BEST: Human’s best friend - The emotional synchrony of human-dog social interaction (BEST)


Main funder

Funder's project number341092


Funds granted by main funder (€)

  • 447 650,00


Funding program


Project timetable

Project start date01/09/2021

Project end date31/08/2026


Summary

Today, dogs are members of human families. The number of pet dogs in Finland exceeds the number of human inhabitants of the capital, and annually, more pedigree dogs are registered than human infants are born in Finland. Why do we turn to dogs so eagerly—what are the processes behind the across-species friendship? This project examines the mechanisms, synchrony and individual modulators of human-dog interaction with complementary research methods, using behavioral studies as well as physiological measurements with both humans and dogs. The modulatory effects of both dog and human characteristics on human-dog interaction are also examined. As a whole, the project aims in bridging the methodological gap in comprehending human and non-human animal minds.


Principal Investigator


Primary responsible unit


Related publications and other outputs


Last updated on 2022-17-11 at 10:57