Because of the cat’s independent personality, experiments to prove its intelligence have not been as numerous as they have been to prove the intelligence of the dog. One of the earliest experiments was conducted by Edward Thorndike (1874 – 1949), a pioneer in the study of the mechanics of learning. In 1898, he placed some cats in boxes whose door could be opened by pulling a weight tied to it by a string. The string was connected to a lever inside the box. In order to open the door, the cats needed to press the lever. Once they had escaped, they were
given a reward. At first, the cats would fidget and then press the lever accidentally, but after doing it once, they then managed to do it faster and faster with every subsequent trial.
Thorndike measured how long it took them to open the door and get out. The fact that it took the cats less and less time to get out was evidence that learning was definitely taking place. It took them about 7 trials before trial and error became a deliberate movement. Such learning is said to be through operant conditioning: learning from the consequences of one’s behaviour. This led Thorndike to develop his “Law of effect” theory: behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behaviour followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped.
Although Thorndike accepted the fact that cats learnt through operant conditioning, he claimed that they did not learn through imitation or observation and were incapable of insight
(understanding a situation). Indeed, he had shown the cats how to operate the lever and also had had them observe other cats pressing the lever, all to no avail. Such claims were refuted by other scientists who explained Thorndike’s results by his choice of tasks, too restrictive for cats to show their mental ability. One of these was Leonard Hobhouse who carried out his own more complex experiments (object discrimination tasks) and demonstrated without the shadow of a doubt that cats could even generalize and extrapolate.
Quite a few other experiments proving intelligence in cats have been conducted since then. The fact that cats are intelligent and can learn is undeniable. Any cat owner will confirm it.
References:
Boakes, R. (1984), From Darwin to Behaviourism: Psychology and the Minds of animals
Bradshaw,J. (2013), Cat Sense
Hobhouse, L.T. (1915), Mind In Evolution
Thorndike, E. L. (1898), Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals
given a reward. At first, the cats would fidget and then press the lever accidentally, but after doing it once, they then managed to do it faster and faster with every subsequent trial.
Thorndike measured how long it took them to open the door and get out. The fact that it took the cats less and less time to get out was evidence that learning was definitely taking place. It took them about 7 trials before trial and error became a deliberate movement. Such learning is said to be through operant conditioning: learning from the consequences of one’s behaviour. This led Thorndike to develop his “Law of effect” theory: behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behaviour followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped.
Although Thorndike accepted the fact that cats learnt through operant conditioning, he claimed that they did not learn through imitation or observation and were incapable of insight
(understanding a situation). Indeed, he had shown the cats how to operate the lever and also had had them observe other cats pressing the lever, all to no avail. Such claims were refuted by other scientists who explained Thorndike’s results by his choice of tasks, too restrictive for cats to show their mental ability. One of these was Leonard Hobhouse who carried out his own more complex experiments (object discrimination tasks) and demonstrated without the shadow of a doubt that cats could even generalize and extrapolate.
Quite a few other experiments proving intelligence in cats have been conducted since then. The fact that cats are intelligent and can learn is undeniable. Any cat owner will confirm it.
References:
Boakes, R. (1984), From Darwin to Behaviourism: Psychology and the Minds of animals
Bradshaw,J. (2013), Cat Sense
Hobhouse, L.T. (1915), Mind In Evolution
Thorndike, E. L. (1898), Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals