# How horses, dogs, and cats perceive and respond to human emotion



## David Baxter PhD (Jun 23, 2018)

*How horses perceive and respond to human emotion*
By Ana Sandoiu, _MedicalNewsToday.com_
June 23, 2018

A new study shows, for the very first time, that horses respond  to human emotional cues by integrating the emotional value of the voice  they hear with that of the facial expressions they see.


_Horses can tell when human facial expressions and tone of voice match, according to a new study._ 

Pet owners have always felt that they bond with their dog or cat and  that their pet understands, communicates with, and loves them.

Recently, science has been backing up the pet owners' feelings.

For instance, we now know that *both dogs and cats secrete the attachment hormone oxytocin when we stroke them or look into their eyes*.

Similarly, other studies  have shown that the kind of "baby talk" that humans use with their  infants and sometimes with their pets also makes dogs bond with them and  prefer them to other people.

Dogs can also recognize a smile, and the secretion of oxytocin makes them prefer the smiling faces of humans over danger cues.

Many people have similar warm feelings toward domestic horses. But do  horses possess the same ability to recognize and respond to human  emotional cues? This question prompted three Japanese-based researchers  to investigate.

Associate professor Ayaka Takimoto, of Hokkaido University, graduate  student Kosuke Nakamura, of the University of Tokyo, and former  professor Toshikazu Hasegawa, of the University of Tokyo collaborated on  the new study, which was just published in the journal _Scientific Reports._

*The expectancy violation method*
To find out whether horses respond to human emotions by integrating  facial cues with the tone of voice, the researchers used the so-called  expectancy violation method, which is a method commonly used to assess  cognitive development in infants.

In this study, horses were shown pictures of happy or angry human  facial expressions on a screen. Then, they heard gentle or scolding  voices behind the screen.

The emotional value of the voices and pictures sometimes matched, in  the so-called congruent condition, and sometimes they didn't, in the  incongruent condition.

The researchers also accounted for the familiarity between the horses  and the humans by alternating the voices of their caretaker with those  of strangers.

*How horses respond to human faces, voices*
The study revealed that in the incongruent condition, the horses  responded to voices 1.6 to 2 times more quickly than in the congruent  one.

The horses also looked at the speaker for significantly longer in the  incongruent condition than the congruent one, when the voice was that  of their caretaker, but not when it was that of the stranger.

*These findings suggest that, when the horses heard a voice  whose emotion did not match the facial expression, their expectancy was  violated. Therefore, the authors conclude, horses normally respond to  human facial expressions and voices in an integrated way.*

"To the best of our knowledge," conclude the researchers, "this is  the first study to show that horses cross-modally recognized the  emotional states of their caretakers and strangers."

"Our study could contribute to the  understanding of how humans and companion animals send and receive  emotional signals to deepen our relationships, which could help  establish a better relationship that emphasizes the well-being of  animals", said Ayaka Takimoto.


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