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Dogs may be man's best friend, but it's hard to tell if the feeling is mutual.
狗狗可能是人类最好的朋友，但很难说这种感觉是否是相互的。
It's tough to figure out what's going on in anyone's head, let alone a species that can't talk.
很难弄清楚每个人的脑子里在想什么，更不用说一个不会说话的物种了。
But there are techniques researchers use to look for emotions in animals, and studies suggest that dogs do form deep emotional bonds with people.
但是通过使用一些技术来寻找动物的情感，研究人员发现，狗确实与人形成了深厚的情感联系。
And their ability to do that might be why they became our best friends in the first place.
他们的这种能力可能就是他们成为我们最好朋友的原因。
Dogs certainly do things that seem loving, and not just when they snuggle up to you on the couch for some extra pets.
狗狗当然会做一些看起来很有爱的事情，而不仅仅是在沙发上依偎着你，让你多养一些宠物的时候。
Research suggests that your dog has your back, for example, and will snub those who snub you.
例如，研究表明，狗狗会支持你，它会冷落那些冷落你的人。
And if it seems like your pup tries to console you when you're sad, that might not be your imagination.
如果你的小狗在你难过的时候试图安慰你，那可能不是你的想象，是真实存在的。
In studies, they do seem to display empathetic concern, like nuzzling a person when they're sobbing, or becoming anxious at the sound of an infant crying.
在研究中，他们似乎确实表现出了同情关怀，比如当一个人哭泣的时候，他们会用鼻子去碰他，或者一听到婴儿的哭声就会感到焦虑。
Dogs are also able to distinguish among human emotions by smell alone because how we feel changes the chemicals in our sweat.
狗也能够仅凭嗅觉就分辨人类的情感，因为我们的感受会改变我们汗液中的化学物质。
So even if you're putting on a brave face, they probably still know you're sad.
所以即使你装出一副勇敢的样子，他们可能仍然知道你很难过。
But none of that is love, per se.
但这些都不是爱。
To find evidence for emotions, researchers have looked to see if dogs exhibit the same physiological responses we do when we feel things.
为了找到情感的依据，研究人员观察了狗狗是否会表现出与我们感觉相同的生理反应。
For example, a 2015 study used fMRI, which monitors brain activity based on blood flow, to look at how 12 dogs reacted to the smell of themselves, people they knew, strangers, and familiar and unfamiliar dogs.
例如，2015年的一项研究利用功能磁共振成像技术(fMRI)根据血流监测了大脑的活动，观察了12只狗对自己、熟人、陌生人以及熟悉和不熟悉狗狗气味的反应。
The scent of people they knew activated an area of the brain that the other smells didn't:
他们认识的人身上的气味激活了大脑中其他气味没有激活的区域：
the caudate nucleus, the same part of the brain's reward system that activates when we humans look at pictures of people we love.
尾状核是大脑奖赏系统的同一部分，当我们看到所爱之人的照片时，它就会被激活。
Other lines of research have looked at oxytocin levels.
也有关于催产素水平的研究。
Oxytocin is sometimes called the love hormone,' which is a major oversimplification of how it affects your body and brain,
催产素有时被称为“爱的荷尔蒙”，这是对催产素如何影响你的身体和大脑的过度简化，
but it does seem to play a big part in creating and maintaining emotional bonds.
但催产素似乎在建立和维持情感纽带方面发挥了重要作用。
And when you interact with people you love—like when you hold your baby, or flirt with your partner— the levels of oxytocin in your blood and saliva jump.
当你和你爱的人交流时——比如抱着你的孩子，或者和你的伴侣调情时——你血液和唾液中的催产素水平会飙升。
Studies have found that there's a similar rise when you play with your dog, for both you and them, and that just gazing into each other's eyes can be enough to cause a mutual spike.
研究发现，当你和狗狗玩耍时，你和狗狗的情绪也会有类似的上升，而且仅仅是互相凝视对方的眼睛就足以引起双方情绪的波动。
But that doesn't necessarily mean that your dog loves you—or that you love your dog.
但这并不意味着狗狗爱你或你爱狗狗。
Psychologists are quick to note that it's impossible to prove emotions with physiological tests.
心理学家很快指出，用生理测试来证明情绪是不可能的。
Even with people, blood tests don't equal feelings.
即使是人，血液测试也不等于感觉。
You can ask if someone loves you, but there's no lab result that can tell you if they mean it when they say yes.
你可以问别人是否爱你，但是没有实验结果能告诉你他们说爱的时候是否是真的。
So a lot of our understanding of dogs' emotions comes from the same techniques used in studies on emotions in humans—
所以我们对狗的很多情感理解都来自于对人类情感的研究
especially humans that can't convey their feelings verbally, like babies.
尤其是不能像婴儿那样用语言表达情感的人类。
Psychologists study infant attachment by looking for certain key behaviors:
心理学家通过寻找某些关键行为来研究婴儿的依恋关系：
things like seeking physical closeness with their caregivers, becoming more adventurous when they're nearby, and being distressed when they're separated.
比如和照顾者寻求身体上的亲密，当照顾者在附近时婴儿变得更有冒险精神，当他们分开时感到痛苦。
And multiple studies have found that the bond between dogs and their owners is super similar to the bond between children and their caregivers.
多项研究发现，狗和主人之间的关系与孩子和看护者之间的关系非常相似。
For example, both babies and dogs have done Strange Situation Procedure tests,
例如，婴儿和狗狗都做过奇怪的情境程序测试，
where you watch them while they're left in a room either alone, with a stranger, with their parent or owner, or with some other combination of people.
当他们被单独留在一个房间里，和一个陌生人，父母或主人，或其他人在一起时，你可以观察他们。
And while both babies and dogs seek physical closeness with their person,
当婴儿和狗狗都在寻求与自己身体的亲密接触时，
they also tend to display more independence by exploring or reacting more positively to strangers when their caregiver is around.
当照顾他们的人在身边时，婴儿和狗狗倾向于通过探索或对陌生人做出更积极的反应来表现出更多的独立性。
That's probably because their caregiver acts as a safe base of support, giving them the security they need to take risks.
这可能是因为照顾他们的人能够给予他们安全支撑，给了他们承担风险所需的安全感。
Both babies and dogs also tend to get distraught when their person leaves and seek comfort from them when they return,
婴儿和狗狗在主人离开时也会变得心烦意乱，回来后也会向主人寻求安慰。
suggesting they're a kind of "safe haven" that reduces stress.
这表明主人是减少压力的“安全港”。
Studies like these have even revealed different attachment styles in dogs, similar to what's been described for how people bond with their parents.
类似的研究甚至揭示了狗的不同依恋类型，类似于人们如何与父母建立联系。
It makes sense that babies and dogs have similar types of bonds with those that raise them.
婴儿和狗狗都与养育它们的人有着类似的联系，这是有道理的。
Dogs are a social species, too, and when they're young, they rely entirely on whomever cares for them to survive.
狗也是一种群居物种，当它们年轻的时候，它们完全依赖于任何关心它们的人来生存。
Scientists think that in humans, that reliance is part of why we form such strong social bonds.
科学家认为，在人类身上，这种依赖是我们形成如此强大的社会联系的部分原因。
So it wouldn't be too surprising if dogs have similar psychological pathways to reinforce their own social bonds.
因此，如果狗狗有类似的心理路径来加强自己的社会联系，也就不足为奇了。
And some researchers think their ability to form these bonds especially across species, is a big part of why they ended up being our companions.
一些研究人员认为，它们形成这种联系的能力，尤其是跨物种的这种能力，是它们最终成为我们伴侣的一个重要原因。
They connect with us in a way we find meaningful.
他们以一种我们觉得有意义的方式与我们联系。
So, the science does suggest that your dog is deeply attached to you.
所以，科学确实表明狗狗和你有很深的感情。
But attachment doesn't necessarily translate to love.
但依恋不一定转化为爱。
Psychologists still debate whether love can be measured, if non-human animals are cognitively capable of feeling it, or even what love really is.
如果非人类动物能够感知爱，那么爱是否可以被测量，甚至爱到底是什么，心理学家对此仍在争论。
Science can tell you that certain chemicals spike when your dog interacts with you, and show the strength of their attachment.
科学可以告诉你，当狗狗与你互动时，某些化学物质会激增，并显示出它们对你的依恋程度。
But whether that really means your dog loves you is a question science can't fully answer.
但这是否真的意味着你的狗狗爱你，科学还不能完全对其进行解释。
You'll just have to look into those big round eyes, scratch an ear, and decide for yourself.
你只要看看那双又大又圆的眼睛，搔一下耳朵，然后自己做决定就行了。
SciShow Psych is a production of Complexly, which brings you over a dozen channels, like The Financial Diet.
心理科学秀节目众多，有十几个频道，比如The Financial Diet。
Here's Chelsea, from TFD to talk more about it.
这位是来自The Financial Diet的切尔西。
If you want to learn more about how to be a person in the world and make the tough parts of adulthood not so scary,
如果你想了解更多关于如何在世界上做人，以及如何使成年的艰难岁月不那么可怕,
you should check out The Financial Diet, on of SciShow Psych's sister channels.
你应该在心理科学秀的姐妹频道上看看The Financial Diet。
We talk about money—everything from how to save it, to how to spend it, to what to do when you owe a lot of it—
我们谈论金钱，从如何存钱，到如何消费，到当你欠了很多钱时该怎么做。
because even though you don't want to think about money, life is so much better when you know how to handle it.
因为即使你不想考虑钱，但当你知道如何理财的时候，生活也会变得更好。
So check out The Financial Diet at the link in the description.
点击链接中查看The Financial Diet。
See you there!
不见不散哦！
