養(yǎng)狗者和養(yǎng)貓者的性格差異

Are you a cat person or a dog person? The whole cats versus dogs saga has been going on forever. We tend to use the answer to the aforementioned question to separate people into two different groups: cat people or dog people. In the past, it’s never really been clear just how much someone’s choice of pet actually says about their personality or their lifestyle.

你是喜歡貓還是喜歡狗？貓狗大戰(zhàn)的故事一再上演。根據(jù)前面這個(gè)問題的答案，我們往往會把人分成兩類：愛貓之人和愛狗之人。究竟人們對寵物的選擇在多大程度上體現(xiàn)了自己的性格和生活方式？在過去，這個(gè)問題好像一直沒有搞清楚。

According to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll, 74 percent of their test sample like dogs a lot, and only 41 percent like cats a lot. Some people seem to like either dogs or cats and dislike the other species. Fifteen percent of the adults questioned said they disliked cats a lot, while the number who said they disliked dogs a lot was only 2 percent.

美聯(lián)社和寵物網(wǎng)站Petside.com聯(lián)合發(fā)起的調(diào)查顯示，在被調(diào)查的人群中，74%喜歡狗，而只有41%喜歡貓。有些人似乎只愛一種而討厭另一種。15%的成年被調(diào)查者表示他們很討厭貓，而只有2%表示很討厭狗。

Certainly, the relationship between cats and humans has always been quite different than the relationship between dogs and people. There are sound reasons to suspect that the preference for dogs or cats reflects some underlying human personality differences. In fact, the behaviors of both species have been kept from their heritage prior to domestication.

無可否認(rèn)，貓與人的關(guān)系和狗與人的關(guān)系大不相同。我們有充分理由相信，對貓狗的偏愛反映了一些潛在的人類性格差異。事實(shí)上，這兩個(gè)物種的行為習(xí)性歷來如此，被馴化后也沒有改變。

In the wild, cats are usually solitary hunters and often are active mostly at night. In contrast, wild canines are usually sociable pack animals that work in groups and are active between dawn and dusk. Our domestic dogs retain this need for social interaction to the degree that without a master and a family, a dog seems unhappy — almost lost. Dogs will intrude on a person’s ongoing activities if they are feeling lonely and want some company or play.

在野外，貓通常單獨(dú)狩獵，往往在夜間活動，而野生犬科動物則總是成群結(jié)隊(duì)，在白天行動。家養(yǎng)的寵物狗在很大程度上仍然保有這種社會性需求，如果沒有主人和家庭，它們會看起來很不開心——甚至可以說很失落。一旦它們感到孤單，想要人陪伴或玩耍的時(shí)候，它們就會打斷你正在進(jìn)行的活動，求取關(guān)注。

Cats, on the other hand, are often invisible during the day, seeming only to appear in the evening. Cats will occasionally engage in social activities or play with people, but their interest is limited. Usually, after only a few minutes, cats will abandon the game and wander away. Dogs, on the other hand, will often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time, and it is usually the human that quits the game first.

貓則正好相反，經(jīng)常白天不見蹤影，傍晚才會露面，雖然偶爾也會參加社交活動或與人一起玩耍，但總是興趣不大。通常過不了幾分鐘，貓就會放棄游戲，轉(zhuǎn)身溜走。狗則玩得很投入，扔球撿球的游戲一次可以玩上幾個(gè)小時(shí)，往往是人玩厭了，狗還沒厭。

A psychologist has conducted a study which involved 6,149 people, aged 16 to 94. The results showed that people who owned only cats seemed to be somewhat different than dog owners, or people who owned both dogs and cats, in terms of their personalities. People who own both dogs and cats seem to be much like the people who own only dogs. What’s more, cat owners were one-third more likely to live alone than dog owners and twice as likely to live in an apartment or flat. Being married, living in a house, and having children living in the home are all factors that are more likely for dog owners than cat owners. A single woman was the most likely individual to have a cat. Of the people who grew up in a house with cats as pets, 47 percent were likely to have cats today, while only 11 percent of people whose childhood years were spent in a house with a dog have only a cat as a pet.

心理學(xué)家曾進(jìn)行過一項(xiàng)研究，對象涉及6149人，年齡在16到94歲不等。結(jié)果顯示，如果一個(gè)人只養(yǎng)貓，那么他的性格似乎和養(yǎng)狗或者貓狗都養(yǎng)的人有所不同，而貓狗都養(yǎng)的人則更像養(yǎng)狗的人。除此之外，養(yǎng)貓的人比養(yǎng)狗的人獨(dú)居的可能性高出三分之一，而住在公寓的可能性則高出兩倍。比起養(yǎng)貓的人，養(yǎng)狗的人更可能是是已婚人士，住在獨(dú)棟房屋里，家里有孩子。單身女性則最有可能養(yǎng)貓。住在獨(dú)棟房屋中，與寵物貓一起長大的人們，有47%現(xiàn)在繼續(xù)養(yǎng)貓，而小時(shí)候屋里養(yǎng)狗的人則只有11%現(xiàn)在只養(yǎng)貓。

As for the personality profile, people who own only cats tend to be relatively introverted and also reasonably cool. Cat owners are relatively low in dominance. People who are high on dominance are generally described as being forceful, assertive, persistent, self-assured, and self-confident. They are the people who stand out in social gatherings, as opposed to people who are low in dominance that come across as being more timid, bashful, shy, and unaggressive. At last, cat owners appear to be fairly trusting. People high on this dimension are often described as obliging, modest, straightforward, and “good sports”. People low on this dimension can be more suspicious and manipulative. In conclusion, dog owners are more social, interactive, and accepting, and cat owners are more introverted, self-contained, and less sociable.

在性格特征上，養(yǎng)貓的人相對更內(nèi)向也更冷淡。他們的支配欲相對較低。支配欲高的人比較強(qiáng)勢、果敢、固執(zhí)和自信，在社會交往中表現(xiàn)更突出。相比之下，支配欲低的人則比較怯懦、害羞，攻擊性低。最后，養(yǎng)貓的人還很容易相信別人。容易相信他人的人往往被描述為樂于助人、謙遜直率、“輸?shù)闷?rdquo;；而不容易相信他人的人則更加多疑，喜歡左右別人?？偟膩碚f，養(yǎng)狗的人更喜歡社會交際，與人互動，也更易接受別人的意見；養(yǎng)貓者則更內(nèi)向，特立獨(dú)行，不善交際。

No matter what kind of pet you own, dog and cat owners both share the most important trait: a love of and a feeling of great responsibility for their pets. It’s your pet, but you are its all.

不論你是養(yǎng)貓還是養(yǎng)狗，都有一個(gè)最重要的共同點(diǎn)，那就是對寵物的熱愛和強(qiáng)烈的責(zé)任感。雖然它只是你的寵物，但你卻是它的全部。