How abuse affects behaviour in domestic horses

Abstract

Several domestic species have been shown discriminatory abilities when judging the level of affect in human faces. In other words they can distinguish between positive (happy) and negative (angry) human facial expressions. What has yet to be explored is whether former neglect or abuse results in changes in response to human facial expressions. These type of recognition abilities may aid species in interactions with human handlers and thus provide a functional benefit. In addition, by exploring cognitive abilities, like recognition, in domestic species we can further understand the implications for the varying levels of human interaction with species, including neglect or abuse.

Faculty Mentor: Shannon Digweed

Department: Psychology (Honours)