Kevin Behan Guest Blogs on Psychology Today

“Empathy & Evolution: How Dogs Convert Stress Into Flow”
Guest Blogger Kevin Behan Explains the Evolution of “Empathy” in Dogs
Published on August 6, 2012 by Lee Charles Kelley in My Puppy, My Self

“I’m proud to present this guest post by my mentor and colleague, Kevin Behan, originator of Natural Dog Training, which views the canine mind as an energy (i.e., emotional) system rather than as a thinking machine, or by projecting the human concepts of dominance and submission onto canine behavior. Those of us who use NDT techniques find that they’re very effective for training obedience commands and for solving behavioral problems that can’t be solved by more traditional methods.

In this post, Behan applies the principles of a new scientific concept—The Construcal Law—to the co-evolutionary paths of canids and hominids.”

The Flow of Evolution
From unknown beginnings, the relationship between dog and man is constantly evolving to render more and more ways of service.

There are many dogs like the ones being used by the Indiana Crisis Response Team—headed by Dr. Jean Marie Thompson—who are deployed in disaster and crisis situations to help victims cope with emotional trauma. The dogs seek out those who are experiencing PTSD or other (dis)affective disorders. And there is an observable and measurable effect as the dog engages with the victim.

Meanwhile canine cognition labs around the world are conducting experiments to elucidate how dogs have become so attuned to human beings that they seem to have developed a capacity for empathy.

But is this kind of empathy a form of emotional contagion or a form of higher cognition? Or is it something else entirely?

 

Keep Reading on Psychology Today

 

Additional Articles:

Kevin Behan YouTube Interview with Edwin Rutsch on Empathy

Lee Charles Kelley YouTube Interview with Edwin Rutsch on Empathy 

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Published August 18, 2012 by Kevin Behan
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3 responses to “Kevin Behan Guest Blogs on Psychology Today”

  1. Tina says:

    I agree that the relationship between dog and man is constantly evolving to render more and more ways of service. Thanks for the post !

  2. Anna says:

    I agree too,Tina. I also agree that Dogs are Man’s best friend.

  3. Collin says:

    Such a great and informative post. Thanks for sharing this to us and keep posting!

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Books about Natural Dog Training by Kevin Behan

In Your Dog Is Your Mirror, dog trainer Kevin Behan proposes a radical new model for understanding canine behavior: a dog’s behavior and emotion, indeed its very cognition, are driven by our emotion. The dog doesn’t respond to what the owner thinks, says, or does; it responds to what the owner feels. And in this way, dogs can actually put people back in touch with their own emotions. Behan demonstrates that dogs and humans are connected more profoundly than has ever been imagined — by heart — and that this approach to dog cognition can help us understand many of dogs’ most inscrutable behaviors. This groundbreaking, provocative book opens the door to a whole new understanding between species, and perhaps a whole new understanding of ourselves.
  Natural Dog Training is about how dogs see the world and what this means in regards to training. The first part of this book presents a new theory for the social behavior of canines, featuring the drive to hunt, not the pack instincts, as seminal to canine behavior. The second part reinterprets how dogs actually learn. The third section presents exercises and handling techniques to put this theory into practice with a puppy. The final section sets forth a training program with a special emphasis on coming when called.
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