What does it take to become 'best friends'? Evolutionary changes in canine social competence

Miklósi, Ádám and Topál, József (2013) What does it take to become 'best friends'? Evolutionary changes in canine social competence. TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES, 17 (6). pp. 287-294. ISSN 1364-6613

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Abstract

The traditional and relatively narrow-focused research on ape-human comparisons has recently been significantly extended by investigations of different clades of animals, including the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Here, we provide a short overview of how the comparative investigation of canine social behaviour advances our understanding of the evolution of social skills and argue that a system-level approach to dog social cognition provides a broader view on the 'human-likeness' of canine social competence. We introduce the concept of evolutionary social competence as a collateral notion of developmental social competence. We argue that such an extended perspective on social competence provides a useful tool for conceptualising wolf-dog differences in socio-cognitive functioning, as well as for considering specific social skills not in isolation, but as a part of a system. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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