Personality Differences Between Dog and Cat Owners
养狗者和养猫者的性格差异
王淑怡 供稿
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.
你是喜欢猫还是喜欢狗？猫狗大战的故事一再上演。根据前面这个问题的答案，我们往往会把人分成两类：爱猫之人和爱狗之人。究竟人们对宠物的选择在多大程度上体现了自己的性格和生活方式？在过去，这个问题好像一直没有搞清楚。
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.
美联社和宠物网站Petside.com联合发起的调查显示，在被调查的人群中，74%喜欢狗，而只有41%喜欢猫。有些人似乎只爱一种而讨厌另一种。15%的成年被调查者表示他们很讨厌猫，而只有2%表示很讨厌狗。
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.
无可否认，猫与人的关系和狗与人的关系大不相同。我们有充分理由相信，对猫狗的偏爱反映了一些潜在的人类性格差异。事实上，这两个物种的行为习性历来如此，被驯化后也没有改变。
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，猫通常单独狩猎，往往在夜间活动，而野生犬科动物则总是成群结队，在白天行动。家养的宠物狗在很大程度上仍然保有这种社会性需求，如果没有主人和家庭，它们会看起来很不开心——甚至可以说很失落。一旦它们感到孤单，想要人陪伴或玩耍的时候，它们就会打断你正在进行的活动，求取关注。
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.
猫则正好相反，经常白天不见踪影，傍晚才会露面，虽然偶尔也会参加社交活动或与人一起玩耍，但总是兴趣不大。通常过不了几分钟，猫就会放弃游戏，转身溜走。狗则玩得很投入，扔球捡球的游戏一次可以玩上几个小时，往往是人玩厌了，狗还没厌。
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.
心理学家曾进行过一项研究，对象涉及6149人，年龄在16到94岁不等。结果显示，如果一个人只养猫，那么他的性格似乎和养狗或者猫狗都养的人有所不同，而猫狗都养的人则更像养狗的人。除此之外，养猫的人比养狗的人独居的可能性高出三分之一，而住在公寓的可能性则高出两倍。比起养猫的人，养狗的人更可能是是已婚人士，住在独栋房屋里，家里有孩子。单身女性则最有可能养猫。住在独栋房屋中，与宠物猫一起长大的人们，有47%现在继续养猫，而小时候屋里养狗的人则只有11%现在只养猫。
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，养猫的人相对更内向也更冷淡。他们的支配欲相对较低。支配欲高的人比较强势、果敢、固执和自信，在社会交往中表现更突出。相比之下，支配欲低的人则比较怯懦、害羞，攻击性低。最后，养猫的人还很容易相信别人。容易相信他人的人往往被描述为乐于助人、谦逊直率、“输得起”；而不容易相信他人的人则更加多疑，喜欢左右别人。总的来说，养狗的人更喜欢社会交际，与人互动，也更易接受别人的意见；养猫者则更内向，特立独行，不善交际。
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.
不论你是养猫还是养狗，都有一个最重要的共同点，那就是对宠物的热爱和强烈的责任感。虽然它只是你的宠物，但你却是它的全部。
【VOCABULARY】
1. saga n. 长篇故事
2. aforementioned adj. 上述的；此前提及的
3. domestication n. 驯养；教化
4. canine n. 犬科动物
5. introverted adj. 内向的
6. self-assured adj. 自信的；胸有成竹的
7. bashful adj. 害羞的；腼腆的
8. obliging adj. 乐于助人的；热情的
9. good sports n. 输得起的运动员
10. manipulative adj. 善于操纵的；会控制的；会摆布人的
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