Chimpanzees throw tantrums 猩猩會鬧脾氣

Like many humans, chimpanzees and bonobos react quite emotionally when they take risks that fail to pay off.

就像許多人一樣，黑猩猩和矮黑猩猩冒了風險卻無法獲得回報時，反應相當情緒化。

This is according to researchers from Duke University in the US, who designed two decision-making games - one to test patience and the other assessing risk-taking.

這是根據美國杜克大學研究人員的說法，他們設計出兩套決策遊戲，一套測試耐心，另一套評估冒險性。

Some animals that lost the game - receiving a bland piece of cucumber rather than a preferred piece of banana - reacted with what looked like the ape equivalent of a tantrum.

有些輸了這個遊戲的猩猩—得到的是平淡無味的小黃瓜，而非牠們偏好的香蕉—牠們的反應看來有如耍脾氣的猩猩。

The animals could choose between receiving a relatively small food reward immediately, or receiving a larger reward but having to wait for it.

這些猩猩可在立即獲得相對小量食物回報，或獲得較大回報、但必須等待兩者之間二選一。

Many of the apes became emotional when they had to wait or took a gamble that did not pay off.

許多猩猩在必須等待，或賭了一把卻沒獲得回報時變得激動。

The researchers also found differences in the way the two species responded to the games; chimps were more willing to take risks, and also more patient than bonobos.

研究人員也發現這兩種動物在回應遊戲的方式上有所差異：黑猩猩比較願意冒險，也比矮黑猩猩有耐心。

"These differences might be reflected in differences in how the apes choose to forage in the wild," said Dr Rosati. Chimpanzees are more likely to engage in risky strategies like hunting.

「這些差異或許反映在猩猩選擇不同的野地覓食方式」，羅薩帝博士說。黑猩猩比較願意採用獵食之類的冒險策略。

新聞辭典：

tantrum：名詞，發脾氣。例句：Ignore her! She always throws a tantrum for no reason.（別理她！她總是亂發脾氣。）

bland：形容詞，溫和的；平淡無味的。例句：Not all vegetarian dishes are bland. （不是所有素食料理都很清淡。）

forage：動詞，翻找、搜尋食物。例句：A homeless man foraged garbage cans for something to eat.（一名流浪漢在垃圾桶裡找東西吃。）