Cats associate specific words with images. According to research by Japanese scientists, kittens learn the connections between sound and visual stimuli without special training with rewards. Interestingly, this process is similar to the way human infants learn new words.
Cat lovers may sometimes feel that their pets ignore their commands, but cats can respond to human language in many ways. Scientists have discovered that pets “know” their names and respond to them through specific movements of their heads and ears, and can also connect the names of human and feline family members with specific names. The journal “Scientific Reports” published an analysis of further “linguistic skills” of cats.
Words and pictures
Researchers from Japan's Azabu University conducted a study on a group of 31 adult domestic cats. The animals were subjected to a test designed to examine word learning processes in infants. It involved showing short films accompanied by made-up words. Each cat saw two animations – one said the word “keraru” and the other “parumo”. The videos were looped and played until the cats became bored and looked away.
After a short break, the animals were placed in front of the screen again, watching the same animations, but this time the spoken words were reversed. The researchers found that animals looked at the screen 33 percent longer when they heard a different word during the animation than during the original broadcast. According to the researchers, this signaled their surprise at the change.
“Some cats even stared at the screen with dilated pupils when words were exchanged,” said the study's lead author, Saho Takagi. – Their participation in the experiment was really cute.
They don't have to receive rewards
The results show that cats can associate words they often hear from humans with corresponding objects in their environment. In addition, they can learn these associations surprisingly quickly – the vast majority of animals learned each association after just two 9-second “lessons”.
Scientists paid attention to one more aspect. The cats learned the word associations without specific training or the promise of a reward for mastering the skill. In a similar way, without a defined system of punishments and rewards, infants learn new words.
– Cats pay attention to what we say in everyday life and try to understand us more than we think – added Takagi.
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