We have talked to you several times in the past of the so -called dogs Gifted Word-Leerner (GWL), the more “intelligent” ones or in any case able to build a vocabulary of words related to their toys (and not only, but the best way to learn has always fun).
Now a study by Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest shows that these same dogs also have another complex cognitive ability: the ability to identify and distinguish objects not only based on their appearance, but also to their function.
The extension of the label. The skill in question is called “Label Extension”, literally the ability to “extend the label” of an object on the basis of certain characteristics: if an object is spherical is a ball, to give a very simple example. The Label Extension is fundamental for humans in the early stages of language development, and so far it had been observed in very few animals, all domesticated, and trained to work on words.
“Extending the label” on the basis of the function and not of the form is a further and even more complicated passage: for a child it could mean, for example, understand that all the objects that are challenged and have a concave shape are “spoons”, and are used to pull on food. This version of the Label Extension had so far been observed only in humans, but the Hungarian team has tried to test a champion of GWL dogs to see if they too have a similar skill.
The experiment. The tested dogs were six Border Collie and an Australian shepherd, all already identified as GWL. During the experiment, animals have been taught new commands associated with a series of very different toys in appearance, but used in the same way during the game (for example for the ti-e-e-molla with a human).
After that, new toys have been proposed to the dogs, once again different from the previous ones, and they were asked to play it, without however they were given by their commands.
The appearance does not count, only as it is used. The dogs immediately recognized the function of the different toys, and when they were asked to identify them following a command they immediately identified which toys were referred to. This shows that animals have learned to label objects based on their function, not their appearance.
Obviously we are talking about dogs already trained and with a talent for words, but according to the authors of the study, research does not exclude that other animals, in natural contexts and not of captivity, can also have the same ability.
