Buzz
While you might believe your dog would rescue you from danger, scientific evidence supporting this has been scarce until now. A recent study highlighted by The New York Times delves into dogs' ability to empathize. The research, titled "Timmy’s in the Well: Empathy and Prosocial Helping in Dogs," featured in the journal Learning & Behavior, reveals that while not all dogs feel the urge to assist humans in distress, some certainly do.
Researchers at Macalester College in Minnesota conducted the study with 34 adult dogs of various breeds and sizes, all of which had human companions. The owners were placed in a room equipped with a window and a door that could be easily opened by a dog using its nose or paw. To test the dogs' responses, the owners were instructed to either hum calmly, say "help" in a neutral voice, or cry out "help" in a distressed tone.
The findings suggest that heroism isn't a trait shared by all dogs. Only 50% of the dogs attempted to open the door to reach their owners, and their likelihood to act didn't increase when their owners sounded distressed compared to when they were simply humming.
However, this doesn't mean your dog lacks empathy if you're in danger. Dogs that opened the door responded faster to distressed sounds than to cheerful ones. Many dogs that didn't act still showed signs of stress when hearing their owners cry. In fact, these dogs appeared more anxious than those who took action, possibly indicating they were frozen by fear.
This mirrors findings from studies on humans: Individuals who deeply feel the pain of others in danger may be less likely to offer assistance.
The researchers stated:
"This outcome suggests that merely adopting another's emotional state through emotional contagion isn't enough to drive an empathetic helping response; otherwise, the most stressed dogs would have also opened the door. One must both adopt that emotional state and manage their own distress, as the door-opening dogs in the distress condition seemed to do, before they can provide help."
If your dog doesn't rush to your aid the next time you cry out, don't assume it's too overwhelmed by empathy to act. Some dogs in the study showed no signs of stress or made no attempt to open the door when their owners were crying.
