In this 2024 scoping review published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Ariella Y. Moser, Mitchell Welch, Wendy Y. Brown, P. McGreevy, and Pauleen C. Bennett examined behavioral testing methods used to assess psychological traits in dogs. Behavioral testing is widely applied in fields such as cognition, temperament assessment, working dog selection, and welfare research; however, considerable methodological inconsistency and lack of standardization have made comparisons across studies challenging.
To address this issue, the authors conducted a scoping review of 392 scientific publications, identifying 2,362 individual behavioral tests. From these data, they developed a **dog-centric classification framework**, focusing on the types of stimuli used to elicit behavioral responses.
Through inductive content analysis, the researchers identified 29 subcategories of test stimuli, which were grouped into three major categories:
1. Human-oriented stimuli – including gestures, gaze, vocal cues, touch, emotional displays, and presence or absence of humans.
2. Environmental stimuli – such as unfamiliar objects, sound, movement, space, surfaces, novel settings, or distractors.
3. Motivator-oriented stimuli – including food rewards, toys, play invitations, scent signals, or social reinforcement.
This framework helps clarify how behavioral tests vary based on stimulus type and highlights commonalities across seemingly diverse testing protocols. By categorizing tests through the lens of what the dog perceives and responds to, the study shifts focus from researcher-centered classification toward a dog-centric understanding of behavioral assessment.
The authors propose that this model can help researchers and practitioners better select, design, and interpret behavioral tests—supporting more accurate measurement of traits such as impulsivity, sociability, cognition, motivation, and emotional responsiveness.
The study concludes that while methodological diversity remains, **the classification of behavioral tests by stimulus type provides a practical pathway for improving reproducibility, clarity, and standardization** in canine behavior research.
Source: Moser, A. Y., Welch, M., Brown, W. Y., McGreevy, P., & Bennett, P. C. (2024). Methods of behavioral testing in dogs: a scoping review and analysis of test stimuli. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Published October 16, 2024.
