Aug 21 2009
A Steaming Pile of Research on Canine Smarts
Last week I stepped in a steaming pile of fresh science news. So to speak. To the critical reader, the article — Dogs’ Intelligence On Par With Two-year-old Human, Canine Researcher Says — demonstrated the hazards of undisciplined literature reviews.
At the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, “psychologist and leading canine researcher Stanley Coren, PhD . . . author of more than a half-dozen popular books on dogs and dog behavior” made this general argument:
[D]ogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously thought.
Okay, that’s provocative. No problems — yet. The first whiff of something being amiss was mention of the data Coren based his conclusions upon — “a review of numerous studies.” Huh? Was this review in any way methodological? Or was his review more akin to picking daisies on a sunny afternoon? Judging by the breadth of his statements, I suspect the latter.
Consider some of the claims made, and determine for yourself if “a review of numerous studies,” seems adequate justification for making them.
- Dogs mental abilities “are close” to that of a 2 to 2 1/2 year old human infant.
- Dogs can understand more than 150 words.
- Dogs can intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats.
- Dogs can count up to four, sometimes five.
- Dogs have three types of intelligence: instinctive, adaptive, and “working and obedience.”
While the members of an Oprah audience may swallow the above uncritically because the source was an “expert,” that is not my tendency. While any or all of the above might be true, fully or partially, they also might not be. I need much more information before I am willing to accept any of it.
In sum, I would describe this pile of research as “intriguing speculation.” Or maybe even “slap-happy theorizing.” Of course, I haven’t analyzed the research myself. So don’t trust my judgment. But from what I know about science and psychology, the red flags are up. That pile of news reeked.
[...] in my Steaming Pile post, we “learned” that there are three types of dog intelligence. Gee, I had thought [...]