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Dolphin pointing is linked to the attentional behavior of a receiver

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Abstract

In 2001, Xitco et al. (Anim Cogn 4:115–123) described spontaneous behaviors in two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that resembled pointing and gaze alternation. The dolphins’ spontaneous behavior was influenced by the presence of a potential receiver, and the distance between the dolphin and the receiver. The present study adapted the technique of Call and Tomasello [(1994) J Comp Psychol 108:307–317], used with orangutans to test the effect of the receiver’s orientation on pointing in these same dolphins. The dolphins directed more points and monitoring behavior at receivers whose orientation was consistent with attending to the dolphins. The results demonstrated that the dolphins’ pointing and monitoring behavior, like that of apes and infants, was linked to the attentional behavior of the receiver.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded through contracts to John Gory and Mark Xitco from Walt Disney Imagineering, Research and Development and Walt Disney World Company. It was made possible by the dedication of the staff of The Living Seas, Epcot, especially our research assistants DruAnn Clark and Erika Putman, and the many undergraduate students who worked on the project. The analysis described was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. for M. Xitco, and was supported by the Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University. These experiments comply with the current laws of the United States of America that govern animal research.

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Correspondence to Mark J. Xitco Jr..

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Xitco, M.J., Gory, J.D. & Kuczaj, S.A. Dolphin pointing is linked to the attentional behavior of a receiver. Anim Cogn 7, 231–238 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-004-0217-z

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