Based on the results, it can be assumed that cats normally associate words with objects in their surroundings, and it does not have to be only names.
Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK
Cats recognize their own name, the names of others, and can associate words with pictures.
Cats can associate human words with pictures, according to a study by Japanese researchers. TASR reports on the basis of reports from the journal Scientific Reports and the Phys.org portal.
Previous research has shown that cats respond differently to their names than to other words spoken by humans. Other experiments have shown that they can associate photos of people they know with names.
Four scientists from Japan’s Azabu University studied 31 domestic cats (Felis catus) to see if they could associate pictures with spoken human words without reward. For this, they used a test using short animations originally developed to research word associations in children.
The researchers repeatedly played a nonsense word to the cats along with the animations on the display. Each cat was shown two different animations, each with a different word – the yellow sun was accompanied by the word “keraru”, the blue cloud was accompanied by “parumo”. The animations played over and over until the cats looked away.
The researchers then let the cats rest and later played the same animations again. Their reactions were recorded because this time the accompanying words were reversed – the yellow sun was accompanied by the word “parumo”, the blue cloud was accompanied by “keraru”.
The results of the observations showed that the cats watched the animation longer than the first time, some even had their pupils dilated. The prolongation of observation and the dilation of the pupils show that the cats were confused by the exchange of words and were trying to find out what happened by watching closely. This shows that when they first played the animation, they associated the image with the word being played, even if they were not rewarded for doing so.
Based on the results, it can be assumed that cats normally associate words with objects in their surroundings, the authors of the study add.
Source: vat.pravda.sk
