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Dogs are prone to complex emotions such as jealousy and pride, according to scientific research that sheds new light on their relationship with humans.
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Dogs are prone to complex emotions such as jealousy and pride, according to scientific research that sheds new light on their relationship with humans.
Canines do not like seeing their owners offering affection to other creatures, especially other dogs, and react negatively when their owners bring home new partners, the research found.
Psychologists previously believed most animals lack the "sense of self" needed to experience so-called secondary emotions such as jealousy, embarrassment, empathy or guilt. These emotions are more complex than feelings associated with instant reaction – such as anger, lust or joy.
Dr Friederike Range, of the University of Vienna's neurobiology department, has shown that dogs feel intense jealously when they spot that they are unfairly treated compared with other dogs. "Dogs show a strong aversion to inequity," she said.
The dog study is the latest into several species, including cows, horses, cats and sheep, which have shown that animals are far more self-aware than was thought.
Dr Paul Morris, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth who studies animal emotions, told The Sunday Times: "We are learning that dogs, horses, and perhaps many other species are far more emotionally complex than we ever realised. They can suffer simple forms of many emotions we once thought only primates could experience."
In research among dog owners, Dr Morris found almost all of them reported jealous behaviour by their pets. The dog often tried to prise their owner away from a new lover in the early days of a relationship.
Behavioural experts recommend owners keeping their dog's routine as much as possible when a new partner or child comes along in order to prevent jealous activity from the dog such as interruptions with barking or whining.
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(Agencies)
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一項科學研究表明，狗也會產生嫉妒和驕傲等復雜的情感。該研究進一步揭示了狗與人之間的關系。
研究發現，狗不愿意看到自己的主人對其它動物，尤其是其它的狗表現出關注。當主人把新男友或女友帶回家時，它們也會表現出抵觸情緒。
此前，心理學家認為大多數動物缺乏體會嫉妒、困窘、移情和內疚等高級情感的“自我意識”。這些情感遠比憤怒、欲望或高興等與即時反應相關的情感復雜。
奧地利維也納大學的神經生物學博士弗里德里克?朗格稱，當狗意識到自己得到的關注不如其它狗，即受到了不公正待遇時，就會表現出強烈的嫉妒情緒。她說：“狗對不公正十分抵觸。”
此前研究人員已對牛、馬、貓、羊等動物進行了類似研究，結果表明，動物的自我意識遠遠超出人的意料。
樸茨茅斯大學從事動物情感研究的心理學家保羅?莫里斯在接受《星期日泰晤士報》采訪時說：“我們發現狗、馬，可能還有其他很多動物的情感比我們預想的豐富得多，它們同樣會表現出多種簡單的感情形式，而之前我們以為只有靈長類動物才具有這樣的高級情感。”
此外，莫里斯對養狗人開展的一項調查發現，幾乎所有人都稱他們的寵物狗有過嫉妒行為。比如，在他們把新男友或女友帶回家的最初幾天，他們的狗總是想方設法讓他們遠離對方。
行為學家建議，當家里出現新成員時，盡量不要打亂寵物狗的生活規律，以避免它們因為嫉妒而狂吠或哀嚎。
（實習生許雅寧 英語點津姍姍編輯） |
