Blog Assignment Number 2: Observation

What did you choose to observe?

Canis lupus familiaris.

Why did you choose to observe this?

Because he’s my little buddy Because he has varied and sometimes unpredictable responses to stimuli that make him an interesting subject. Also I didn't need to go far to observe him.

I chose to observe my puppy subject for the entire 15 minute period.

Were there any abiotic factors that influenced your observation? If so, what were they?

The observation was indoors on a clear evening, so the weather didn’t affect anything. The TV was on in the background, and at one point he got excited because the doorbell rang on the TV show and he thought there was someone at the door. This disrupted the experiment somewhat.

Would you change anything about your mode of observation the next time you do it?

I would find an area with less distractions, both biological and abiotic.

Describe your observation and note at least 3 specific things that you observed.

During the observational period, the subject remained for the most part quite comfortably on the couch. They did rise and begin barking when they heard a doorbell ring on the TV, but settled back down quickly after this outburst. The only time the subject acknowledged my presence was when I got a slice of pizza from the kitchen. By the time I had turned around from the counter the subject had materialized directly behind me, and did not break eye contact until the pizza was gone, when they immediately retreated to their seat on the sofa. I expected them to react somewhat when a dog barked in a commercial, but there was no reaction.

Write at least 3 scientific questions based on your observation.

Will the subject pay attention to the researcher even when no behaviour incentives (treats) are presented?

Would the subject react more readily to such incentives if there was no environmental interference?

Does the amount of attention from the pupper subject scale with the amount of “treats” shown to them?

Write 1 hypothesis based on the questions above.

Canis lupus familiaris has been selectively bred for thousands of years to be an ideal and loving companion to the human race. The selected member of the species will display these characteristics when prompted to do so, without needing much encouragement.

This was tested and found to be easily disproven.

Figure 1. Subject when presented with a treat.

Figure 2. Subject immediately after treat was administered.