評論
打印
字號:
Does your puppy turn his nose up at his own chow—because he wants some of whatever it is that you’re having? A new study finds that, when it comes to food, dogs recognize human social signals about what’s good. The work is in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
請問您的狗狗是不是對它自己的食物嗤之以鼻？——這是因為它希望和你享用同樣的美餐。一項新研究發現，當涉及到食物時，狗狗可以根據人類發出的信號判斷哪些食物是好哪些食物是壞。這項研究刊登在《科學公共圖書館》雜志上。
Researchers let pet dogs choose between two plates, one with a single piece of food and the other with six pieces. Unsurprisingly, the animals generally went for the larger portion. But when a human being showed a clear liking for the smaller plate, the canines likewise went for the skimpier choice. The dogs apparently recognized and responded to the humans’ social cues.
研究人員讓寵物狗在兩個盤子中的食物之間做出選擇——一個盤子中只有一片食物，另一個盤子中則有六片。不出所料，狗狗一般都選擇份量較多的那個盤子。但是，當人們明顯表達出對小份食物具有好感時，狗狗同樣會去選擇份量較少的那份食物。狗狗顯然意識到并回應了人類發出的信號。
And not all cues were equally effective. When the human approached but did not touch the smaller portion, dogs ignored the attention-drawing gesture. For a social signal to influence behavior, it had to demonstrate intention. And the most effective cues also involved communication, such as looking from the food to the dog and back while talking encouragingly. For dogs, choosing a bite may depend on another’s bark.
不是所有的人類信號都同樣有效。當人走近但沒有觸及小分量食物的時候，狗狗們會忽視這個動作�？梢杂绊懝饭穫冃袨榈男盘栃枰憩F出明顯的意圖才行。最有效的人類信號還包括溝通——比如，眼睛從食物瞄到狗狗再瞄回食物，同時說一些鼓勵的話。對于狗狗們而言，狂咬一通并不是吃東西，還可能是因為同類對它齜牙咧嘴。
注：本文譯文屬可可英語原創，未經允許，請勿轉載。
收藏
