The Science of Women and Cats: The Bond Is Real
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The kittehs love us back! A new study demolishes the stereotype of cats as cold, aloof animals that want only food from their owners. The study also reinforces the idea that a special bond exists between females and felines.
In research to be published in the journal Behavioural Processes, scientists observed the interactions between 41 cats and their human families during lengthy four-part periods. Researchers noted all behaviors of both cats and humans, and also assessed their personalities as well as their influence over one another. (More on Time.com: Why You Shouldn't Snuggle with Your Pooch in Bed)
What they saw was not just cold, food-seeking behavior on the part of the kitties, but real attachment to their owners. The researchers observed a mutual social interaction in which both cats and humans signaled to each other when they wanted to pet or be petted.
Like our human friends, cats keep track. They were more likely to respond to owners' needs, if their owners had previously responded to theirs. Discovery News reports:
Cats also seem to remember kindness and return the favors later. If owners comply with their feline's wishes to interact, then the cat will often comply with the owner's wishes at other times. The cat may also "have an edge in this negotiation," since owners are usually already motivated to establish social contact.
While men certainly got along with their cats, researchers saw more interactions between women and their animals, finding that cats were more likely to approach women than men and to do things like jump on their laps to initiate contact. Study author Manuela Wedl of the University of Vienna told Discovery News that women's relationships with their cats were also "more intense." (More on Time.com: Pet Detective: A Dog that Sniffs Out Colon Cancer)
Watch these videos:mother talking to baby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TChnCMIH24&feature=related
female owner talking to cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN1_U9K9ZRI&feature=related
The article and videos are set in the normal lives and homes of regular people. The article explains the relationship between owners, typically females, and their feline companions and compares it to that of a mother and a preverbal infant. The first video displays an interaction between a mother and her hungry baby, and the second video displays an interaction between a female owner and her hungry cat. In both videos, one participant expresses a need for food, and the other participant questions it and talks about providing for its need. The voice quality (inotation and pitch) and the words chosen express a tight, loving bond between the participants, and the words used are similar in context. The tone in each woman's voice is exactly the same. Their voices are questioning, gentle, and caring. The baby and the cat are preforming essentially the same action, asking for food (milk) in a paralinguistic way, and in return are receiving "baby talk" and having their needs fulfilled. These two videos parallel each other and reinforce the article's findings. The women are using lexical variants by telling the baby and the cat that they'll get them a bottle or get them some milk. Do you feel that the baby and the cat both understand what the women are saying to them? Do you feel that the language use alone displays the same sort of bond between the mother and baby and the female owner and the feline? Do you feel it is beneficial for cats to speak to them as though they are humans?
The article and videos are set in the normal lives and homes of regular people. The article explains the relationship between owners, typically females, and their feline companions and compares it to that of a mother and a preverbal infant. The first video displays an interaction between a mother and her hungry baby, and the second video displays an interaction between a female owner and her hungry cat. In both videos, one participant expresses a need for food, and the other participant questions it and talks about providing for its need. The voice quality (inotation and pitch) and the words chosen express a tight, loving bond between the participants, and the words used are similar in context. The tone in each woman's voice is exactly the same. Their voices are questioning, gentle, and caring. The baby and the cat are preforming essentially the same action, asking for food (milk) in a paralinguistic way, and in return are receiving "baby talk" and having their needs fulfilled. These two videos parallel each other and reinforce the article's findings. The women are using lexical variants by telling the baby and the cat that they'll get them a bottle or get them some milk. Do you feel that the baby and the cat both understand what the women are saying to them? Do you feel that the language use alone displays the same sort of bond between the mother and baby and the female owner and the feline? Do you feel it is beneficial for cats to speak to them as though they are humans?
Interesting! At the relational level, the cat and the infant are communicating dependency, and the woman in both cases is using paralinguistic cues to signal intimacy and soothing. The lexical variants (actual words used) seem to be less important.
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This blog has informed me about the nonverbal relationships that female cats have towards their owners. This behavioral study proves that cats and infants have similar needs that must to be fulfilled by owners, but at the same time, are able to register these acts for future references. The owner being inferior to the female cat’s needs because of the cats’ ability to use kinesics to communicate her needs to her owner. It was interesting to see the tone and pitch was surprising to see that they were the same in context between the cat and the infant. I learned that in order to communicate effectively to infants as well as pets, paralinguistic styles are a key method to use to parallel and communicate to your loved ones.
ReplyDeleteBy: Tom Conway