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The way a dog behaviorist described it to me was, "A dog can feel jealous, but the dog doesn't _know_ that he/she feels jealous." I don't know if I believe that
by troyvit 2y ago
The way a dog behaviorist described it to me was, "A dog can feel jealous, but the dog doesn't _know_ that he/she feels jealous." I don't know if I believe that, but I've been pondering it for the last 20 years.
- ysavir 2y agoProbably varies dog by dog, same as it varies human by human. Some people are intimately aware of their own jealousy, other need some form of therapy to make it apparent.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- generuso 2y agoDogs are amazing. And human brains/minds are without doubt even more complex than those of dogs. But it is typical for humans to not be aware of the true reasons of behaving or even feeling in the way they do. When asked about causes of our behavior, we readily make up an explanation, and we believe our own explanations completely whether they are true or false. There is a considerable literature demonstrating in an experimental setting how easily the behavior is controlled by the factors that are not consciously perceived, and how it is rationalized post factum in plausible but arbitrary ways. More informally, many fiction writers show characters, for example falling in love and showing that through their behavior, but refusing to admit that they are in love, even when explicitly confronted with the facts. Of course one can say that an adult human can at least in principle, sometimes, examine what is going on, while a dog is probably much less capable of such complex analysis and is more like a small child. This seems plausible.
- jancsika 2y agoI'd argue that a) it takes years for humans to develop the ability to be aware of their own jealousy, and b) some of us don't ever get there.