Dataset Information

The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication.

ABSTRACT: Domestic animals are sensitive to human cues that facilitate inter-specific communication, including cues to emotional state. The eyes are important in signalling emotions, with the act of narrowing the eyes appearing to be associated with positive emotional communication in a range of species. This study examines the communicatory significance of a widely reported cat behaviour that involves eye narrowing, referred to as the slow blink sequence. Slow blink sequences typically involve a series of half-blinks followed by either a prolonged eye narrow or an eye closure. Our first experiment revealed that cat half-blinks and eye narrowing occurred more frequently in response to owners' slow blink stimuli towards their cats (compared to no owner-cat interaction). In a second experiment, this time where an experimenter provided the slow blink stimulus, cats had a higher propensity to approach the experimenter after a slow blink interaction than when they had adopted a neutral expression. Collectively, our results suggest that slow blink sequences may function as a form of positive emotional communication between cats and humans.

SUBMITTER: Humphrey T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7536207 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication.

Humphrey Tasmin T Proops Leanne L Forman Jemma J Spooner Rebecca R McComb Karen K

Scientific reports 20201005 1

Domestic animals are sensitive to human cues that facilitate inter-specific communication, including cues to emotional state. The eyes are important in signalling emotions, with the act of narrowing the eyes appearing to be associated with positive emotional communication in a range of species. This study examines the communicatory significance of a widely reported cat behaviour that involves eye narrowing, referred to as the slow blink sequence. Slow blink sequences typically involve a series o ...[more]

PMID: 33020542

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Project description:BackgroundWhat can theories regarding memory-related gaze preference contribute to the field of deception detection? While abundant research has examined the ability to detect concealed information through physiological responses, only recently has the scientific community started to explore how eye tracking can be utilized for that purpose. However, previous attempts to detect deception through eye movements have led to relatively low detection ability in comparison to physiological measures. In the current study, we demonstrate that the modulation of gaze behavior by familiarity, changes considerably when participants perform a visual detection task in comparison to a short-term memory task (that was used in a previous study). Thus, we highlight the importance of theory-based selection of task demands for improving the ability to detect concealed information using eye-movement measures.ResultsDuring visual exploration of four faces (some familiar and some unfamiliar) gaze was allocated preferably on familiar faces, manifested by more fixations. However, this preference tendency vanished once participants were instructed to convey countermeasures and conceal their familiarity by deploying gaze equally to all faces. This gaze behavior during the visual detection task differed significantly from the one observed during a short-term memory task used in a previous study in which a preference towards unfamiliar faces was evident even when countermeasures were applied.ConclusionsDifferent tasks elicit different patterns of gaze behavior towards familiar and unfamiliar faces. Moreover, the ability to voluntarily control gaze behavior is tightly related to task demands. Adequate ability to control gaze was observed in the current visual detection task when memorizing the faces was not required for a successful accomplishment of the task. Thus, applied settings would benefit from a short-term memory task which is much more robust to countermeasure efforts. Beyond shedding light on theories of gaze preference, these findings provide a backbone for future research in the field of deception detection via eye movements.

Dataset Information

The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication.

Publications

The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication.

Similar Datasets

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