EMOTIONS & ANIMAL CONSCIOUSNESS

But first, what are emotions? Answering that question alone is an impossible task!

Emotions are considered to be a series of responses:

Animals need their emotions to act quickly – it’s all about survival! Acting quickly, in the moment, without even having had time to dissect information from the environment, when you can already feel your legs carrying you away from a situation, is an evolutionary process linked to the survival of the individual (and therefore the species), so it’s pretty cool, isn’t it?

We now know that animals ALL have emotions, but we don’t know if they have feelings (because feelings are linked to the individual’s subjective experience, whereas emotions can be evaluated in terms of duration, response time, time to recover, time to return to one’s initial “stable” state, etc.).

We also know that there are innate differences linked to genetics (very well evaluated in humans and dogs today). Different emotional responses can be observed in the brains of individuals subjected to the same stimulus.

And emotions depend not only on the animal’s perception of the environment (the notion of “Umwelt”), but also on how this information is processed by the brain. Cognition cannot therefore be separated from an individual’s sensory capacities. From this, it’s easy to understand that there are as many ways of seeing the world as there are living beings on this planet. Whether in the same species or in different species.

To hell with the “yes, but you have to stop, a dog is a dog, you mustn’t anthropomorphize”.

And I’d say yes, but on the other hand, by trying to dissociate everything, aren’t we missing the point? Aren’t we simply unable to recognize consciousness because it’s different from our own? Because our measurement tools are based on what we know about humans?

Although it’s extremely difficult to popularize, and science is still researching the subject to this day, consciousness has been demonstrated in our animals too. There are several theories of consciousness that are still being studied today (my favorite being the gradualist approach, but I won’t go into details here).

In other words, our animals are capable of :

Receive information from internal and external events and integrate them together (e.g. a dog is able to match a type of growl to a size of dog, is able to associate different vocalizations with facial expressions…).

To be aware of themselves in space

To be aware that they exist through time

To put intention into their actions (beyond simple “behavior directed towards a goal/consequence”, this implies an evaluation of the situation, a real “decision making” based on our choices, which will change depending on the individual, even with equal experience).

“The absence of a neocortex does not appear to prevent an organism from experiencing affective states. Converging evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical and neurophysiological substrates for states of consciousness, as well as the capacity to manifest intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not alone in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, as well as many other creatures, including octopuses, possess these neurological substrates.”

Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, 7 juillet 2012

Now that we’ve said all that, why should we ALWAYS take emotions into account in our work with animals, whether it’s purely educational (work on sitting/lying), in everyday life or in work on reactivity, aggression or anxiety (where it seems more obvious, at least I hope so)?

Emotions change an individual’s mood (the more they are subjected to negative emotions, the more likely they are to have a negative valence and to be ‘pessimistic’, i.e. to see the glass as half empty and anticipate everything on the assumption that it will all go wrong. On the other hand, the more positive things happen, the more positive their valence will be, the more optimistic they will be about what is likely to happen. Conversely, the more positive things happen, the more positive his valence will be, the more optimistic he will be about what is likely to happen to him).

The consequence is that a negative valence leads to less exploration, more withdrawal and less motivation. And the longer this goes on, the less the individual explores, the less likely they are to do anything positive, and the more likely they are to have a negative valence. It’s a bit like the snake biting its own tail. A short period of exposure to positive things is associated with an increase in depression, stress and slower recovery from stress (as measured by amydale). (I’m deliberately ignoring genetic differences between individuals, and I’m ignoring possible traumas or chronic stress).

According to Ekman and Panksepp, there are “universal” emotions that are shared by all humans and also animals (particularly mammals here, the exact list is still under debate) and that “live”/’exist’ in a part of our brain. According to Feldman-Barret, on the other hand, emotions are more a construct shaped by our perception of reality.

To date, all these theories are valid (and why is that? Because there are just as many contradictory yet valid studies, which is why we have several theories!)

Strong emotions are associated with a loss of certain information (the brain no longer processes all the information it receives and chooses what it processes). Emotions override reason.

Emotions are important for survival, normal and valid

Emotions have a huge influence on behaviour

Emotions vary in valence and intensity

Emotions influence our decision-making at any given moment

This is why it is difficult, if not impossible, to work with an animal that is experiencing strong emotions. This is why an animal that has experienced trauma will be particularly difficult to work with. What’s more, work cannot take place as long as these strong emotions are present. Returning to a stable, low emotional state is a priority when working with an individual, in order to help them progress, and it’s simply a question of their well-being.

‘We do not seek to question why we feel a particular emotion, but rather to confirm it.’ – Ekman

Questioning how our animals feel is irrelevant, just as questioning how we feel, or how our neighbour or our children feel is irrelevant. They feel it, so it exists, so it’s valid, full stop!

Now what happens if the emotion is appropriate to the situation? If our bird is under stress, this stress triggers fear, and this fear triggers immediate physiological reactions: pupils dilate, vasodilation, feathers stick to the body: it is ready to flee. This flight may save its life or keep it away from a potential threat. Perfect! Behaviours linked to emotions have a reason to exist and are in no way bad in themselves. A parrot looking for attention and company, for social validation, is normal. The same is true of our dogs and all social species. An animal that competes for a resource is normal, as is one that seeks to play or respond to its hormonal phases.

On the other hand, what happens if the emotion felt is disproportionate to the situation? If you have a dog suffering from chronic stress, a phobia, or trauma, and it displays behaviours that even put it in danger? A dog that will try to jump from the 3rd floor as soon as it is left alone, a reactive dog that will pounce on the object of its phobia or run away and get into a car or get lost because its brain was no longer connected? Or a dog with such fears that it takes refuge in destruction, even if it means self-mutilation or eating inappropriate things?

The answer is simple: the animal is putting itself in danger, and its well-being is also compromised. In this case, we have ways of helping it as much as possible, using a number of levers:

Assess the situation: the trigger, the responses observed, the intensity, the duration, etc.

Know the individual’s history (how long ago, at what age, etc.).

Implement immediate management (= do not expose them to more than they are capable of managing).

Set up an action plan to help them change their perception of this trigger/situation/event and get out of it for good.

Call on a specialised and trained professional to help you!

Earlier I was talking about positive/negative valence and pessimism in animals. Bad consequences’ (such as punishment or coercion) lead to an anticipation of bad things that are likely to happen to the animal. Apart from the fact that it has been proven that animals are more likely to become depressed, despondent, resigned, try to escape, or simply aggressive, it goes further than that in that it changes their perception of their ENTIRE world. He’s going to expect negative things, he’s going to anticipate. It will change the way they make decisions about a situation. For example, he may choose less what he prefers, for fear of the negative consequences; he will no longer be able to back down or move away if he doesn’t like something. His whole life may be shaped because these events will change the decisions he would have made otherwise.

Do you measure the impact of our actions?

With all this in mind, do you think that the way we treat our animals is appropriate today? Does it change things in terms of ethics?

Sources and references :

Somerville and McLaughlin, 2018; Davidson, 1998, 2018; Bowman and Fox, 2018; Friston et al. 2018; Lang and Bradley, 2018; Kujala, 2017; Berns, 2022; Pennarz et al. 2019; Gilam et al. 2020; Salomons, 2018; Cowen et al. 2019; Mills et al. 2020; Birch et al. 2020; Mendl et al. 2020; Evans et al. 2019; Keller et al. 2020

Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp 2004

I hope you enjoyed this article, I spent a lot of time writing it to make a lot of concepts concise and digestible in a short space of time!

Article taken from my weekly newsletter: https://animaletherapie.com/newsletter/

Marion | Multi-certified behavioural consultant

Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant

Certified Professional Bird Trainer

Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer

Elite Fear Free Certified Professional