1.1K
Whether dogs can think abstractly is an intriguing question that every dog owner has certainly asked himself at some point. In fact, dogs seem to have a certain capacity for abstraction that is comparable to that of small children.
Can dogs think: the four-legged friend’s capacity for abstraction
Abstract thinking can be defined as a cognitive process or the ability to refrain from the concrete individual thing and instead focus on the general. For example, abstraction enables humans to form the category of ‘books’ instead of merely perceiving each book as an individual thing without a superordinate unit.
- The ability to assign individual phenomena to a superordinate thought or a general principle can also be assumed to a certain extent in dogs. On average, dogs can distinguish between more than 200 words and assign them to objects if they know them.
- This is evidence that the four-legged friends are able to apply a general term (for example, ball) to a concrete object and to identify different objects of the same object class.
- Another example of dogs’ ability to abstract is their obedience: dogs are able to learn and abide by rules and prohibitions taught to them by their owners. Even game rules like fetching sticks is evidence that your dog can apply general principles to concrete situations over and over again.
- Nevertheless, dogs’ capacity for abstraction is limited and relates mainly to social interaction. For example, although dogs are able to learn from their past actions, they are not able to plan their future in the long term.
- Scientists assume that the four-legged friends are on about the same cognitive level as small children when it comes to abstract thinking. Just as in humans, abstract thinking is important for dogs to survive by enabling learning and other rudimentary congitive processes based on experience.
