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The effects of social isolation on the behavior of juvenile domestic cats
Author(s) -
Guyot Gary W.,
Bennett Thomas L.,
Cross Henry A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.420130307
Subject(s) - juvenile , cats , isolation (microbiology) , social isolation , psychology , zoology , biology , ecology , medicine , psychiatry , microbiology and biotechnology
The effects of social isolation on the behavior of juvenile domestic cats were assessed by rearing 4 male and 4 female infant kittens in each of the following rearing conditions: (1) mother‐littermate; (2) mother‐only; (3) brooder‐littermate; and (4) brooder‐only. They were then tested twice a week individually and twice a week socially from 2 to 6 1/2 months of age in a playroom, utilizing multiple categories of behavior. The mother‐only‐reared juveniles were hyperactive in both object play (when tested individually) and social play. The brooder‐only‐reared kittens displayed enhanced socially directed behavior and were generally hypergregarious, whereas the brooder‐littermate‐reared kittens displayed retarded social behavior. Observations indicated that littermate‐deprived kittens did not learn social communication skills and that some prolonged separation effects existed for littermate‐reared kittens. The results suggest that the determinants of social play are more complex than the determinants of object play.