博德牧羊犬可识别一千多件物品
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2011-01-07 02:11 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Researchers at Wofford College discovered that a Border Collie comprehends(理解,包含) the names of over 1000 objects, differentiating1 between names of objects and orders to fetch them. This research deepens the findings of researchers in Germany, who had discovered a dog that knew the names of a couple of hundred objects. Important questions were left open as to how far a dog could go, and whether the dog really understood that the object names were nouns and not commands to retrieve2(检索,取回) the object. John Pilley and Alliston Reid answered two central questions with their research: How large can a dog's vocabulary become if given extensive training? What do dogs actually understand when we use human language to communicate with them? These findings are published in the Elsevier journal Behavioural Processes .

The authors demonstrated that their dog, Chaser, learned the names of 1022 objects - no upper limit is apparent - they stopped training the dog after three years due to their time constraints3(约束,限制) , not because the dog could not learn more names. This study demonstrates Chaser's ability to learn the names of proper nouns, and her extensive vocabulary was tested repeatedly under carefully controlled conditions. The authors admitted that she remembered the names of each of her 1022 toys better than they could. Chaser's ability to learn and remember more than 1000 proper nouns, each mapped to a unique object, revealed clear evidence of several capacities necessary for learning receptive human language: the ability to discriminate4 between 1022 different sounds representing names of objects, the ability to discriminate many objects visually, an extensive vocabulary, and a substantial memory system that allowed the mapping of many auditory(听觉的) stimuli5 to many visual stimuli.

Their second experiment demonstrated that Chaser really understands that these are names, and not commands to fetch the object. In order to test independence of meaning of nouns and commands, the authors randomly6 combined nouns with commands to see if Chaser would produce the correct behavior toward the correct object in each trial. Without special training, Chaser responded to each combination correctly, even on the first trial, demonstrating that Chaser understood that the commands and proper-noun names had independent meanings. The dog understands that names refer to particular objects, independent of the action requested involving that object.

Their third experiment demonstrated that the dog also understands names for categories of objects or common nouns, and not just individual names or proper nouns. For instance, she learned that name "toy" referred to the 1022 objects she was allowed to play with, each with a proper-noun name. By forming categories represented by common nouns, Chaser mapped one label onto many objects. Chaser also demonstrated that she could map up to three labels onto the same object without error. For example, Chaser knew the proper-noun names of all objects used in the research. Chaser also mapped the common noun "toy" onto these same objects. Her additional success with the two common nouns "ball" and "frisbee7" demonstrates that she mapped a third label onto these objects. Her demonstrations8 of one-to-many and many-to-one noun/object mappings reveal flexibility9 in the referential(指示的) nature of words in border collies.

Each of these experiments showed that the dog could learn names using procedures involving associative learning. Their fourth experiment demonstrated that Chaser could also learn names by exclusion10 - inferred the name of a novel object by exclusion of familiar already-named objects. Retention11 of these names using this procedure was limited to short periods, however, just as usually observed with children.

According to Alliston Reid, "This research is important because it demonstrates that dogs, like children, can develop extensive vocabularies and understand that certain words represent individual objects and other words represent categories of objects, independent in meaning of what one is asked to do with those objects."

Additional research is needed to determine whether these impressive language abilities are shared by other breeds of dogs. This work encourages research into how the historical relationships between humans and dogs may have influenced the abilities of dogs to communicate with humans, and whether this influence is unique to dogs.



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1 differentiating d3096d547199751d1b8d0cb8d931d402     
[计] 微分的
参考例句:
  • They succeed in differentiating the most commodity-like products. 在最通用的日用产品方面,它们也能独树一帜标新立异。
  • The simplest and most effective method of differentiating areas is to use different colours. 区别面状要素最简单而又行之有效的办法,是使用不同的颜色。
2 retrieve ZsYyp     
vt.重新得到,收回;挽回,补救;检索
参考例句:
  • He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
  • The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
3 constraints d178923285d63e9968956a0a4758267e     
强制( constraint的名词复数 ); 限制; 约束
参考例句:
  • Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
  • What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么? 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
4 discriminate NuhxX     
v.区别,辨别,区分;有区别地对待
参考例句:
  • You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
  • They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。
5 stimuli luBwM     
n.刺激(物)
参考例句:
  • It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
  • My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。
6 randomly cktzBM     
adv.随便地,未加计划地
参考例句:
  • Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内,分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
  • Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句
7 frisbee pzrz1     
n.飞盘(塑料玩具)
参考例句:
  • We always go to the park on weekends and play Frisbee.我们每个周末都会到公园玩飞盘。
  • The frisbee is a light plastic disc,shaped like a plate.飞盘是一种碟形塑料盘。
8 demonstrations 0922be6a2a3be4bdbebd28c620ab8f2d     
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威
参考例句:
  • Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
  • The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。
9 flexibility vjPxb     
n.柔韧性,弹性,(光的)折射性,灵活性
参考例句:
  • Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
  • The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。
10 exclusion 1hCzz     
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行
参考例句:
  • Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
  • He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球,其他运动一概不参加。
11 retention HBazK     
n.保留,保持,保持力,记忆力
参考例句:
  • They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
  • His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。
TAG标签: dog names objects
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