion in the domestic horse (Equus caballus).
Biol Lett, 12(2), 20150907.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0907 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK a.v.smith@sussex.ac.uk.
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK karenm@sussex.ac.uk.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Avoidance Learning
- Emotions
- Facial Expression
- Female
- Heart Rate
- Horses / physiology
- Horses / psychology
- Humans
- Male
- Pattern Recognition, Visual
Grant Funding
- BB/F016808/1 / Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
References
This article includes 13 references
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