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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.
请问您的狗狗是不是对它自己的食物嗤之以鼻？——这是因为它希望和你享用同样的美餐。一项新研究发现，当涉及到食物时，狗狗可以根据人类发出的信号判断哪些食物是好哪些食物是坏。这项研究刊登在《科学公共图书馆》杂志上。
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.
研究人员让宠物狗在两个盘子中的食物之间做出选择——一个盘子中只有一片食物，另一个盘子中则有六片。不出所料，狗狗一般都选择份量较多的那个盘子。但是，当人们明显表达出对小份食物具有好感时，狗狗同样会去选择份量较少的那份食物。狗狗显然意识到并回应了人类发出的信号。
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.
不是所有的人类信号都同样有效。当人走近但没有触及小分量食物的时候，狗狗们会忽视这个动作。可以影响狗狗们行为的信号需要表现出明显的意图才行。最有效的人类信号还包括沟通——比如，眼睛从食物瞄到狗狗再瞄回食物，同时说一些鼓励的话。对于狗狗们而言，狂咬一通并不是吃东西，还可能是因为同类对它龇牙咧嘴。
注：本文译文属可可英语原创，未经允许，请勿转载。
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