{"paper":{"title":"Operant Conditioning in Indian Free-Ranging Dogs: Effects of Positive and Threatening Cues on Sociability","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"q-bio.OT","authors_text":"Abantika Adak, Anindita Bhadra, Dipanjan Roy, Rohan Sarkar, Srijaya Nandi","submitted_at":"2026-07-02T11:33:13Z","abstract_excerpt":"Sociability toward humans is a key adaptive trait in free-ranging dogs, enabling them to access resources while navigating risks associated with human interactions. In this study, we investigated whether operant conditioning shapes sociability in Indian free-ranging dogs and whether learned responses generalize to unfamiliar individuals. We experimentally exposed 58 dog groups to either positive or a threatening cue over five consecutive days and assessed their behaviour using approach proportion, approach latency, and demeanor across repeated interactions with a familiar experimenter, followe"},"claims":{"count":0,"items":[],"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"source":{"id":"2607.02056","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":null,"model_set":{},"created_at":null,"strongest_claim":"","one_line_summary":"","pipeline_version":null,"weakest_assumption":"","pith_extraction_headline":""},"integrity":{"clean":true,"summary":{"advisory":0,"critical":0,"by_detector":{},"informational":0},"endpoint":"/pith/2607.02056/integrity.json","findings":[],"available":true,"detectors_run":[],"snapshot_sha256":"c28c3603d3b5d939e8dc4c7e95fa8dfce3d595e45f758748cecf8e644a296938"},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}