Publications

Publications du LECD sur son site HAL

• [hal-01244841] Sex Differences in Language Across Early Childhood: Family Socioeconomic Status does not Impact Boys and Girls Equally

  17 décembre 2015

  Child sex and family socioeconomic status (SES) have been repeatedly identified as a source of inter-individual variation in language development; yet their interactions have rarely been explored. While sex differences are the focus of a renewed interest concerning emerging language skills, data remain scarce and are not consistent across preschool years. The questions of whether family SES impacts boys and girls equally, as well as of the consistency of these differences throughout early childhood, remain open. We evaluated consistency of sex differences across SES and age by focusing on how children (N = 262), from 2;6 to 6;4 years old, from two contrasting social backgrounds, acquire a frequent phonological alternation in French – the liaison. By using a picture naming task eliciting the production of obligatory liaisons, we found evidence of sex differences over the preschool years in low-SES children, but not between high-SES boys and girls whose performances were very similar. Low-SES boys' performances were the poorest whereas low-SES girls' performances were intermediate, that is, lower than those of high-SES children of both sexes but higher than those of low-SES boys. Although all children's mastery of obligatory liaisons progressed with age, our findings showed a significant impeding effect of low-SES, especially for boys.
• [hal-03919211] Premises of social cognition: Newborns are sensitive to a direct versus a faraway gaze

  2 janvier 2023

  Previous studies evidenced that already from birth, newborns can perceive differences between a direct versus an averted gaze in faces both presented in static and interactive situations. It has been hypothesized that this early sensitivity would rely on modifications of the location of the iris (i.e. the darker part of the eye) in the sclera (i.e. the white part), or that it would be an outcome of newborns’ preference for configurations of faces with the eye region being more contrasted. One question still remains: What happens when the position of the iris is not modified in the sclera, but the look is ‘faraway’, that is when the gaze is toward the newborns’ face but above his or her own eyes? In the present study, we tested the influence of a direct versus a faraway gaze (i.e., two gazes that only differed slightly in the position of the iris on the vertical axis and not on the horizontal axis) on newborns’ face recognition. The procedure was identical to that used in previous studies: using a familiarization-test procedure, we familiarized two groups of newborns (N = 32) with videos of different talking faces that were presented with either a direct or a faraway gaze. Newborns were then tested with photographs of the face seen previously and of a new one. Results evidenced that newborns looked longer at the familiar face, but only in the direct gaze condition. These results suggest that, already from birth, infants can perceive slight differences of gazes when someone is addressing to them.
• [hal-02474536] Maternal presence influences vocal development in the Japanese quail ( Coturnix c. japonica )

  19 octobre 2020

  Social influences on vocal development of young birds have been widely studied in oscine songbirds who learn to sing by vocal imitation of conspecifics, mainly male adults. In contrast, vocal development of non-vocal learners such as Galliformes is considered as being under strong genetic influence and independent of the social environment. In this study, we investigated the role of the mother on the vocal development of young Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). We compared the vocal development of mothered and non-mothered chicks during the first 21 days of life. We analysed the structural changes of two vocalisations: a) the rally call, emitted during long-distance communication and in stressful situations, b) the contact call, emitted during short-distance communication when chicks are in visual and/or auditory contact with congeners. We showed that temporal and spectral structures of the two types of calls changed during development and differed between mothered and nonmothered chicks. These results demonstrate that maternal presence influences the vocal development of the young in the Japanese quail. Even if the adaptive value of such changes was not assessed, these results highlight that plasticity of vocalisations in species considered as non-vocal learners has been underestimated.
• [hal-05661819] Investigating Multimodal (Visual, Acoustic, and Thermal) Ovulatory Signaling in a Non‐Human Primate Species (Cercocebus torquatus)

  17 juillet 2026

  In primate species, females communicate their reproductive status through multiple sensory channels, with visual signals such as swelling size being well documented. We investigated whether thermal (swelling temperature) and auditory (acoustic structure of copulation calls) modalities are also informative about the timing of ovulation in red‐capped mangabeys ( Cercocebus torquatus ). Over 4 months, we collected standardized photographs, thermal images, audio recordings, endocrine (progesterone) and behavioral data from a captive group of six adult females and one resident male. We analyzed variation in swelling size, swelling skin temperature, and temporal and spectral parameters of female copulation calls according to the timing of ovulation ( N = 15 cycles). Swelling size, but not temperature, varied with the likelihood of ovulation. Copulation calls produced close to ovulation were hoarser, showing a lower harmonic‐to‐noise ratio and higher entropy. We found no evidence that thermal or auditory traits influenced male inspection toward females or the likelihood that they engaged in a second mating. These findings suggest that, in this population, ovulatory signaling is primarily unimodal (visual), although such a system could operate within a broader multimodal framework of female reproductive signaling. Our study, while deserving further extension, provides novel insights into the relative contribution of different modalities to ovulatory communication in non‐human primates.
• [hal-05728521] Moderating effect of attachment to parents on the association between bullying and self‐esteem among early adolescents aged 10 to 12

  27 août 2026

  Abstract The aim of this study was to examine whether attachment to each parent moderates the relationship between bullying victimisation and self‐esteem. The sample consisted of 250 junior high school students (114 males, 136 females; mean age: 11.3 years). The administered scales were the Bully/Victim Questionnaire Revised, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment for Children and the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale. Results showed that early adolescents subjected to bullying had lower self‐esteem than non‐bullied peers. For girls, attachment to mother also accounted for self‐esteem over and above the effect of bullying. For boys, attachment with the father appeared as a pure moderator of the effect of bullying as the association with self‐esteem was non‐significant when attachment scores were high. The findings suggest that attachment to same sex parents may foster better self‐esteem in the face of bullying. Parents' participation in preventive measures could be encouraged.
• [hal-04307298] Skin-to-skin SDF positioning: The key to intersubjective intimacy between mother and very preterm newborn—A pilot matched-pair case-control study

  21 mai 2024

  Background Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) has been widely studied in NICU and several meta-analyses have looked at its benefits, for both the baby and the parent. However, very few studies have investigated SSC’ benefits for communication, in particular in the very-preterm newborn immediately after birth. Aims To investigate the immediate benefits of Supported Diagonal Flexion (SDF) positioning during SSC on the quality of mother—very-preterm newborn communication and to examine the coordination of the timing of communicative behaviors, just a few days after birth. Subjects and study design Monocentric prospective matched-pair case-control study. Thirty-four mothers and their very preterm infants (27 to 31 + 6 weeks GA, mean age at birth: 30 weeks GA) were assigned to one of the two SSC positioning, either the Vertical Control positioning ( n = 17) or the SDF Intervention positioning ( n = 17). Mother and newborn were filmed during the first 5 min of their first SSC. Outcome measures Infants’ states of consciousness according to the Assessment of Preterm Infants’ Behavior scale (APIB). Onset and duration of newborns’ and mothers’ vocalizations and their temporal proximity within a 1-s time-window. Results In comparison with the Vertical group, very preterm newborns in the SDF Intervention Group spent less time in a drowsy state and more in deep sleep. At 3.5 days of life, newborns’ vocal production in SSC did not differ significantly between the two groups. Mothers offered a denser vocal envelope in the SDF group than in the Vertical group and their vocalizations were on average significantly longer. Moreover, in a one-second time-frame, temporal proximity of mother-very preterm newborn behaviors was greater in the SDF Intervention Group. Conclusion Although conducted on a limited number of dyads, our study shows that SDF positioning fosters mother-very preterm newborn intimate encounter during the very first skin to skin contact after delivery. Our pioneer data sheds light on the way a mother and her very preterm vocally meet, and constitutes a pilot step in the exploration of innate intersubjectivity in the context of very preterm birth.
• [hal-04307308] Fostering mother-very preterm infant communication during skin-to-skin contact through a modified positioning

  26 novembre 2023

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• [hal-01478488] De la notion de genre appliquée au monde animal

  4 décembre 2017

  La vie sociale des animaux est constituée de coopérations et de conflits d’intérêt où le sexe des individus joue un rôle primordial. Cependant, la distinction entre mâles et femelles ne permet pas à elle seule de cerner la répartition des différents rôles sociaux au sein d’une espèce. C’est en tout cas ce que mettent en évidence les recherches portant sur l’activité parentale, le statut hiérarchique, l’orientation sexuelle ou encore les choix de partenaires. Or nul n’ignore que, chez l’humain, ces questions relèvent d’études dites « sur le genre ». Aussi ne paraît-il pas illégitime de poser que les mêmes propriétés étudiées chez l’animal relèvent elles aussi de cette notion. Quant à nous, nous ne doutons pas de la valeur opératoire de cette extension au monde animal d’un concept issu des sciences sociales et humaines.
• [hal-04931960] Adolescents' sociosexual orientation is related to attachment to their same-sex parent

  6 février 2025

  We set out to show that sociosexual orientation (SSO) and erotophilia are two different traits that can be evidenced as early as middle adolescence, and to examine their associations with attachment to parents. Self-report scales measuring SSO, erotophilia, and attachment to the mother and the father were administered to 289 12- to 17-year-olds. Based on an exploratory factor analysis, SSO and erotophilia are two different, consistent dimensions in this age range. A six-month test-retest revealed a moderate-to-high rank-order stability of the two traits, which were positively and moderately correlated. Boys scored higher than girls on both traits. During the six-month interval between T1 and T2, erotophilia increased whereas SSO did not change. Regression analyses showed that a positive perception of attachment to the same-sex parent among boys accounted for SSO, regardless of perceived attachment to the other-sex parent. This held true for girls also, but to a lesser extent. In the discussion, we emphasize the differences between boys' and girls' mating behavior, and the differences between attachment to same-sex vs other-sex parents as possible influences on SSO.
• [hal-05327470] Personality traits of aged dogs according to their cognitive status

  23 octobre 2025

  <div><p>Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) syndrome is a neurodegenerative condition that shares similarities with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in humans. In human studies, high neuroticism, low openness, and low extraversion have been significantly associated with AD diagnosis. Similarly, changes in dog behaviour, including alterations in personality, have been reported as common features in dogs with CCD, but no precise assessment of their changes has yet been realised. The aim of this study (based on the CaniAge cohort) was to compare characteristics of dogs with cognitive impairment (CI dogs) and non-CI dogs in a French senior dog population including owner-reported personality traits between dogs. Data were collected via an online survey, including the CADES scale (Canine Dementia Scale), the Monash Canine Personality Questionnaire, the Canine Owner-Reported Quality of Life (CORQ) assessment, and an environment questionnaire. Dogs aged of 6 years and older were included. Responses were obtained for 566 senior dogs of various breeds, with a median age of 9.86 years (Interquartile range: 8.08-11.98). Among them, 234 were classified as cognitively impaired, including 182 with mild impairment, 44 with moderate impairment, and 8 with severe impairment or dementia. Compared to non-CI dogs, CI dogs scored significantly lower on extraversion and amicability, and higher on neuroticism. After adjustment, CI dogs showed significantly lower amicability and higher neuroticism compared to non-CI dogs. This study is complementary of previous studies regarding CI-characteristics but is also the first to explore personality trait differences between CI and non-CI dogs, supporting observations previously reported in Alzheimer's disease research.</p></div>
• [hal-04681106] Outil numérique innovant à destination des jeunes S/sourds et des jeunes malentendants (ONISE) : un questionnaire en ligne sur leur épanouissement relationnel

  13 septembre 2024

  L’objectif de cette étude transversale est d’investiguer l’épanouissement relationnel de jeunes S/sourds et de jeunes malentendants français au sortir de l’adolescence. Compte tenu de l’inexistence d’un outil adapté et accessible pour recueillir l’avis de ces jeunes, le préalable à cet objectif a été la construction d’un auto-questionnaire en ligne, élaboré dans le cadre d’un appel à projet. Pour le recueil des données, nous avons eu recours au questionnaire en ligne, à des observations participantes en établissements pour les S/sourds, de même qu’à des focus groupes de jeunes sourds et de jeunes malentendants dans ces établissements. Les résultats obtenus sur 40 jeunes, âgés de 18 à 25 ans, montrent que leur épanouissement relationnel en termes de qualité de vie, de participation sociale et d’humeur dépressive n’est pas très éloigné de l’épanouissement relationnel d’autres jeunes S/sourds d’origine différente ou de jeunes français entendants. L’accessibilité de l’outil est globalement satisfaisante même si les observations et les analyses des échanges issus des focus groupes mettent en évidence des difficultés d’accès à certaines questions.
• [hal-05709268] Effects of negative stimuli on object permanence performance in baboons, Papio anubis, according to task complexity

  1 août 2026

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• [hal-05705770] Caring About Dogs, Filming Dogs, Watching Dogs: How Far Does the Human–Dog Relationship Travel Through Cultural Production? A Case Study of Good Boy (2025)

  28 juillet 2026

  Western societies increasingly treat dogs as sentient family members, but does this reshape cultural production, and can cultural production, in turn, reshape the relationship? We traced this circuit through Good Boy (2025), a horror film with a real, untrained dog as the sole protagonist, combining filmmaker interviews, behavioral coding of eleven sequences (21-behavior repertoire, permutation tests), and thematic analysis of 242 reviews on the Letterboxd website. The filmmaker restructured the production around his dog’s welfare, yet signs of stress persisted. The film’s canine perspective generated formal innovation but remained confined to human perception. Audiences showed concern for the real dog but read his discomfort as devotion—no review mentioned any behavioral indicator of stress. Good Boy reveals not the failure of a single film but the current state of a cultural transition—a society that has moved beyond treating dogs as props yet lacks the tools to act on its own values. Addressing this gap will require welfare monitoring during production, representation that goes beyond human perception, and public literacy in canine body language.
• [hal-00879054] Song learning in male and female Uraeginthus cyanocephalus, a tropical songbird species.

  31 octobre 2013

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• [hal-01704319] Mate preferences in female canaries (Serinus canaria) within a breeding season

  8 février 2018

  Divorce and remating in birds can be described as strategies used to enhance reproductive success. Mate switching often occurs because pairs failed to brood at least one chick during the previous breeding season. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of reproductive success on female preferences in domesticated canaries (Serinus canaria). For that purpose, females previously paired and having reared young were placed in a choice test situation: They were allowed to choose between their previous mate and a familiar male (a male neighbor during the breeding period). During these choice tests, females tended to stay near their previous mate longer than near a male neighbor when their reproductive success was " good " (at least two chicks). On the other hand, females with " poor " reproductive success (one chick) did not show a preference for their previous mate. Furthermore, in the present study, we observed that during choice tests males reacted to the presence of their previous mate in a particular way, by gathering nest material. This behavior was more scarcely observed in neighbor males which, on the contrary, sang significantly more than previous mates did.
• [hal-01478468] Motivation and Manipulation Capacities of the Blue and Yellow Macaw and the Tufted Capuchin: A Comparative Approach

  28 février 2017

  This study compared the motivation of the blue and yellow macaw (n = 8) and the tufted capuchin (n = 3) to manipulate objects that presented different features, their manipulative repertoires, and their ability to solve complex manipulation tasks. Results show that both species seem to be more motivated to manipulate objects that look like food items and that manipulative behavior may be considered as play behavior in the blue and yellow macaws, and would improve foraging motor skills. The tufted capuchins performed more different action styles than the macaws when manipulating objects, and performed substrate-use behavior - the object is put in relationship with a substrate - while the macaws did not. This is an interesting difference because these characteristics are supposed to be precursory of tool-use, behavior never observed in this macaw species. It may be due to the arboreal lifestyle of the macaw and its neophobic character that do not allow it to easily contact objects. Following the same method and using more individuals, further comparative studies should be conducted in order to test these hypotheses. Both species were able to solve complex manipulation tasks.
• [hal-01478434] Variation in Reproductive Success Across Captive Populations: Methodological Differences, Potential Biases and Opportunities

  28 février 2017

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• [hal-00087299] Estimating the complexity of bird song by using capture-recapture approaches from community ecology

  21 juillet 2006

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• [hal-04498355] Social patterning of childhood overweight in the French national ELFE cohort

  11 mars 2024

  Abstract An inverse social gradient in early childhood overweight has been consistently described in high-income countries; however, less is known about the role of migration status. We studied the social patterning of overweight in preschool children according to the mother’s socio-economic and migration background. For 9250 children of the French ELFE birth cohort with body mass index collected at age 3.5 years, we used nested logistic regression to investigate the association of overweight status in children with maternal educational level, occupation, household income and migration status. Overall, 8.3% (95%CI [7.7–9.0]) of children were classified as overweight. The odds of overweight was increased for children from immigrant mothers (OR 2.22 [95% CI 1.75–2.78]) and descendants of immigrant mothers (OR 1.35 [1.04–2.78]) versus non-immigrant mothers. The highest odds of overweight was also observed in children whose mothers had low education, were unemployed or students, or were from households in the lowest income quintile. Our findings confirm that socio-economic disadvantage and migration status are risk factors for childhood overweight. However, the social patterning of overweight did not apply uniformly to all variables. These new and comprehensive insights should inform future public health interventions aimed at tackling social inequalities in childhood overweight.
• [hal-05335666] First 1000 Days Strategies to Prevent Childhood Obesity: A Narrative Review and Recommendations From the EndObesity Consortium

  28 octobre 2025

  Childhood obesity remains a major global public health challenge, leading to significant short‐ and long‐term adverse health outcomes and imposing substantial societal costs. Recognising the critical importance of early intervention, the Horizon2020 EU‐funded JPI Consortium EndObesity has prioritised the first 1000 days of life, from preconception to 2 years of age, as a key window for obesity prevention strategies. This narrative review synthesises findings from the EndObesity Consortium, summarising evidence from large multi‐cohort studies on the influence of family‐based health behaviours in the first 1000 days on offspring obesity risk, the potential of childhood obesity prediction models in the first 1000 days, and strategies to enhance prenatal and postnatal interventions to prevent childhood obesity development. Finally, we present recommendations for research, practice, and policy to address the complex, multifaceted challenges of childhood obesity prevention in the first 1000 days.
• [hal-05240651] Association Between Parental Social Position and Childhood Overweight: Mediation by Lifestyle and BMI Patterns During Pregnancy

  4 septembre 2025

  In high-income countries, children born to parents with low socio-economic position (SEP) or with non-Western ethnicity are disproportionally affected by obesity as early as preschool age. We assessed how much of these associations were mediated by parental lifestyle and BMI patterns during pregnancy. We characterised 5-6 years old children with or without overweight from the French Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) (n = 8584) and the Dutch Generation R birth cohorts (n = 6511). We used counterfactual mediation analyses to assess the potential mediating effect of previously identified lifestyle patterns: "high parental smoking, poor-quality maternal diet and sedentary behaviour" and "high parental body mass index and low gestational weight gain". Both patterns jointly mediated 62.8% of the association between parents' education level and childhood overweight in ELFE and 23.2% in Generation R. In Generation R, they jointly mediated 8.9% of the association between parents' geographic origin and childhood overweight. In ELFE, parents with non-Western backgrounds were less likely to follow the first pattern, resulting in a negative indirect effect. Parental lifestyle and BMI patterns during pregnancy seem key contributors to the early development of socio-economic inequalities in childhood overweight, while other yet unidentified factors may contribute to inequalities related to geographic origin. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
• [hal-04774595] Behavioural measures of child's eating temperament and their link with BMI

  8 novembre 2024

  <div><p>Rothbart's model of temperament, defined as individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation, has a strong heuristic value with applications in a wide variety of children's outcomes. Our objective was to test Rothbart's model applied to children's food behaviours and BMI outcome through behavioural measures. Our hypotheses, according to Rothbart's model, were as follows: (i) self-regulation in eating modulates appetite reactivity; (ii) appetite reactivity increases the risk of excess BMI, whereas selfregulation in eating limits this risk. One hundred and four children aged between 7 and 12 years completed four behavioural tasks to assess scores for two components of appetite reactivity (i.e. appetite arousal and appetite persistence) and two components of self-regulation in eating (i.e. self-regulation in eating without hunger and self-regulation in eating speed). Their heights and weights were measured in order to calculate their BMI-for-age. T-tests and regression analysis were used to verify our hypotheses. None of the scores of self-regulation in eating was directly associated with BMI but we observed a significant impact of self-regulation in eating without hunger on appetite arousal (p-value ¼ 0.04), together with a modest but significant association between appetite persistence and BMI (pvalue ¼ 0.02). We can thus conclude that our behavioural measures could be used for the determination of the child's eating temperament. Further studies are needed to investigate how to use these measures to improve the treatment of overweight in children.</p></div>
• [hal-03677989] Development of body knowledge as measured by arm differentiation in infants: From global to local?

  25 mai 2022

  The ability to sense and use the body parts in an organized and differentiated manner is a precursor of body knowledge in infancy. To acquire this ability, the infant's brain might explore the perceptual consequences of its bodily actions. Undifferentiated body movements would gradually be replaced by more precise actions. Only a very few studies have tested this ‘global-to-local’ hypothesis, and none of them have so far been replicated. In this study, we assessed arm differentiation in 4-, 6-, and 8-month-old infants using a new contingency detection task in which infants have to detect a contingency between one of their arms’ activity and an audiovisual stimulus on a screen. We found that 4- to 8-month-old infants seem to be able to use their arms in a differentiated manner. However, surprisingly, we were not able to show a developmental trend in arm differentiation between 4 and 8 months of age.
• [hal-03130944] Sensorimotor Contingencies as a Key Drive of Development: From Babies to Robots

  4 février 2021

  Much current work in robotics focuses on the development of robots capable of autonomous unsupervised learning. An essential prerequisite for such learning to be possible is that the agent should be sensitive to the link between its actions and the consequences of its actions, called sensorimotor contingencies. This sensitivity, and more particularly its role as a key drive of development, has been widely studied by developmental psychologists. However, the results of these studies may not necessarily be accessible or intelligible to roboticians. In this paper, we review the main experimental data demonstrating the role of sensitivity to sensorimotor contingencies in infants’ acquisition of four fundamental motor and cognitive abilities: body knowledge, memory, generalization, and goal-directedness. We relate this data from developmental psychology to work in robotics, highlighting the links between these two domains of research. In the last part of the article we present a blueprint architecture demonstrating how exploitation of sensitivity to sensorimotor contingencies, combined with the notion of “goal,” allows an agent to develop new sensorimotor skills. This architecture can be used to guide the design of specific computational models, and also to possibly envisage new empirical experiments.
• [hal-03115760] Detection of sensorimotor contingencies in infants before the age of 1 year: A comprehensive review.

  19 janvier 2021

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• [hal-04389963] Can Infants Generalize Tool Use From Spoon to Rake at 18 Months?

  12 janvier 2024

  Infants start to use a spoon for self-feeding at the end of the first year of life, but usually do not use unfamiliar tools to solve problems before the age of 2 years. We investigated to what extent 18-month-old infants who are familiar with using a spoon for self-feeding are able to generalize this tool-use ability to retrieve a distant object. We tested 46 infants with different retrieval tasks, varying the tool (rake or spoon) and the target (toy or food). The tasks were presented in a priori descending order of difficulty: rake–toy condition, then either spoon–toy or rake–food, and finally spoon–food. Then, the same conditions were presented in reverse order to assess the transfer abilities from the easiest condition to the most difficult retrieval task. Spontaneously, 18-month-old infants performed the retrieval tasks better with the familiar tool, the easiest task being when the spoon was associated with food. Moreover, the transfer results show that being able to use a familiar tool in an unusual context seems necessary and sufficient for subsequent transfer to an unfamiliar tool in the unusual context, and that early and repetitive training of self-feeding with a spoon plays a positive role in later tool use.
• [hal-04767165] Is That You I Hear? Speaker Familiarity Modulates Neural Signatures of Lexical-semantic Activation in 18-month-old Infants

  5 novembre 2024

  Abstract Developmental language studies have shown that lexical-semantic organization develops between 18 and 24 months of age in monolingual infants. In the present study, we aimed to examine whether voice familiarity facilitates lexical-semantic activation in the infant brain. We recorded the brain activity of 18-month-old, French-learning infants using EEG while they listened to taxonomically related and unrelated spoken word pairs by one voice with which they were familiarized with before the experiment, and one voice with which they were not familiarized. The ERPs were measured in response to related and unrelated target words. Our results showed an N400 effect (greater amplitudes for unrelated as opposed to related target words) over the left hemisphere, only for the familiar voice, suggesting that the voice familiarity facilitated lexical-semantic activation. For unfamiliar voices, we observed an earlier congruence effect (greater amplitudes for related than for unrelated target words). This suggests that although 18-month-olds process lexical-semantic information from unfamiliar speakers, their neural signatures of lexical-semantic processing are less mature. Our results show that even in the absence of personal relation with a speaker, familiarity with a voice augments infant lexical-semantic processing. This supports the idea that extralinguistic information plays a role in infant lexical-semantic activation.
• [halshs-05603536] Emotions and Bonds Within Canine Teams Working in the French Army

  27 avril 2026

  The human-dog relationships within the teams working in olfactory search within the French Armed Forces have not been investigated through an exploratory and qualitative approach. In order to expand knowledge on this professional and relational modality, semi-structured interviews were conducted with dog handlers from the French Army (n=16) performing explosive device detection and search and neutralization of individuals. Among the themes and sub-themes identified during thematic analysis, the relationships and interactions between humans and dogs emerge from canine individualities, emotions, and interpersonal bonds. The results suggest that the relationships woven between humans and dogs conducting olfactory searches in the French Army are multifaceted. The human-dog relationship in canine military teams is based on multiple characteristics such as bonds, emotions, affection, trust, communication, care, mutual support, technical learning, cooperation, interdependence, and instrumental factors. This study highlights the importance of valuing moments of closeness between the handler and the dog, outside of training and operational contexts. Furthermore, the opportunity to enhance the emotional skills of handlers is of interest in helping some to regulate their emotions, so as not to disrupt or even to assist their dog.
• [hal-04353159] Human perception of cats' communicative cues: human-cat communication goes multimodal

  19 décembre 2023

  As a central key to apprehend the human-cat relationship, the question of how humans decode the behaviours expressed by their feline companions has drawn scientists’ attention in the past decades. To this point, previous studies have not investigated humans’ understanding of cats’ communicative cues in a multimodal perspective. While communication generally implies multiple channels, the influence of signal modality as relates to human-cat communication, is still poorly understood. Therefore, the primary aim of the present study was to investigate whether people can identify cats’ communicative information using unimodal (visual or vocal) and bimodal (visual and vocal) signals. Participants (n=630) were recruited via online advertisement on social media. Each participant viewed 24 carefully operationalised video clips of cats in different emotional/behavioural conditions. Four categories were included: contentment, discontentment, solicitation (food or attention) and predatory behaviour. Clips were presented as vocal only, visual only, or bimodal (visual and vocal cues). Video clips showing a bimodal expression were identified with the highest score (91,8% of correct ratings) compared with the visual only (87,3%) and the vocal only (72,2%). All modalities considered, contentment returned the highest identification score (90,1% correct), followed by solicitation (87,2%), then predatory behaviour (86,3%). Discontentment was the most difficult behaviour to be correctly identified (71,6%). Finally, for all behavioural categories and modalities, professionals working with animals returned a higher score than lay people (86.2% vs 82.9%). Taken together, our data underline the influence of the signal modality on interspecific communication between cats and humans. Information emitted by cats as a bimodal signal (visual and vocal) is better understood by humans than visual signals. The most difficult to decipher for humans are vocal signals emitted alone. A better understanding of humans’ abilities to understand their feline counterparts, could potentially help pet owners, and animal care practitioners to optimise cat care and welfare.
• [hal-04233451] Limb Preference in Animals: New Insights into the Evolution of Manual Laterality in Hominids

  28 mai 2024

  Until the 1990s, the notion of brain lateralization—the division of labor between the two hemispheres—and its more visible behavioral manifestation, handedness, remained fiercely defined as a human specific trait. Since then, many studies have evidenced lateralized functions in a wide range of species, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In this review, we highlight the great contribution of comparative research to the understanding of human handedness’ evolutionary and developmental pathways, by distinguishing animal forelimb asymmetries for functionally different actions—i.e., potentially depending on different hemispheric specializations. Firstly, lateralization for the manipulation of inanimate objects has been associated with genetic and ontogenetic factors, with specific brain regions’ activity, and with morphological limb specializations. These could have emerged under selective pressures notably related to the animal locomotion and social styles. Secondly, lateralization for actions directed to living targets (to self or conspecifics) seems to be in relationship with the brain lateralization for emotion processing. Thirdly, findings on primates’ hand preferences for communicative gestures accounts for a link between gestural laterality and a left-hemispheric specialization for intentional communication and language. Throughout this review, we highlight the value of functional neuroimaging and developmental approaches to shed light on the mechanisms underlying human handedness.
• [hal-01699823] Pet-directed speech draws adult dogs’ attention more efficiently than Adult-directed speech

  2 février 2018

  Humans speak to dogs using a special speech register called Pet-Directed Speech (PDS) which is very similar to Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) used by parents when talking to young infants. These two type of speech share prosodic features that are distinct from the typical Adult-Directed Speech (ADS): a high pitched voice and an increased pitch variation. So far, only one study has investigated the effect of PDS on dogs' attention. We video recorded 44 adult pet dogs and 19 puppies when listening to the same phrase enounced either in ADS or in PDS or in IDS. The phrases were previously recorded and were broadcasted via a loudspeaker placed in front of the dog. The total gaze duration of the dogs toward the loudspeaker, was used as a proxy of attention. Results show that adult dogs are significantly more attentive to PDS than to ADS and that their attention significantly increases along with the rise of the fundamental frequency of human' speech. It is likely that the exaggerated prosody of PDS is used by owners as an ostensive cue for dogs that facilitates the effectiveness of their communication, and should represent an evolutionarily determined adaptation that benefits the regulation and maintenance of their relationships. Humans speak to dogs using a special speech register called pet-directed speech (PDS) 1–4 , which is very similar to infant-directed speech (IDS) used by parents when talking to young infants. These two types of speech share prosodic and syntactic features that are distinct from the typical adult-directed speech (ADS): a high pitched voice, an increased pitch variation, short utterances, a reduced syntactic and semantic complexity, and word repetitions 1–5. PDS and IDS are also commonly described as 'happy voices' , in comparison to ADS presenting a relatively inhibited emotional content 6. Both speeches have been shown to vary according to the interaction context 7–9 , for instance PDS' prosodic features are enhanced in a positive reunion situation 9. Several studies suggest that IDS is used by humans in order to modulate infants' attention and state of arousal and to communicate their positive affect and intentions in a non-verbal way 10–14. IDS may also facilitate the emergence of language in infants by emphasizing the linguistic structure 15, 16 , for instance by using hyperaticulation of vowels 2, 3, 17 , or words repetition 18. Authors highlighted these functions in studying babies' preference for IDS toward ADS 19, 20 : infants have a longer fixation on, or turn more often the head toward visual targets that produced IDS 19. Infants also better remember and look longer at adults who have addressed them with IDS 20 , and this preference is present when IDS is produced by the infants' own mother as well as by an unfamiliar mother 12, 20. In addition, the exaggerated acoustic features of IDS elicit increased neural activity in infants, related to atten-tional processing 21. Infants also present increased social and affective responsiveness while listening to IDS compared to ADS 19. PDS and IDS may be similar because both infants and dogs are non-verbal listeners and because the affective bond between owners and dogs mirrors the human parents-infant bond. Indeed, both owners and dogs experience an important secretion of oxytocin after a brief period of cuddling 22 and a study highlighted common brain activation when mothers viewed images of both their child and dog 23. In the context of human-dog communication, there is evidence that dogs present an increased neuronal activity in the auditory cortex when listening to vocalizations with positive emotional valence compared to negative or neutral emotional valence 24. Moreover, after a greeting involving eye contact and a high pitched voice, dogs are more likely to follow the humans gaze, similarly to young children do 25, 26. Similarly, dogs are more motivated to answer a command to find hidden food in high-pitched informative than in low-pitched imperative trials 27 , suggesting that they are sensitive to the nonverbal quality of human vocal signals.
• [hal-03861918] How’s my kitty? Acoustic parameters of cat-directed speech in human-cat interactions

  20 novembre 2022

  In Western cultures, humans tend to use a specific kind of speech when talking to their pets, characterised, from an acoustical point of view, by elevated pitch and greater pitch modulation. Pet-directed speech (PDS), which has been mainly studied in dogs, shares some acoustic features with infant-directed speech (IDS), used when talking to young children. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that adult humans also modify characteristics of their voice when talking to a cat. We compared acoustic parameters of speech directed to cats (CDS) and speech directed to adult humans (ADS). In a first experiment, we compared ADS and CDS utterances of male and female participants, addressing cats through video recordings, under controlled laboratory conditions. Both men and women used a higher pitch (mean fundamental frequency, or mean F0) in CDS vs. ADS. The second experiment was conducted under conditions allowing direct cat-human interactions, in a cohort of women. Once again, mean F0 was significantly higher in CDS vs. ADS. Overall, these data confirm our hypothesis that humans change the way they speak when addressing a cat, mainly by increasing the pitch of their voice. Further research is needed to fully investigate specificities of this speech.
• [hal-04700317] Cognitive performance of grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) during a discrimination learning task: Effect of the emotional valence of stimuli

  17 septembre 2024

  Emotions are omnipresent in many animals' lives. It is a complex concept that encompasses physiological, subjective, behavioural and cognitive aspects. While the complex relationship between emotion and cognition has been well studied in humans and in some nonhuman primates, it remains rather unexplored for other nonhuman primate species, such as lemurs. In our study, we evaluated the performance of N = 48 grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) in a discrimination learning task using visual emotional stimuli. We tested whether the type of visual stimulus (positive, negative or neutral) influenced the cognitive performance of mouse lemurs. Individuals had to learn to discriminate between two platforms according to the associated visual stimuli and to jump to the target platform (leading to a reward). Our main finding was that emotional stimuli, whether positive or negative in valence, impaired cognitive performance when used as a target.<p>Specifically, the lowest success rate occurred when the target was associated with the emotional stimuli, and the highest success rate occurred when it was associated with neutral stimuli. Our results show a similar pattern to that found in other primate species and support the adaptive role of emotion. Our results also support that individual differences could be a factor impacting the relation between emotion and cognition. This study is the first to explore how emotions interfere with the cognitive abilities of a lemur species and highlights the importance of acknowledging emotion in mouse lemurs as well as studying the emotion-cognition interaction in a wider range of primate species.</p>
• [hal-01478437] Effect of Interaction Type on the Characteristics of Pet-Directed Speech in Female Dog Owners

  28 février 2017

  Recent studies focusing on the interspecific communicative interactions between humans and dogs show that owners use a special speech register when addressing their dog. This register, called pet-directed speech (PDS), has prosodic and syntactic features similar to that of infant-directed speech (IDS). While IDS prosody is known to vary according to the context of the communication with babies, we still know little about the way owners adjust acoustic and verbal PDS features according to the type of interaction with their dog. The aim of the study was therefore to explore whether the characteristics of women's speech depend on the nature of interaction with their dog. We recorded 34 adult women interacting with their dog in four conditions: before a brief separation, after reuniting, during play and while giving commands. Our results show that before separation women used a low pitch, few modulations, high intensity variations and very few affective sentences. In contrast, the reunion interactions were characterized by a very high pitch, few imperatives and a high frequency of affectionate nicknames. During play, women used mainly questions and attention-getting devices. Finally when commanding, women mainly used imperatives as well as attention-getting devices. Thus, like mothers using IDS, female owners adapt the verbal as well as the non-verbal characteristics of their PDS to the nature of the interaction with their dog, suggesting that the intended function of these vocal utterances remains to provide dogs with information about their intentions and emotions.
• [hal-05483423] Advancing Biobehavioral Research: An Overview and Update from the University of São Paulo Twin Panel

  29 janvier 2026

  Abstract The Painel USP de Gêmeos (University of São Paulo Twin Panel) is, based at the Instituto de Psicologia da Universidade de São Paulo. It was formally established in 2017 to advance research on fundamental psychological processes through twin study designs. Our relatively new registry comprises a volunteer sample of 8839 twin individuals, 70% of whom live in Brazil’s Southeast, the region with the highest twinning birth rate (10.64‰) of the country, within a national population of 213 million. Our collaborative research group has expanded to include partners from psychology, dentistry, and medicine at USP, as well as other Brazilian institutions, such as the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Universidade Federal da Bahia, and Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. We are advancing biobehavioral research in Brazil through innovative methodologies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and international partnerships. All twin participants contribute to multiple studies associated with four datasets employing the same hierarchical identification system for participants and families: the Biorepository, the Physiological and Physical Repository, the Behavioral Repository, and Fonoteca Cesar Ades (FOCA). Future directions include expanding our twin registry across the five regions of Brazil, our research partnerships, promoting genetic literacy, and fostering public engagement.
• [hal-05568101] Development of Dating Motivations During High School: Contributions of Romantic Experiences

  26 mars 2026

  Objective - Adolescent dating motivations are often considered a key issue in understanding dating and sexual behaviors. Despite their initial identification, the development of these motivations and their correlates remains understudied. The present study aimed to investigate the development of dating motivations over a 3-year period using a longitudinal design, and to explore the moderating roles of romantic experiences and current dating status. Method - French late adolescents (N = 493; 61% girls) completed a questionnaire six times over 3 years. Rooted in self-determination theory, the questionnaire assessed their amotivation for dating, intrinsic motivation (intimacy and companionship), identified regulation (pleasure and dating timetable), and external motivation (peer pressure), as well as their romantic experiences and current dating status. Results - As expected, growth models revealed an increase in identified regulation and intrinsic motivation, and a decrease in amotivation, and external motivation between the beginning and end of high school. Gender differences emerged in the developmental trajectories of these motivations: girls showed a more rapid decline in amotivation and a steeper increase in identified regulation than boys. Furthermore, the gender gap in intrinsic motivation increased across the six waves. Conclusions - Overall, the findings support the view that adolescents progressively shift toward more self-determined motivations with age-a process that appears to occur earlier in girls than in boys. Romantic experiences and current dating status hindered the decrease in amotivation and made only a small contribution to the development of other forms of regulation. Practical implications of the development of dating motivation and gender differences are discussed.
• [halshs-00193345] A naturalistic study of early lexical development: General processes and inter-individual variations in French children

  3 décembre 2007

  This study investigated early lexical development in French by analysing changes and variability in lexical production and composition of children’s spontaneous speech samples from three age groups: 1;8, 2;6 and 3;3 years (20 children in each). Analyses of general developmental changes showed that lexical productivity increased strongly between 1;8 and 2;6 and between 2;6 and 3;3. Changes in lexical composition mostly occurred between 1;8 and 2;6, indicating that the most important reorganizations are achieved by 2;6. The main changes observed (decreases in proportions of nouns and paralexical classes, and increases in proportions of predicate and grammatical classes) fit overall the developmental trajectories found for other languages, such as English and Italian. Two controversial issues were particularly examined and discussed with regard to cognitive, language-specific and methodological factors: noun-verb asynchrony and grammatical word explosion. Quantitative individual differences in lexical composition were greater at 1;8 than at 2;6 and 3;3, supporting the hypothesis that stylistic variation decreases in the course of the third year. Children’s lexical profiles were strikingly diversified at 1;8, whereas they appeared as variants of a same ‘grammatical profile’ at 2;6 and 3;3. We propose that the decline of stylistic variations reflects the impact of developmental constraints, such as the necessity for children to produce function words, which suggests that variations found in the youngest children are not determinant factors for subsequent lexical development.
• [hal-02949928] Le DLPF : un nouvel outil pour l'évaluation du développement du langage de production en français

  26 septembre 2020

  Nous présentons ici un instrument, dénommé DLPF, qui est destiné à permettre une évaluation du développement du langage de production chez les enfants français entre le début de la deuxième année et la fin de la quatrième année. C’est un instrument d’évaluation indirecte – il s’agit d’un questionnaire à faire remplir par les parents – que nous avons souhaité rendre le plus complet possible, couvrant les principales acquisitions dans les trois dimensions lexicale, grammaticale et pragmatique. Des extraits des annexes complètent la présentation. La version complète de ces annexes est disponible directement auprès des auteurs.
• [hal-04133300] Young children’s difficulties in switching from rhythm production to temporal interval production (>1 s)

  19 juin 2023

  This study examined the young children's abilities to switch from rhythm production, with short inter-tap intervals (ITIs), to temporal interval production, with long ITI (>1 s), in a sensorimotor synchronization task. Children aged 3-and 5-year-olds were given six sessions of synchronization. In a control group, they had to synchronize their ITI to an inter-stimulus interval (ISI) of 4 s. In the experimental group, they must progressively increase their ITI for one session to the next (from 0.4 to 4.0-s ISI). Our results showed that the 5-yearolds produced longer ITI that the 3-year-olds in synchronization. However, the value of ITI in the 5-year-olds never exceeded 1.5 s, with more variable ITI in the control than in the experimental group. In addition, at 5 years, boys had more difficulties than girls in changing their tapping rhythm. These results suggest a temporal window in sensorimotor synchronization, beyond which the rhythm is lost and the synchronization becomes difficult.
• [hal-04687928] Young children's difficulties in switching from rhythm production to temporal interval production (>1 s)

  4 septembre 2024

  In order to efficiently perform audio-motor coordination children must process event duration. It has recently been shown that duration processing in adults involves two distinct, or at least hierarchically interrelated, processes. The processing of durations ranging from a hundred milliseconds to around one second is well accounted for by the Scalar Timing Theory. For duration above one second, temporal processing in adults appears to be task-dependent. Performances in the range of a hundred millisecond durations are usually studied with auditory tempo tasks. In this study, we examine timing performance in children for a large range of durations, from 400 ms to 4 seconds, using the same experimental design. The procedure consists in a motor synchronization task. Overall, our results show that 5 year olds perform better than 3 year olds. However, durations greater than, 1500 ms are difficult to process, leading to increasing variability in produced intervals. Moreover, only a few children are able to produce very long duration intervals. The main finding of this study confirms the existence of a break in the region of 1500 ms when a repeated synchronization task is tested. Consistently with the adult literature, this finding suggests the existence of two duration-dependent timing processes when children have to coordinate their motor behavior to external events
• [hal-04672457] Human-dog trust and cohesion within French military canine teams

  19 août 2024

  Studies on the relationships and interactions within human-dog teams in the French Army are scarce. In order to better understand this subject, a qualitative exploratory study was undertaken by conducting semi-structured interviews with dog handlers (n = 16). The interviewees work in the French Army. They are specialized in the detection and neutralization of individuals or explosives. Thematic analysis identified different themes: trust within the team, doubts, interspecific cohesion, and care provided to the dogs. The results highlight the importance of trust within the canine team. It is conceived as a dynamic, constructed process, based on experience, and involving both members of the team. It emerges that trust arises from individual, relational, technical, and experiential factors: the bonds formed, knowledge of one’s dog, difficulties related to technical aspects, the reliability of the dog following training, and mission successes. Kindness, support, and mutual protection are also important criteria. A form of interspecific cohesion is envisaged by experienced handlers when affection, knowledge, reliability, mutual assistance, and support are present.
• [hal-05528306] A day in the life of an aged cat – Environment of old domestic cats and welfare implications

  29 avril 2026

  [...]
• [hal-05528295] Perception and use of cannabidiol (CBD) by French pet owners

  29 avril 2026

  This study explored pet owners’ perceptions and use of cannabidiol (CBD) for dogs and cats in France, examining factors associated with CBD use and attitudes toward the product. A total of 2050 pet owners completed an online survey including demographic characteristics, pet health, knowledge, and attitudes toward CBD. Findings revealed that CBD use was not widespread but remained notable, with 29 % of dog owners and 13 % of cat owners reporting administration, rates lower than those reported in countries such as the United States, Canada, or Slovenia. Use was more prevalent among younger owners and those with prior personal experience of CBD or other alternative treatments. No significant difference was observed between urban and rural residents, likely due to widespread internet access facilitating information and online purchases. A higher proportion of dogs than cats received CBD, possibly due to the greater difficulty of administering oral substances to cats. Despite its relatively limited use, owners generally held positive views of CBD’s safety and benefits. Longer durations of CBD administration were linked to higher satisfaction levels. Importantly, discussions with veterinarians were significantly associated with CBD use, and veterinary recommendation was reported as a strong motivator for purchase decisions. Behavioral issues and pain were the main reasons for CBD use across species. Limitations include potential selection bias, a strong sex imbalance that limits representativeness for male owners, and reliance on self-reported data without clinical confirmation. These findings underline the need for clearer regulations, enhanced veterinary education, and clinical trials to provide evidence-based guidance on CBD use in veterinary medicine.
• [hal-05528308] Comparison of the frailty phenotype and frailty index for identifying vulnerable companion dogs

  29 avril 2026

  [...]
• [halshs-05603528] “A Dog Handler Is not a Specialized VAB Mechanic!” To Be a Human–Dog Team Conducting Olfactory Search in the French Military

  27 avril 2026

  This study aims to investigate the relationships and interactions within French military human–canine teams conducting olfactory searches. A thematic content analysis has been carried out based on 16 interviews with handlers from the French Army. Three themes are presented, focusing on 1) canine handler, a distinct specialty; 2) missions, as the real-world for the military canine team; 3) training dogs. The relationships and interactions between humans and dogs within canine teams are partly shaped by the context of the missions, by the military institution, as well as by the particularities of dyad members. Degraded environments, risks, and death are essential determinants in the preparation and implementation of canine teams, as well as in the relationships established within the partnership.
• [hal-05363846] Individual benefits of nestling begging: experimental evidence for an immediate effect, but no evidence for a delayed effect

  14 novembre 2025

  The evolutionary stability of honest signalling by offspring is thought to require that begging displays be costly, so the costs and benefits of begging—and whether they are experienced individually or by the whole brood—are crucial to understanding the evolution of begging behaviour. Begging is known to have immediate individual benefits (parents distribute more food to intensely begging individuals) and delayed brood benefits (parents increase provisioning rate to the brood), but the possibility of delayed individual benefits (previous begging affects the current distribution of food) has rarely, if ever, been researched. We did this using playback of great tit Parus major chick begging and a control sound from either side of the nest. Male parents fed chicks close to the speaker more when great tit chick begging, but not other stimuli, was played back. In contrast, there was no effect of playback at the previous visit on the chicks that male parents fed. We have thus demonstrated an immediate individual benefit to begging, but found no evidence of a delayed individual benefit in this species.
• [hal-05363829] Lifetime evolution of vocal repertoires in a songbird, the black redstart: a longitudinal field approach

  13 novembre 2025

  Oscine songbirds learn to sing mainly by imitating conspecific adults. Song learning programs are diverse, ranging from species that can only learn during the first months of life to species that are able to learn new songs throughout their lives. There is a paucity of longitudinal studies in the field on this matter. We investigated the changes of male strophe repertoires and strophe sharing over the lifetime, in a migratory population of a territorial songbird, the black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros, by recording colour-ringed individuals during eight consecutive breeding seasons (2015–2022). We previously described the existence of microdialects between the different territorial male clusters (2–8 individuals breed in scattered patches of buildings). Three sets of time points were used to establish the time frame and to identify the types of changes males used to modify their repertoires. Males were recorded at their arrival from migration for their first breeding season (N = 52). We also followed 40 individuals during extended periods, most often covering their whole life: 25 were recorded on multiple occasions during their first breeding season and 24 were recorded during at least two breeding seasons. Most males kept their strophe repertoires stable throughout their lifetime (2–8 years). Those who shared only a few or no strophes with their neighbours when they first established their territories (14/40) changed their repertoires through: (1) addition of shared strophes, (2) selective attrition of unshared strophes and (3) gradual modification of syllables. All the repertoire changes resulted in an increase in song sharing with neighbours. Thus, black redstarts adapt their songs to their social environment mostly during the first breeding season but also throughout their lifetime. Our results support a continuum view of song plasticity and emphasize the necessity of long-term studies in order to understand the variability of song-learning processes.
• [hal-05249036] Evaluation of the Factorial Structures of the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) in France

  1 octobre 2025

  This study aimed to evaluate the factorial structure of the French version of the C-BARQ by analyzing the behaviour of 246 dogs, based on responses from 248 participants, in order to confirm its potential applicability in France. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) identified 13 primary factors comprising 63 items, explaining 54.1 % of the total variance and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed a good fit with the original US model. The French version of the C-BARQ mirrors the core structure of other validated versions, confirming its cross-cultural robustness, while also highlighting certain specificities. The emergence of the combined factor "Stranger-directed aggression/fear" suggests that non-expert respondents may have difficulty distinguishing between these two dimensions. Two new factors—"Passerby-directed aggression " and "Compulsive-like behaviour"—emerged, likely reflecting the characteristics of the study sample and the inclusion of the full set of items. Other notable differences include the clustering of certain attachment-related items with those related to energy, forming a new factor labeled "Social excitability/energy," as well as the absence of the "Dog rivalry" factor due to insufficient responses. Overall, the results indicate that the French version of the C-BARQ is a valid tool for assessing canine behaviour. However, cultural, contextual, and demographic differences should be considered when interpreting the findings. This study paves the way for future research on the factors influencing perceptions of canine behaviour and on the adaptation of psychometric instruments across cultural contexts.
• [hal-05288877] Two Emotional Roots of Youths’ Earth-Friendly Career Aspirations: Eco-Anxiety and Empathy Toward Animals

  29 septembre 2025

  The present study examined the role of eco-emotions in youths’ career development. We hypothesized that eco-anxiety and empathy toward animals account for children’s and adolescents’ earth-friendly career aspirations (EFCAs). Relying on focus groups of third-to-ninth-grade French students, we used a thematic analysis to explore their view of careers that respect the earth. The main themes uncovered were used to construct a self-report EFCA scale. French third-to-ninth graders ( N = 587, 51% girls) from middle-to-high socio-economic levels participated in a survey assessing EFCA, eco-anxiety, and empathetic attitudes toward animals. The results showed that these two emotions made independent contributions to EFCAs. The EFCAs were lower in early adolescents than in children, and higher in girls than in boys. We propose that eco-emotions are adaptive and function as a “watchtower” by enhancing youths’ earth-friendly plans for their adult life. We discuss the relevance of taking EFCAs and eco-emotions into account in career counseling.
• [hal-05200672] Assessing flexibility in meaning and context in non‐human communication

  5 août 2025

  The concept of flexibility in communication is central to reconstructing the evolutionary history of language, and grappling with “contextual flexibility” in particular is pivotal to address implications for pragmatics‐first accounts of language evolution. Despite significant advances in the field, research is hindered by definitional inconsistencies and methodological gaps across modalities. We build on recent frameworks to propose further, detailed methods for studying contextual and functional variability, incorporating modality‐agnostic and standardised terminology to facilitate cross‐species comparisons. Our approach includes a detailed classification of communicative contexts and outcomes, offering practical methods to disentangle context from function and meaning. By integrating insights across behavioural ecology and comparative psychology, we aim to enhance the comparability of findings and provide a robust foundation for exploring the evolutionary trajectory of communicative flexibility and pragmatics.

ACTUALITES

2023/06/30 - Articles de Johana Ryšavá

• Infants can distinguish between sounds of different bird species, as discovered at the University of Nanterre
• Why should we fight for the education of our children?

2022/04/07 - Michel Kreutzer, sur France Culture (du 04/04/2022 au 07/04/2022 - disponible en podcast en intégralité dès le lundi après la diffusion du premier épisode), dans l'émission LSD -  Série documentaire "L'intelligence du vivant", de Franck Bessière, réalisée par Anne Fleury
1er épisode - "Définir le vivant" « Depuis pas mal d'années, on se rend compte que les êtres vivants, les organismes, notamment les vertébrés supérieurs, les oiseaux, les mammifères, recherchent également ce qui est source de plaisir. Un vivant, c'est donc aussi un être qui recherche des plaisirs et qui essaie d'éviter les déplaisirs. C'est une des raisons sans doute pour laquelle aujourd'hui, on donne tant d'importance à la souffrance animale et qu'on estime que l'on doit se donner des règles éthiques dans nos relations avec les animaux. »
2ème épisode - "L'humain un vivant d'exception"
3ème épisode - "Dans la tête des animaux" « Les émotions entrent pleinement dans les études éthologiques, qui ne se limitent donc plus seulement aux comportements. »
4ème épisode - "Le génie du vivant"

2022/03/30 - Michel Kreutzer, au Musée du Quai Branly - Université populaire 2021/2022, Thème 2 : Le corps - "L'"apprendre animal" : comment le savoir se transmet et s'apprend chez les animaux" 
2021/12/07 - Rana Esseily, Carla Aimé, Dalila Bovet et Maya Gratier, à la Philharmonie de Paris - Colloque "Pédagogie du chant choral" - "Résultats de l'étude scientifique -  impacts sur les capacités psychosociales, les apprentissages scolaires et le bien-être des enfants" (10h20)
https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr/activite/colloque/23002-pedagogie-du-chant-choral
2021/10/26 - Michel Kreutzer, sur France Inter, dans l’émission "Grand bien vous fasse" - "Autour des ‘Folies animales'"
2021/10/13 - Michel Kreutzer interviewé par Caroline Lachowski, sur RFI , dans l'émission "Autour de la question" - "La folie est-elle le propre de l’homme ?"
2021/10/11 - Rana Esseily sur France Culture, dans l'émission "La méthode scientifique" - "Rire : c’est du sérieux!"
2021/03/28 - Michel Kreutzer, interviewé par Octave Larmagnac-Matheron, dans Philosophie magazine - "Zoopsychiatrie : À la découverte des folies animales"
2021/03/25 - Michel Kreutzer, invité de l’association CVA (Connaissance et Vie d’Aujourd’hui) de Lille - Conférence "Éthologie : sommes-nous tous des bêtes ?"


ARCHIVES TELE / RADIO
2017/10/26 : France Infos junior - "Que se passe-t-il dans la tête des bébés ?"
2017/03/26 : France Inter - "Les Savanturiers" - en direct du salon du livre (à partir de 40 min 20) pour la promotion de La science à Contrepied paru aux éditions Belin.
2017/04/12 : France 3 - Le monde de Jamy : "Ces animaux si proches de nous"
2015/01/02 : France 5 - C dans l'air : "Mon chat est-il une personne ?"
2014/07/07 : France culture - Les matins d'été, 2ème partie : Les invités culture/Idées. "Malin comme un corbeau", avec deux éthologues Agatha Lievin-Bazin et Valérie Dufour (à partir de la 98ème minute).
2013/06 : NBC News - "Finches sing like birds and their dad taught them how"
2014/04 : France Culture - "L'intelligence du perroquet"
2013/10 : France Culture - Emission Continent Science : "L’homosexualité animale" (audio 54').
Cité des sciences et de l'industrie - Cycle de conférences Universciences "Corps et esprit : indissociables" : "Accéder à la vie subjective des animaux" - Michel Kreutzer.
2012/12 : The Telegraph "Parrot listens to Scissor Sisters' music".
2012/12 : France 5 - Emission "On n'est pas que des cobayes" : "Les éléphants ont-ils peur des souris".
2011/05 : France Inter - Emission "Vivre avec les bêtes", 29 mai :  http://www.franceinter.fr/em/vivre-avec-les-betes/105163 (05/2011)

ARCHIVES PRESSE ECRITE
2019/11/30 : The Economist - Male nightingales spend the winter practising.
2019/11/26 : New Scientist - Nightingales practise new songs in winter to impress mates in spring.
2017/03 :  Sciences Psy - Le tempo de notre quotidien - Et si nous prenions le temps ?, pp.30.
2014/12 : Santé magazine, n°469 sur l'empathie.
2014/09/03 : BMC - The unheard message of larksong.
2014/06 : JDD - L'intelligence des corbeaux
2013/11 : JDD - Comment les oiseaux apprennent-ils à chanter ?
2012/03&04 : Cerveau&Psycho - Le perroquet mentaliste.
2011 : Le Pigeon en Ville - La vie sociale du pigeon Bizet.
2011/12 : Le Républicain Lorrain - Les pigeons sont physionomistes.
2011/08 : Futura Sciences -  Les canaris font leur show... et s'adaptent à leur public !
2011/08 : Les Echos - Le perroquet, une langue et un cerveau.
2011/05 : BBC News - Parrots choose to work together.
2011/05 : Maxisciences - Intelligence du perroquet gris : collaboration et personnalité.
2011/05 : PhysOrg - Parrots display teamwork and decision-making skills.
2009/04 : Science Actualité, Universciences - Des piafs malins comme des singes.
2005/02 : BBC News - Sleep helps birds sing better.
A good night's sleep helps young birds master the art of singing, but only after a rather groggy start, Nature magazine has reported.
Savoirs Essonne - Masculin/féminin : le genre existe-t-il chez les animaux ?

Contribution de Laurent Nagle : "Les lions et les lionnes : des prédateurs aux moeurs parfois surprenantes" et  "L'antiquité gréco-romaine : un foyer d'anti-spécistes avant l'heure ?"
Le lion dans le pourtour méditerranéen sous la direction de Margaux Spruyt et Véronique Vassal - journées d'études du 11 & 12 mai 2023 à l'Institut Catholique de Paris. Editions du Cerf, janvier 2025