Then some new University of Otago research might just provide the answer ... get a dog.
Otago psychology PhD student Min Hooi Yong is experimenting with domestic dogs to establish if they understand human emotional cues.
While many dog lovers insist their four-legged friends understand them, "we just want to know if it's true", Ms Yong said.
Early results from studying about 100 dogs suggested they had some insight into human emotions, and could "differentiate between happy and angry verbal tones".
But the tests had not yet proved if dogs were also picking up on emotional cues from facial expressions.
Dunedin dog breeder Simon Monson is convinced dogs can "read" emotions in the faces of other dogs and humans, and also pick up on other behavioural indications of emotion.
He has bred Labrador retrievers for the past five years and believes dogs respond to directions given to them via his facial expressions, as well as from hand gestures and can "read" emotions from the tone of his voice.
Malaysia-born Ms Yong is seeking a further 50 dogs for her continuing research, with owners also having to be present during the testing at a university laboratory.
The research has brought her into daily contact with all kinds of canines, ranging from a Chihuahua cross, standing just over 20cm tall, to the more than 1m-high Scottish deerhound.
She has found no association between the age, sex, or breed of the dog and its ability to respond to human emotions.
People often told her she had scored "such a fun research project" and she agreed.
"Dogs are very astute observers. It's just fun to be with them."john.gibb@odt.co.nz
