Not only humans, animals are also said to have intelligence. Animals that are considered the most intelligent by their owners are dogs and cats. Actually, between dogs and cats which are smart?
A senior researcher specializing in canine cognition at Barnard College New York, Alexandra Horowitz said dog cognition researchers did not study intelligence from one aspect, but from various aspects of cognition.
In its simplest form, says Horowitz, cats are smart in the things cats need to do and dogs in the things dogs do. "I don't think it makes any sense at all to talk about a relatively 'smart' species," he told LiveScience.
Brian Hare, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, agrees. Hare likens it to asking which is better between a hammer and a screwdriver.
Kristyn Vitale, assistant professor of animal health and behavior at Unity College in Maine, said animal intelligence typically consists of three components: problem-solving ability, ability to form general concepts from specific experiences, and social intelligence.
Vitale, who is currently focusing on studying the inner life of cats related to social intelligence, revealed that many cats are stereotyped as aloof and uninterested in humans. In fact, according to him, cats actually have a high level of social intelligence, even the same as dogs.
According to research, cats can tell the difference between their names and words that sound similar. They also prefer to interact with humans over food, toys, and scents. A 2019 study published in the journal Behavioral Processes found that when someone pays attention to a cat, the cat responds by spending more time with that person.
In a rare study directly comparing cats and dogs, researchers found no significant difference between the species' ability to find hidden food using cues from humans.
However, the researchers noted that cats lack some of the behavioral components for getting attention compared to dogs. This was revealed by a pet owner who had seen a dog beg in his feeding bowl while a cat left knowing exactly what the researchers were observing.
In addition to behavior, animal intelligence can also be observed with brain size. The popular idea hitherto held that brain size determines relative intelligence, and if that were always true, dogs would appear to win.
Hare said he and University of Arizona anthropologist Evan MacLean recruited more than 50 researchers worldwide to apply the tests they developed on 550 animal species, including birds, apes, monkeys, dogs, lemurs and elephants.
The study aimed to test one cognitive trait, self-control, or what they call "inhibitory control" of all species with the marshmallow test. Their experiment was reported in a 2014 paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Cross-species studies showed that the bigger an animal's brain, the more self-control they showed in the marshmallow test. According to him, the ability to exercise self-control is one indication of higher cognitive function.
However, the researchers did not include cats in this experiment. So, we cannot speculate about a cat's intelligence based on its brain size. Another thing to keep in mind when doing this kind of intelligence assessment is that everyone can treat dogs and cats differently.
"For example, dogs are often well socialized and attend puppy classes, ride in cars and go to dog parks. Cat owners are less likely to give their cats this kind of socialization and training opportunity," says Vitale.
Well, in conclusion, there is no smarter between cats and dogs because both have their own intelligence huh!!!
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