4.7
stars
4,361 ratings

Brian Hare

198,735 already enrolled

Offered By

Dog Emotion and Cognition

Duke University

About this Course

64,539 recent views

Dog Emotion and Cognition will introduce you to the exciting new study of dog psychology, what the latest discoveries tell us about how dogs think and feel about us, and how we can use this new knowledge to further strengthen our relationship with our best friends.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Approx. 22 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Skills you will gain

Cognitive Science
Evolution
Animal Behavior
Dog

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Approx. 22 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.8/5 (810 Ratings)

Brian Hare

Associate Professor

Evolutionary Anthropology

198,735 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Duke University

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(34,919 ratings)

Week

Week 1

11 minutes to complete

Course Information

Dog Emotion and Cognition is a course designed to introduce the exciting new science of dog psychology to any level of dog enthusiast. In learning about dogs you will be introduced to evolutionary and cognitive theory, learn about experimental methodology, see how dogs compare to other species, and even have the chance to try some of the cognitive games you learn about with your own dog. The course is a great introduction to the field of animal cognition and animal behavior but is also relevant to anyone interested in human evolution or even dog training. When you finish you will think about your dog in a new way, will be ready to apply your new knowledge, and will be prepared to take higher level classes in the evolutionary or cognitive sciences.

11 minutes to complete

1 video (Total 1 min), 1 reading

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

The Paradox of a Best Friend That Evolved From Our Worst Enemy

This module will provide an introduction to cognitive psychology and evolution, while having direct application to your dog. At the beginning of each lecture, Dr. Hare will suggest an optional reading from his book The Genius of Dogs, as well as free Dognition games to play at www.dognition.com/mooc. Dr. Hare discusses how our evolutionary relationship with dogs is a puzzle. He describes the meaning of cognition and what it looks like with modern research on animals. Last, he discusses what Dognition is and how can be used like a laboratory for the class.

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 41 min), 4 readings, 4 quizzes

Week

Week 3

4 hours to complete

How Biology Studies Cognitive Evolution

4 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 67 min), 4 readings, 5 quizzes

10 videos

Why Experiments, Part 16m

Why Experiments, Part 28m

Why Experiments, Part 33m

Ecological Approach to Evolution, Part 18m

Ecological Approach to Evolution, Part 28m

Ecological Approach to Cognition, Part 17m

Ecological Approach to Cognition, Part 28m

Theory of Mind, Part 14m

Theory of Mind, Part 25m

Theory of Mind, Part 35m

4 readings

Why Experiments: Lecture Slides10m

Ecological Approach to Evolution: Lecture Slides10m

Ecological Approach to Cognition: Lecture Slides10m

Theory of Mind: Lecture Slides10m

5 practice exercises

Review: Why Experiments?30m

Review: Ecological Approach to Evolution30m

Review: Ecological Approach to Cognition30m

Review: Theory of Mind30m

Module Quiz: How Biology Studies Cognitive Evolution30m

Week

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Dogs Are Cognitively Remarkable

In this module, Dr. Hare describes how dogs are cognitively remarkable. He begins by explaining theory of mind, which, when viewed through the ecological approach, suggests that social problem solving drove primate and human cognitive evolution. Next, he describes how good dogs are at understanding communicative intentions, especially compared to apes. Dr. Hare has three hypotheses to explain the remarkable communication found in domestic dogs.

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 35 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

5 videos

Communicative Intentions, Part 17m

Communicative Intentions, Part 27m

Communicative Intentions, Part 37m

Origins of Dog Sociality, Part 16m

Origins of Dog Sociality, Part 25m

2 readings

Communicative Intentions: Lecture Slides10m

Origins of Dog Sociality: Lecture Slides10m

3 practice exercises

Review: Communicative Intentions30m

Review: Origins of Dog Social Cognition30m

Module Quiz: Dogs are Cognitively Remarkable30m

Week

Week 5

4 hours to complete

Evolutionary Accidents and Survival of the Friendliest

In this module, Dr. Hare explores three of his research studies he's done with foxes, New Guinea Singing Dogs, as well as research on wolves. He describes how early dog-wolves may actually be a product of natural selection rather than artificial selection, contrary to popular belief. He introduces a hypothesis called Survival of the Friendliest, which may explain how dogs, bonobos, and modern species evolved in contrast to close relatives, such as wolves and chimpanzees. Last, he relates the high level of social tolerance of these species to human by looking at human self-domestication.

4 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 63 min), 4 readings, 5 quizzes

9 videos

Discovering Domestication, Part 17m

Discovering Domestication, Part 28m

Discovering Domestication, Part 37m

Artificial vs Self-Domestication, Part 16m

Artificial vs Self-Domestication, Part 27m

Ape Self- Domestication, Part 17m

Ape Self-Domestication, Part 27m

Human Self-Domestication, Part 14m

Human Self-Domestication, Part 25m

4 readings

Discovering Domestication: Lecture Slides10m

Artificial vs Self-Domestication: Lecture Slides10m

Ape Self-Domestication: Lecture Slides10m

Human Self-Domestication: Lecture Slides10m

5 practice exercises

Review: Discovering Domestication30m

Review: Artificial versus Self-Domestication30m

Review: Ape Self-Domestication30m

Review: Human Self-Domestication30m

Module Quiz: Evolutionary Accidents and Survival of the Friendliest30m

Week

Week 6

3 hours to complete

Problems That Dogs Can and Cannot Solve

In this module, you will learn about the genius of dogs. Brilliant examples of the canine mind will be explored. Dogs seem to be capable of inferential reasoning using the "principle of exclusion" as well as learning new words by imitating humans. Next, Dr. Hare discusses dog's abilities to understand physical problem solving compared to other species (hint, this isn't most dog's strong suit). Last, he will discuss how dogs are not cooperative breeders, do have a relaxed social system, and are excellent hunting companions for humans.

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 55 min), 3 readings, 4 quizzes

8 videos

Dog Social Explosion, Part 18m

Dog Social Explosion, Part 27m

Dog Social Explosion, Part 38m

Physical Cognition Explosion, Part 16m

Physical Cognition Explosion, Part 25m

Dog Cooperation, Part 17m

Dog Cooperation, Part 26m

Dog Cooperation, Part 34m

3 readings

Dog Social Explosion: Lecture Slides10m

Physical Cognition Explosion: Lecture Slides10m

Dog Cooperation: Lecture Slides10m

4 practice exercises

Review: Dog Cognition Explodes: Understanding the Social World30m

Review: Dog Cognition Explodes: Understanding the Physical World30m

Review: Dog Cooperation30m

Module Quiz: Problems That Dogs Can and Cannot Solve30m

Week

Week 7

4 hours to complete

Finding Your Dog's Genius

In this module, Dr. Hare will discuss the common myths of breed differences and what research (including citizen science Dognition data) has actually been done to understand potential differences between breeds. You will also listen to Dr. Hare debunk "aggressive dog breed" stereotypes by learning about the literature and studies that have been done on dog aggression. He poses an interesting question about the actual culprit for the dog aggression problem, which is not even a dog! Next, he will explain how important understanding dog cognition is to training strategies. Dr. Hare will discuss how, unfortunately, not all cultures love dogs, and some see them as food and pests. He suggests ways that humans can live with dogs for mutual benefit. Taking all that you've learned into account, Dr. Hare then discusses how Dognition is revolutionizing what we know about dogs and how beneficial it could be to your relationship with your dog as well as for science!

4 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 63 min), 6 readings, 4 quizzes

10 videos

Breed Differences, Part 14m

Breed Differences, Part 25m

Dog Aggression, Part 16m

Dog Aggression, Part 29m

Teaching Genius, Part 16m

Teaching Genius, Part 27m

Teaching Genius, Part 35m

Dog's Best Friend8m

Citizen Science6m

Dognition Report2m

6 readings

Breed Differences: Lecture Slides10m

Dog Aggression: Lecture Slides10m

Teaching Genius: Lecture Slides10m

Dog's Best Friend: Lecture Slides10m

Citizen Science: Lecture Slides10m

Dognition Report: Lecture Slides10m

4 practice exercises

Review: Breed Differences in Cognition?30m

Review: Dog Aggression30m

Review: Teaching Genius30m

Module Quiz: Finding your Dog's Genius30m

Week

Week 8

1 hour to complete

Final Exam

1 hour to complete

Reviews

4.7

1299 reviews

5 stars
77.54%
4 stars
16.13%
3 stars
4.03%
2 stars
1.05%
1 star
1.23%

TOP REVIEWS FROM DOG EMOTION AND COGNITION

by LTAug 3, 2019

Great course with a lot of new information, not just about dogs but even domestication of other species, including humans. The predictability of aggression in humans would be an interesting next topic

by ZRDec 14, 2017

Really enjoyed this course! Was my first university course for about 2 years. I have PTSD, amnesia, social anxiety, and depression. Shout out to this school having an awesome course available.

by MCOct 6, 2020

I found this course very interesting. As a dog trainer steeped in Behaviorism and Classical Conditioning, it was nice to get a different perspective, and this course was a fun way to do that.

by TLJan 11, 2022

Great course. Quiz questions that asked student to pick exceptions in a list were often tricky and hard to understand rather than effectively evaluating learning. Suggest revising them.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Will I receive a transcript from Duke University for completing this course?
No. Completion of a Coursera course does not earn you academic credit from Duke; therefore, Duke is not able to provide you with a university transcript. However, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Build employee skills, drive business results

Discover Coursera for Business

Dog Emotion and Cognition

Dog Emotion and Cognition

About this Course

Skills you will gain