Social Cognitive Evolution in Captive Foxes Is a Correlated By-Product of Experimental Domestication
Open accessAbstract
Dogs have an unusual ability for reading human communicative gestures (e.g., pointing) in comparison to either nonhuman primates (including chimpanzees) or wolves . Although this unusual communicative ability seems to have evolved during domestication , it is unclear whether this evolution occurred as a result of direct selection for this ability, as previously hypothesized , or as a correlated by-product of selection against fear and aggression toward humans--as is the case with a number of morphological and physiological changes associated with domestication . We show here that fox kits from an experimental population selectively bred over 45 years to approach humans fearlessly and nonaggressively (i.e., experimentally domesticated) are not only as skillful as dog puppies in using human gestures but are also more skilled than fox kits from a second, control population not bred for tame behavior (critically, neither population of foxes was ever bred or tested for their ability to use human gestures) . These results suggest that sociocognitive evolution has occurred in the experimental foxes, and possibly domestic dogs, as a correlated by-product of selection on systems mediating fear and aggression, and it is likely the observed social cognitive evolution did not require direct selection for improved social cognitive ability.
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According to the emotional reactivity hypothesis, the selection for 'friendliness' or 'tameness' played a major role in the early stage of domestication in modern dogs.
“According to the emotional reactivity hypothesis, the selection for ‘friendliness’ or ‘tameness’ played a major role in the early stage of domestication in modern dogs [19,20].”
From Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves (2023) · cites this paper as [20]
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“First, according to the emotional reactivity hypothesis, the selection for ‘ friendliness ’ or ‘ tameness ’ played a major role in the early stage of domestication in modern dogs [19,20].”
Background
- Authors
- Hare, B., Plyusnina, I., Ignacio, N., Schepina, O., Stepika, A., Wrangham, R., & Trut, L.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics (RU)
- Corresponding author
- Hare, Brian
- ORCID
- Wrangham, Richard
- Venue
- Current Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-02
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 226-230
- ISSN
- 0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2144909109
- Cited by
- 347
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 12.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- social cognition, red fox, gesturing, pointing, dogs, correlated evolution, fear of humans, selective breeding, human-animal communication
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animals, Domestic, Cognition, Cues, Biological Evolution, Foxes, Selection, Genetic, Social Behavior, Species Specificity
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