Scientists in Japan have found that house cats "mentally map" the location of their owners, even when they are out of sight.
'Newsweek' reports that researchers from the Department of Psychology at Kyoto University in Japan found that cats create mental representations linked to vocal signals.
The study, published in 'PLOS One,' was based on three experiments.
One of the experiments relied on vocal recordings of participating cats' owners.
With one speaker in the room and another outside the room, scientists were able to gauge the cats' responses to hearing their owners' voices.
According to 'Variety,' the felines were most surprised when the recording played from within the room. Scientists believe that this reaction was due to cats' ability to determine their owners' location and know that the audio cue was coming from the wrong place.
"Results showed that cats were surprised when their owner appeared to be 'teleported' to a new, unexpected location, but they did not react in the same way when tested with non-social stimuli." Study authors, Department of Psychology at Kyoto University, Japan, via 'Variety'.
"These results suggest that cats hold a mental representation of the unseen owner and map their owner's location
from the owner's voice, showing evidence of socio-spatial cognition." Study authors, Department of Psychology
at Kyoto University, Japan, via 'Variety'
'Newsweek' reports that researchers from the Department of Psychology at Kyoto University in Japan found that cats create mental representations linked to vocal signals.
The study, published in 'PLOS One,' was based on three experiments.
One of the experiments relied on vocal recordings of participating cats' owners.
With one speaker in the room and another outside the room, scientists were able to gauge the cats' responses to hearing their owners' voices.
According to 'Variety,' the felines were most surprised when the recording played from within the room. Scientists believe that this reaction was due to cats' ability to determine their owners' location and know that the audio cue was coming from the wrong place.
"Results showed that cats were surprised when their owner appeared to be 'teleported' to a new, unexpected location, but they did not react in the same way when tested with non-social stimuli." Study authors, Department of Psychology at Kyoto University, Japan, via 'Variety'.
"These results suggest that cats hold a mental representation of the unseen owner and map their owner's location
from the owner's voice, showing evidence of socio-spatial cognition." Study authors, Department of Psychology
at Kyoto University, Japan, via 'Variety'
Category
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Animals