Melzack - Irrational Fears in The Dog
Melzack - Irrational Fears in The Dog
Melzack - Irrational Fears in The Dog
RONALD MELZACKi
McGiU University
SPONTANEOUS FEARS of strange objects, which are not associated with a
more primitive cause of fear, have been adequately described in the
chimpanzee. The information provided by Kohler (10), Yerkes and
Yerkes (13), and Haslerud (4), has been recently extended by Hebb and
Riesen (8), and Hebb (6). However, no comparable experimental knowledge exists for the dog, although such fears in the dog have been the
subject of speculation since the time of Darwin (2) and Romanes (12).
The purpose of this paper is to make a preliminary study of fear in the
dog. It is hoped that these data may help in the evaluation of current
theories of the nature of fear, and toward the construction of a comparative psychology of emotion.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
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RONALD MELZACK
[Vol. 6, No. 3
in Table I, and the percentage of avoidance from the total possible score
manifest by the dogs is indicated for each object.
Subjects. Twenty-six home-reared dogs were used, including Dalmatians, Scottish terriers, conies, and cocker spaniels. They ranged in
age from 2 months to 12 years. The range of experience of these dogs
was considerably wider than that of laboratory dogs. However, since the
complete histories of the dogs were known, it was reasonably certain
that the test objects were not associated with previous painful experiences.
Procedure. To avoid the complication of a strange environment (which
itself might cause fear), testing was carried out in the homes of the
animals. The dog was led into a room illuminated by an ordinary lamp,
near which lay the test object. Each object was presented for a total of
three minutes. After a 15-second period in the room, the object was moved
slowly toward the dog for another 15 seconds. The objects that had
movable parts were set into motion slowly over a period of five seconds.
After being then moved toward the dogs for another 15 seconds, they
were placed on the floor for the remainder of the test period. .
In the case of the life-size bronze deer, the experimenter made use of
the large statue of a deer situated on a street corner. The dog ran after
the experimenter, and upon turning the corner, ran close to the deer.
No more than three objects were presented in a single day, and they
were presented in random order varying from dog to dog. No more than
eight objects were presented to any dog.
OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS
1952]
143
TABLE I
THE PERCENTAGE OF AVOIDANCE RESPONSES ( FROM THE TOTAL
POSSIBLE POINTS) FOH THE TEST OBJECTS
Stationary
objects
Percentage
of avoidance
Mounted cobra
12" toy lizard
Skulls:
Human
Chimpanzee
Dog
8" toy horse
24" toy collie
Mask on familiar person
Life-like bronze bust of a man
Horse skin
Life-size bronze deer
12.5
18.8
25.0
12.5
0.0
21.9
25.0
50.0
15.0
50.0
50.0
Objects with
moving parts
Percentage
of avoidance
37.5
40.6
65.6
71.9
59.4
62.5
50.0
80.8
77.9
65.4
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RONALD MELZACK
[Vol. 6, No. 3
1952]
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RONALD MELZACK
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mammals (2, 12), it has been observed that motion in the presentation
of an object may make that object more discriminable from the rest
of the field. McBride and Hebb (11) may not have considered this point,
and thus they have stated that spontaneous fears of innocuous objects
seldom occur in the dog. The present investigation, however, indicates
that dogs manifest spontaneous fear of a wide variety of innocuous
objects; thus the dog would place well above the rat in complexity of
emotional behaviour.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
1952]
147
10. KOHUER, W. The Mentality of Apes (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner,
1925).
11. MCBMDE, A. F., and HEBB, D. O. "Behaviour of the Captive Bottlenose
Dolphin, Tursiops truncates" (Journal of Comparative Physiological Psychology,
28,1948,111-23).
12. ROMANES, J. G. Mental Evolution in Animals (New York: D. Appleton and
Company, 1884).
13. YERKES, R. M., and YERKES, A. W. "Nature and Conditions of Avoidance
(Fear) Response in Chimpanzee" (Journal of Comparative Psychology, 21, 1936,
53-66).