Blinking together: the modulation of eye blinking in dog–human social contexts

Abstract

Abstract Eye blinking and its synchronization have been associated with shared attention, interpersonal connection and physiological rhythms in humans. However, their role in non-human species remains largely unexplored. In domestic dogs, eye blinking has been suggested to have a physiological function but also a social role in intra- and interspecific contexts. This study investigated whether domestic dogs’ eye blinking is modulated by the identity of the social human partner and the nature of the stimulus. Thirty-five dogs were exposed to videos of their owner and unfamiliar humans in two conditions: BLINK (blink every 3 s) and CONTROL (still-gaze). Results revealed that dogs exhibited significantly higher blink rates in the BLINK condition compared to the CONTROL, and towards owners than unfamiliar humans. Within the BLINK condition, dogs showed higher blink rates towards female owners than unfamiliar humans. However, no blink synchronization was found, as the proportion of dog blinks within 1.5 s following a human blink was not significant and showed no differences between owners and unfamiliar humans. These findings suggest that eye-blinking rates (BRs) can be modulated by the blinking behaviour and the social relevance of human partners, providing a basis for future research to clarify whether this modulation reflects attention, automatic mimicry or broader social processes.