The Effect of Transparency on Unsolvable Task Engagement in Domestic Cats (Felis catus) using Citizen Science

Abstract

Abstract Multiple species of animal are known to display different behaviours and have varying degrees of problem-solving task success when faced with transparent, semi-transparent or opaque versions of the same task. As such, transparency can affect how researchers interpret the limits of a species’ cognitive abilities or success on a task. We assessed how transparency may affect task engagement and social behaviours using the unsolvable task paradigm in domestic cats and their owners. We carried out a citizen science study that required cats to push over a non-magnetised (solvable) and magnetised (unsolvable) cup to reach an obscured food treat. All cats saw a transparent and opaque version of this cup. We assessed the effects of transparency and solvability on owner-directed and apparatus-directed behaviour displayed by the cat. We found significant differences in owner- and apparatus-directed gazing, as well as apparatus-directed touches, between transparent and opaque conditions. We also found an interaction effect between transparency and solvability for proximity with the owner, with cats being in proximity for longer durations with the owner in solvable, transparent conditions. No main effects of solvability were found on any recorded owner- or apparatus-directed behaviour. We discuss the implications of transparency on unsolvable task engagement, as well as the implementation of citizen science methods, particularly in cat research.