Astrid teGroen, & Dr. Matthew Campbell
Our visual world is completed by illusory contours: edges that are perceived in a stimulus, but not physically present. Domestic cats appear to see these lines as subjects spent more time in an illusory square than a control stimulus. Currently, it is unclear whether perceiving illusory contours is a product of domestication or a general ability in the Felidae family. To test this, we presented wild cats with a Kanizsa square (an illusion of a square) and a control stimulus, relying cats’ natural motivation for enclosed spaces to determine their preference. We hypothesized that if wild cats perceive illusory contours, they will spend more time in an illusory square than a control stimulus. We studied seven wild cats at America’s Teaching Zoo (3 servals, 1 bobcat, 1 lion, and 2 tigers). The participants each had two sessions of 30 minutes, and the stimuli were switched each trial to control for side bias. We coded from the video a variety of behaviors that may denote participant interaction with either stimulus. The coded behaviors included resting, entering, sitting, and inspecting. Once coded, our data will demonstrate whether the subjects interacted with one stimulus more than the other. We hope our data will provide further understanding in illusory contour comprehension’s adaptive significance in the Felidae. If wild cats are able to see and respond to illusory contours, it would indicate that this ability may be a general perceptual trait of the Felidae and thus raise questions about its evolutionary origins and purpose.