Only a few minutes today to get out a few interesting links, because I'm busy writing up an IACUC proposal.
First, a post on dogs from one of the Psychology Today blogs. I think he's mostly wrong. And will probably spend some time over the weekend writing a post about it.
Second, another post on dogs from Jesse Bering's blog at Scientific American, Bering in Mind. This one I can get behind.
Why do I have dogs on the mind so much this week? Because I'm prepping for a short "mini-course" I'm teaching to Intro Psych students this Fall, on dog cognition. Here's the summary I wrote up:
How do dogs think about the world, and how can studying canine cognition tell us about human cognition? This mini-course will explore cognition in dogs, with special emphasis on social cognition, and how artificial selection through domestication may have produced a better model for human cognition than even our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos.
Should be a fun class to teach.
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You should team up with Chad...
OK - I want to take your class SO BADLY...but I live in another state and need to write my own dissertation first. Don't suppose you were planning to podcast it or would share your readings or something...
I want to take your class, too! Had the pleasure to hear Tomasello speak about the very same subjectin 2007 - great stuff.
/facepalm
That guy needs to step away from the vibrations.
I am very much looking forward to reading your reviews of those posts, particularly the second one.
I took a class on dog cognition a few years ago and loved it. Rebecca -- about half the students of the class I took were distance students. Lectures were available online. More info at http://www.extension.harvard.edu/courses/23279.jsp . The same professor teaches a companion course on canine learning which I wish I had had time to take.