I'm fascinated by the research coming out of Hungary about dogs and language. They convinced dogs to remain motionless in a MRI machine for eight minutes to scan their brains and discovered they DO know certain words and respond favorably to positive praise regardless of tone or emphasis. And how they convinced these dogs to remain motionless without treats or punishment was because the dogs wanted to do what the other dogs were doing, and yes, after the scan, they got treats. The dogs tolerated headphones and immobilization because they thought it was cool. And they proved they understood "good dog" no matter how it was articulated. Their brains were stimulated by praise.
Now that sounds like a fine description of how humans operate as well. Certainly it is how children learn. Positive reinforcement, as it is called. I'm seeing it whenever I visit my baby grandson. Encouragement makes the brain glow. We are programed to want to make others happy and do what others do. It is pretty basic. In the photo of the dogs on grouped around the MRI machine posed perfectly, their smiles shine with pride. Seeing it, I can't help but grin with joy.
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