AuBuchon, Stephanie

Furlong, Faculty Advisor, Ellen

Digital Commons @ Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan UniversityDigital Commons @ IWUJohn Wesley Powell Student ResearchConference 2016, 27th Annual JWP ConferenceApr 16th, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AMSelf Control In DogsStephanie AuBuchonIllinois Wesleyan UniversityEllen Furlong, Faculty AdvisorIllinois Wesleyan UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprcPart of the Education Commons, and the Psychology CommonsThis Event is brought to you for free and open access by The Ames Library, the Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and FacultyDevelopment, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President. It has been accepted for inclusion in Digital Commons @ IWU bythe faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@iwu.edu.©Copyright is owned by the author of this document.Stephanie AuBuchon and Ellen Furlong, Faculty Advisor, "Self Control In Dogs" (April 16, 2016). John Wesley PowellStudent Research Conference. Paper 1.http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprc/2016/posters/1THE JOHN WESLEY POWELL STUDENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE – APRIL 2016      Poster Presentation  P1       SELF CONTROL IN DOGS   Stephanie AuBuchon and Ellen Furlong* Psychology Department, Illinois Wesleyan University    We explored self-control in dogs to determine whether (a) individual differences exist and (b) self-control predicts behavioral outcomes. We adapted methods from Bramlett and colleagues (2012) work with capuchin monkeys and created a self-control task to test dogs’ self-control--a wheel spins, bringing food close to a window where the dog can access it. A less preferred reward approaches the window before a preferred reward. If dogs eat the first reward the wheel stops spinning and they cannot access the preferred food. However, if they allow the less preferred reward to pass they can access the preferred food. While most dogs readily wait for the more-preferred treat and let the less-preferred treat pass, there are limitations to dog self-control: dogs do not allow immediate preferred treat to pass in order to receive 4 or even 8 of the same preferred treat later. Further, owner self-reports of dog behavior relate to dogs’ abilities to wait for the preferred treat -- dogs whose owners report more behavior problems perform worse on the self-control task. Thus, dogs, like humans, have self-control, and the amount of self-control is limited and varies between each individual dog. Finally, preliminary evidence suggests that self-control may be related to behavioral outcomes in dogs that could predict significant outcomes such as whether the dog will be surrendered to a shelter and/or euthanized.              

Self Control In Dogs

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Self Control In Dogs

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