Questionably designed experiment I'm running: will our cats sit in a taped rectangle (we feel bad ♻️ boxes, egg cartons, etc)? Ans: maybe. There was at least one confounding factor!
Insp: a paper I saw a few years ago by @Explanimals et al.: doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2…#CatSquare
ALT A two-panel photograph showing my cat (Pam, a calico) sitting in a rectangle made of painter's tape — the second panel shows the cat is in a sun spot.
Note: this experiment was poorly designed by this citizen scientist — me
Our researchers are testing our feline friends with optical illusions to better understand what they see, how they experience the world and how their brain works. now.latrobe/39Fw9HC | #CatBehaviour#CatSquare
La Trobe research investigating cats’ susceptibility to illusory contours shows they perceive space in much the same ways as humans (all we had to was tempt them with illusory boxes!) 🔲 now.latrobe/3EMy9vG | #CitizenScience#CatBehaviour#CatSquare
Remember #CatSquare? Turns out the #cat brain utilises shortcuts to fill in the missing information of an incomplete shape using previous experiences and knowledge — 'and these shortcuts lead to similar perceptual illusions as humans.'
Good kitty. now.latrobe/3lKfdoJ
Cats love squares. Any cat lover can verify the feline phenomenon of sitting in square things, whether they’re boxes (thank you, Schrödinger), suitcases, or even square shapes made of tape. Why do they do this?
#CatSquare 🐈
ow.ly/5Ekp50F9BNN