Title

Responsiveness And Perceived Intelligence As Predictors Of Speech Addressed To Cats

Keywords

Anthropomorphism; Cats; Child-directed language; Companion animals; Human-animal interaction; Motherese

Abstract

Speech addressed to a cat was examined to test whether the use of child-directed language (CDL) with a companion animal is related to perceived intelligence of a listener and/or listener responsiveness. Fifty-one undergraduates briefly entertained a cat using a toy, and the vast majority of these participants spoke to the animal. The language used was similar to CDL, and two aspects of this language (number of questions and attribution of thoughts to the animal) were positively related to ratings of the animal's intelligence. The cat's responsiveness, as measured by time spent in proximity of the participant during the interaction, was not strongly correlated with measures of speech use. The results suggest that speech used with companion animals follows a model in which the human first perceives a social interaction, and therefore uses speech. This speech is then modified, based on the perceived comprehension of the listener, regardless of who this listener may be. © 2002 International Society for Anthrozoology.

Publication Date

1-1-2002

Publication Title

Anthrozoos

Volume

15

Issue

2

Number of Pages

166-177

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.2752/089279302786992667

Socpus ID

0036423590 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0036423590

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