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Abstract |
Cats and dogs search behavior was compared in different problems where an object was visibly
moved behind a screen that was then visibly moved to a new position. In Experiments 1 (cats) and 2 (dogs),
one group was tested with identical screens and the other group was tested with dissimilar screens.
Results showed that in both species, search behavior was based on processing of spatial information
rather than on recognition of the visual features of the target screen. Cats and dogs were unable to find
the object by inferring its invisible movement. They reached a high level of success only if there was
direct perceptual evidence that the object could not be at its initial position. When the position change
was indicated by an indirect cue, cats searched more at the object`s initial than final position, whereas
dogs searched equally at both positions. Interspecific similarities and differences are interpreted in
terms of the requirements for resetting working memory. |
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