评论
打印
Maybe you've been here:
或许你曾有过这样的经历：
It's finals season, and you're walking across campus,
你在期末考季穿过校园，
when suddenly a big, beautiful sign catches your attention: Exam Week Therapy Dogs.
突然，一个漂亮的大标志吸引了你的注意：考试周狗狗疗法。
And when you show up, it's a giant room full of well-trained, adorable puppers
你一进去就看到一个巨大的房间，里面满是训练有素的可爱哈巴狗，
and college students leaving with looks of stress-free bliss.
大学生们带着无忧无虑的心情离开。
Pet therapy has been around in some form or another for over a hundred years.
宠物疗法已经以某种形式存在一百多年了。
And today, it's part of programs everywhere from hospitals to college campuses.
如今，从医院到大学校园，它是各处项目的一部分。
Many studies have shown that it works, too, and that pets can relieve anxiety, stress and provide comfort.
许多研究也已表明它能奏效，宠物能缓解焦虑、压力，提供舒适。
But these effects don't just happen because animals are cute.
但这些影响并不仅仅是因为动物很可爱。
Instead, they actually say a lot more about what it means to be human.
而是因为它们确实说了很多对人类有意义的事。
Although it likely existed in some form before then,
虽然在此之前宠物疗法可能以某种形式存在过，
pet therapy was first popularized around 1860, thanks to the famous nurse Florence Nightingale.
但它第一次普及是在1860年，这多亏了著名的护士弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔。
She noticed that patients with chronic illness felt better when they had an animal partner by their side.
她注意到，有动物伴侣陪伴时，有慢性疾病的患者感觉会更好。
Now, these programs can be found basically everywhere there are people.
现在，这些项目基本上可以在任何有人的地方找到。
The technical term for this treatment is animal-assisted therapy, or AAT.
这种疗法的专业名词叫做动物辅助疗法（AAT）。
There are all kinds of variations, but two are especially common:
它有各种变化，但两种特别常见：
In one type of program, a handler will bring an animal to an outside location,
在一种项目中，一个训练者会把动物带到外面，
like a college campus or nursing home, for people to interact with.
比如大学校园或养老院，与人们互动。
The other kind is more structured and often involves a counselor or social worker.
另一种则更有条理，它通常涉及到顾问或社会工作者。
This type of therapy can include everything from playing with a dog to caring for a horse,
这种疗法可能包括方方面面，从与狗狗玩耍到照顾马，
and it's often combined with other forms of treatment depending on the patient.
并且通常根据病人的情况与其他形式的治疗方法结合。
Regardless of the program, though, multiple studies have shown that
不过除了项目之外，多项研究已经表明，
AAT has a positive, measurable effect, both in those with and without clinical conditions.
AAT对有或没有临床症状的人都有可衡量的积极影响。
For example, several have shown that petting and playing with a dog
比如，几项研究表明，爱抚狗狗并与它们玩耍
can improve patients' moods by decreasing their distress and pain.
能降低患者的痛苦，从而改善他们的心情。
Specifically, a visiting dog can boost your body's production of endorphins,
特别是一只来访的狗狗可以促使你身体产生内啡呔，
which ultimately trigger the release of chemicals that act like painkillers and produce euphoria.
这最终能引发止痛药一样的化学物质的释放并产生欣快感。
Dog visits have also been shown to decrease levels of cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine in patients,
狗狗的造访也会降低皮质醇、去甲肾上腺素和肾上腺素的水平，
which are all stress hormones.
这些都是应激激素。
Like most things in science, there are some papers that haven't found such significant results.
与大多数科学研究一样，有些论文研究还没有发现这样重要的结果。
But for the most part, researchers are pretty confident that AAT works.
但在大多数情况下，研究人员都对AAT的效果十分有信心。
It just might not be because of the reasons you'd think.
这可能不是你认为的原因。
For one, these effects don't just apply to animal lovers:
首先，这些影响不仅适用于动物爱好者：
They appear in people who feel neutral about animal companions, too.
它们也出现在那些对动物伴侣保持中立观点的人身上。
And it's not just because the animals are super outgoing
这不仅是因为动物非常外向，
and always excited to see you, either, like dogs typically are.
看到你总是很兴奋，就像狗一样。
Pretty much all animal companions do the trick for these kinds of therapies.
还因为几乎所有的动物伙伴都对这类疗法有用。
Rabbits, horses, cats…you name it!
兔子，马，猫…，凡是你能说出的都有用！
Even animal farms full of goats and cows are helpful.
甚至满是山羊和奶牛的动物饲养场也很有帮助。
The effects aren't even because these animals are soft or fluffy.
这种影响并不是因为这些动物都软软的或毛茸茸的。
Several studies have also shown that fish, bearded dragons, and crickets can help increase focus and positive emotions.
几项研究已经表明，鱼、松狮蜥以及蟋蟀也可以帮助提高注意力和积极的情绪。
Instead, the secret to AAT seems to be about the bond between humans and animals in general.
总之，AAT的秘密似乎在于人类和动物之间的关系。
After all, whether you're sick, stressed, or just trying to process life, animal companions won't judge you.
毕竟，不管你是生病紧张还是想要改造生活，动物伴侣都不会评判你。
But they will be there for you.
它们总会陪着你。
Most studies have focused on AAT's effects and not the underlying mechanism,
大多数研究关注AAT的效果而不是其潜在机制，
so it's hard to say for sure that this is the case.
所以很难说情况都是这样。
And it probably varies depending on the person and the animal, too.
它也可能根据人和动物的不同而有变化
But in general, an unconditional, non-judgmental relationship with animals
但总的来说，与动物的无条件、无偏见关系
could give patients a safe place to process emotions or try new tasks.
可以给病人一个处理情绪或尝试新任务的安全场所。
One study also suggested they could be a helpful distraction from other problems or symptoms,
一项研究也已表明它们可以帮助你远离其他问题或症状，
or a place to practice social interactions.
或者它是一个练习社交的地方。
And there is some evidence for the importance of the human-animal relationship in studies that have been done so far.
有一些证据表明，人类和动物之间的关系在迄今为止的研究中很重要。
In a study published in the journal of Anxiety, Stress and Coping in 2003,
在2003年发表于《焦虑、压力和应对》杂志的一项研究中，
58 people without clinical diagnoses were presented with a stressful situation:
58名没有临床诊断的人面临着压力：
They were told that they might be asked to hold a tarantula sitting elsewhere in the room.
他们被告知可能会被要求在房间的其他地方拿一只狼蛛。
Those who considered this while petting an animal, whether it was a soft, fluffy rabbit or a hard-shelled turtle,
那些一边抚摸动物——不管是柔软、毛茸茸的兔子还是坚硬的甲壳龟，一边思考它的人，
experienced a reduction in stress and anxiety.
压力和焦虑都减少了。
But those who were petting a plush toy version of those animals didn't display the same effects.
但是那些抚摸动物毛绒玩具的人没有表现出同样的效果。
Which makes sense, if the relationship and interactions with the animal are key.
如果与动物有关系和互动成为关键，这就说得通了。
On the flip side, though, other studies with dementia patients have shown that
但在另一方面，其他针对痴呆症患者的研究表明，
robot dogs are effective at reducing stress and anxiety.
机器狗在减轻压力和焦虑方面很有效。
These robots looked, sounded, and behaved a lot like the real thing,
这些机器人的外观、声音与表现非常像实物，
and the patients responded to them a lot like they did with real animals.
而且病人对它们的反应就像对待真正的动物一样。
So the benefits of the relationship were probably replicated, unlike with the plush toys in the other study.
所以这种关系的好处可能是复制的，与其他研究中与毛绒玩具的互动不同。
It would help to have some solid research to pin down this mechanism, but it seems like a promising one.
有一些可靠的研究来确定这一机制很有帮助，它似乎很有前途。
Of course, there are other positive side effects of being around animals, too.
当然，和动物在一起还有其他积极的副作用。
Like, playing with a dog or helping out at an animal farm will increase your amount of physical activity,
比如，与狗狗玩耍或在动物庄园帮忙会增加你的体力活动，
and exercise is a well-known way to boost your endorphin levels.
众所周知，锻炼是提高内啡肽水平的方法。
But at the end of the day, when it comes to animal-assisted therapy, it seems to be mostly about the bond.
但说到底，涉及到动物辅助疗法时，影响似乎主要是这种联系。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感谢您收看本期的心理科学秀！
You might love hanging out with your dog, but have you ever wondered if they actually love you back?
你可能喜欢和你的狗狗一起出去玩，但你有没有想过它们是否真的爱你?
Don't worry, we've got an episode for that.
不要担心，我们会有一期讲它的。
