A study found that cats learn new words faster than human infants.
According to the British daily Telegraph on the 22nd, researchers at the private Azabu University in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, conducted an experiment on 30 cats and found that most of them took nine seconds to learn pictures and word pairs, faster than the average for human infants.
The researchers learned by showing a picture to a cat and repeatedly hearing a specific word at the same time, and gave the cat the wrong word again with the picture and looked at the response.
When I heard words that didn't fit the picture, I stared at the screen for an average of three times longer than before. The researchers claimed that it was evidence that the cats recognized that something was wrong.
The researchers said most cats responded after learning pictures and words for a total of 9 seconds four times, which is faster than the learning speed of human infants and toddlers. In the paper, they said, "In a study on human infants and toddlers, babies were exposed four times, at least 20 seconds, to learn picture and word pairs."
"Our study reveals that cats can make this association with less exposure (than babies). It is not clear why cats can associate (pictures and words) so quickly," he added.
Such experiments do not mean that cats are more cognitive than humans. However, simple words mean that cats can learn just like babies do, even if they don't go through separate training through daily life, researcher Takagi Saho, who led the study, explained.
Reporter Park Sun-young of Digital News Team
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