家犬可以分辨人類喜怒哀樂

　　While every dog owner knows that their pooch can discern their moods perfectly, scientists have always been a little skeptical. Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, we finally have some tangible evidence.

　　固然每一個狗狗的主人都以為他們的瑰寶可以發覺本身的心境，科學家總會對此發生質疑。如今，經由過程奧地利維也納獸醫大學的研討，咱們終究找到了一些確實證據。

　　For their study, biologist Corsin Müller and his team selected eleven dogs, including nine Border Collies, a Fox Terrier, and a Sheltie. They began by exposing the dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy. Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face, while the other half got their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.

　　在他們的研討中，生物學家Corsin Müller和他的研討小組遴選了11只狗，個中包含9只邊疆牧羊犬，一只獵狐梗和一只德國牧羊犬。最開端，他們給狗狗展現或悲或喜的女性電子疆土像，然後把狗狗分成兩組，一構成功觸摸到高興臉色的狗狗會得到嘉獎，而另外一組選取惱怒臉色的狗狗才會得到嘉獎。。

　　What was interesting was the pooches were not provided with the entire face. Some dogs were shown only upper halves while others observed lower halves. That's because the scientists who published their findings in the journal Current Biology on February 12th, believe that humans show their emotions on their entire face. Hence by exposing them to just partial expressions the researchers were teaching the dogs to recognize small nuances like the wrinkle between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions.

　　風趣的是，他們只給狗狗看一部門臉。有些狗狗只能看到上半邊臉，而另外一些則看到下半邊。由於這項研討2月12日在《現代生物學》上揭櫫的文章提過，人們整張臉都邑流暴露他們的情感。是以，給狗狗展現部門圖象，意在練習它們發覺人臉部臉色的細節，好比眼角的褶皺大概眼睛外形的變更與高興大概惱怒的臉色總相伴而來。

　　While the dogs were able to grasp both emotions, the researchers found that those being trained to read angry expressions took longer to learn. They speculate it may be because dogs find angry faces aversive, causing them to retreat quickly.

　　固然末了受訓的狗狗都能順遂分辯出人的臉色，科學家們發明分辯惱怒的臉色對狗狗來講照樣要花些時光的。他們以為這多是由於狗對朝氣的臉有負面遐想。

　　Given the close bond between dogs and their owners, most researchers are not surprised at the findings of the study. The one thing they are not sure of is how this expression discerning ability is affected if the dog does not have close human contact. And in case you are wondering, the team does plan on conducting similar studies on cats and even pigs and hand-raised wolves. So stay tuned to see if your beloved pet is as smart as dogs are!

　　狗和它們的主人向來比擬密切，大多半科學家對此查詢拜訪成果並無大驚小怪。不外他們照樣不肯定那些與人類沒有密切打仗的狗狗是不是有這類才能。科學家和咱們同樣好奇，他們已籌劃在貓、豬和人工豢養的狼身上舉行相似試驗了。以是，讓咱們存眷後續試驗，看看是不是其他寵物跟狗狗同樣聰慧。