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People used to say things like: looking at animals, anyone can do that, right? Those attitudes have thankfully changed, as Saskia Arndt and point out. One is Professor of Animal Behaviour at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the other Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Leiden ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��. They both share a fascination with animal and human behaviour. After all, behaviour can tell you a lot about their emotions and well-being. Still, we certainly don't know all there is to know yet.

You can tell a lot about an animal's condition from its behaviour. So how does that work, Saskia Arndt?

"Animals' behaviour tells us a lot about their emotional state, but it also reveals a lot about their capacity to adapt. For example, how is the animal behaving in its stable or enclosure? That tells you a lot about its wellbeing. We focus on abnormal behaviours, but we also check which specific behaviours they are or aren't exhibiting."

Are you mainly focused on farm animals?

"No, that applies to every kind of animal: laboratory animals, pets, farm animals, zoo animals, wild animals and humans, who are also animals. I'm mainly focused on kept animals, though."

Can you also gather a lot of information from people's behaviour, Mariska Kret? 

"Absolutely. If you observe people closely, you'll be able to tell if they're nervous, relaxed or sick. People are no different from animals in that sense. I mainly work with great apes, and we noticed they started behaving very differently when all the human visitors were suddenly gone during the pandemic. They also really had to adjust when the visitors started coming back."

Arndt: "I'm glad Mariska mentioned that because we saw the same thing in pets during and after the lockdowns. Any life change can lead to different behaviour."

So how do you avoid the risk of seeing what you want to see when observing animal behaviour?

Kret: "That definitely happens, but the risk of bias is even greater when you ask people how they feel. If you take everything they say at face value, you're assuming they have a clear understanding of their own emotions. The thing is, a lot of people need therapists to figure those things out. Many people also struggle to discuss their emotions. They're either ashamed, or they want others to think they're doing well. That's why it's so important to observe behaviour and measure physical responses, like heart rate or perspiration. Combining all that information is the most accurate way of determining what someone's really feeling."

Animals can't talk about their feelings. So how do you overcome that challenge, Saskia Arndt?

"The main problem is we can't understand what animals are saying" We listen carefully to animals by studying their behaviour with scientifically reliable methods. For example, we use ethograms, which are precise behavioural descriptors that allow us to do objective measurements. We can't leave any room for interpretation. Researchers need thorough training in order to accurately measure behaviour. For example, we measure how often, how long and at what moments an animal exhibits certain behaviours."

"Still, discussing emotions with people is also challenging," Kret adds. "I think psychologists and clinical practitioners should be making much better use of observational techniques and other implicit metrics.”

“People can be confused, or struggle to articulate what they're feeling. Someone with autism or social anxiety disorder may have a hard time communicating with others, especially on a subject like their feelings. Psychologists should be looking into some of the methods biologists use."

"My research on great apes in zoos tends to focus on the aspect of attention," she continues. "We show the monkeys emotional images of other monkeys on a computer screen – which they can choose to either watch or ignore – and determine what their attention is focused on. We use with eye-tracking technology that follows their eye movements in order to figure out what they're interested in. For example, people suffering from depression tend to focus a lot of attention on negative things. That also gives us an insight into the animal's emotional state."

The main problem is we can't understand what animals are saying

So are there any other relevant criteria when it comes to studying human and animal emotions?

Kret: "We also focus on physiological responses, which are really interesting. For example, you can measure arousal through the heartbeat and stress through the skin. We're developing non-intrusive measurement methods that allow us to measure arousal in primates without them even noticing."

Arndt: "Although behaviour is our most important variable, we often study physiological responses in parallel The thing is, we want to avoid invasive procedures – like drawing blood to measure stress hormones – as much as possible. That's why we tend to use the animals' hair, feathers, saliva and urine for our measurements. We also use thermal imaging cameras. Changes in the temperature of certain body parts can indicate that the animal is stressed."

So how has the way we observe animal behaviour changed in recent years?

Kret: "We have a lot more technology at our disposal. There are lots of different tools on the market now and data analysis is also getting easier. I'm really glad I'm alive now instead of 50 years ago."

“Exactly”, Arndt agrees. "Cameras and sensors are incredibly helpful in terms of observing behaviour. Still, machines alone won't solve everything – you'll always need people. More and more people are starting to recognise the importance of behavioural research. People used to say things like: observing animals, anyone can do that, right? Thankfully, those days are gone."

"The notion that we're superior to animals is arrogant and downright stupid," Kret remarked in her inaugural lecture in September. And: "humans don't really have that many unique characteristics". Surely that statement might make some people uncomfortable?

Kret: "There's no way we could even exist without animals. Without animals, there wouldn't be any plants or food, so we need to coexist. The notion that we don't need animals and are somehow superior to them is really stupid."

We're seeing a huge rise in behavioural problems

But surely humans are at the top of the food chain? We have the most developed brains after all.

Kret laughs out loud: "We're definitely not the pinnacle of evolution. Every animal has unique characteristics. People tend to pick a typically human trait, like language, and judge animals based on whether they can do the same thing. That's the wrong way of looking at it, though. Animals also communicate with each other. Examples include long-distance communication by whales, bats that snatch flies from the sky using sonar, or birds that can fly. Animals have so many qualities that we don't have. There's so much to discover if you just look carefully."

Arndt: "I couldn't agree more. Maybe we put ourselves at the top of the evolutionary pyramid to justify the fact that we use animals for our own selfish purposes. God, I wish I could fly, or be a cat or a dog for a day. I actually appreciate animals for having the very qualities I don't have."

So what would an ideal world look like?

Kret: "Humans need to take responsibility. We've left such a big mark on the world and caused so much disruption. We need to start treating other species as well as possible and focus on their needs. That applies to both wild animals in nature and domesticated ones."

Arndt: "We tend to see ourselves as the pinnacle of creation. But we need to be aware of our potential to do good. Coexistence between humans and animals will always involve compromises. We need to constantly balance the interests of humans and animals."

People tend to mimic each other's behaviour. Do animals also mirror each other's behaviour?

Kret: "Yes, you mainly see that among social animals, but also in less social ones. Even parakeets. If one parakeet yawns, the other will also start yawning."

Arndt: "Animals even seem to display mirror behaviour in their interactions with humans. For example, researchers in the UK found that cats close their eyes when their owners do. To them, it's a form of communication. Dogs also adapt their behaviour to reflect that of their owners." Kret adds: “When dogs and their owners make eye contact, the level of oxytocin – the 'happiness hormone' – in both their systems starts to align."

So what's your most pressing challenge right now?

Kret: "We need to gain even more insight into emotions. We'll never be able to measure them exactly, but we can make more effective use of the available technology; we can then translate the results into concrete applications. It's a huge challenge and it's definitely ambitious, but it's something I'm really passionate about."

Arndt: "I'd like to train more vets as behavioural specialists so that they can treat behavioural problems. The number of pets is constantly increasing and people are also bringing in more animals from abroad. We're seeing a huge rise in behavioural problems. We also need to do more fundamental research on animal behaviour and animal welfare. Familiarity breeds fondness, as I explained in my inaugural lecture. Many people think we already know everything about animal behaviour and animal welfare, but there's still so much we don't know. As researchers, it's our responsibility to explain that to the outside world. That also includes research financiers."

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