The Vienna-based researchers showed that
dogs will stop doing a simple task when not rewarded if another dog, which
continues to be rewarded, is present．
The experiment consisted of taking pairs of
dogs and getting them to present a paw for a reward．On giving this “handshake” the
dogs received a piece of food．One of the dogs was then asked to shake hands, but received no food．The other dog continued to get
the food when it was asked to perform the task．
The dog without the reward quickly stopped
doing the task, and showed signs of anger or stress when its partner was
rewarded．
To make sure that the experiment was really
showing the interaction between the dogs rather than just the frustration of
not being rewarded, a similar experiment was conducted where the dogs performed
the task without the partner．Here they continued to present the paw for much longer．
Dr Frederike Range from the University of
Vienna says this shows that it was the presence of the rewarded partner that
was the greater influence on their behaviour．
“The only difference is one gets food and
the other doesn’t, they are responding to being unequally rewarded．” she said．
The researchers say this kind of behaviour,
where one animal gets frustrated with what is happening with another, has only
been observed in primates(靈長類) before．
Studies with various types of monkeys and
chimpanzees show they react not only to seeing their partners receiving rewards
when they are not, but also to the type of reward．
The dog study also looked at whether the
type of reward made a difference．Dogs were given either bread or sausage, but seemed to react equally
to either．Dr Range
says this may be because they have been trained．
57．The dogs refused to give the paw when they_______．
A．found another dog was given nothing
B．felt they were not treated equally
C．were aware they received less food
D．were given too much reward
58．What would the dogs do if they presented their paw alone?
A．They would go on with the performance much longer．
B．They would be too shy to present their paw．
C．They would miss their partners．
D．They would compare what they got with that of others．
59．According to the passage, compared with dogs, monkeys and
chimpanzees ______．
A．pay no attention to the type of reward
B．only like to play interesting games
C．pay attention to the type of reward as well as whether they are
rewarded
D．care more about how they are rewarded
60．Which of the following can best summerise the passage?
A．Animals’ various ways to show anger
B．Dogs are more envious than man
C．Most animals want to be be rewarded for their work
D．Animals also have a sense of fairplay