善举可以带来意想不到的好结果(上)

我们发现，那些随机做善事的人并不总是意识到他们对另一个人有多大的影响。人们一贯地、系统地低估了别人对这些行为的评价。

双语精读

Kindness Can Have Unexpectedly Positive Consequences

善举可以带来意想不到的正面结果

People who engage in random acts of kindness may not fully recognize the impact of their behavior on others.

随机行善的人可能无法完全认识到他们的行为对他人的影响。

Scientists who study happiness know that being kind to others can improve well-being. Acts as simple as buying a cup of coffee for someone can boost a person's mood, for example. Everyday life affords many opportunities for such actions, yet people do not always take advantage of them.

研究幸福的科学家们知道，善待他人可以提高幸福感。举个例子，和为某人买杯咖啡一样简单的行为就能让人心情好起来。日常生活中有很多这样的机会，但人们并不总是利用它们。

In a set of studies published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Nick Epley, a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and I examined a possible explanation. We found that people who perform random acts of kindness do not always realize how much of an impact they are having on another individual. People consistently and systematically underestimate how others value these acts.

在《实验心理学杂志：总论》在线发表的一系列研究中，我和芝加哥大学布斯商学院的行为科学家尼克·埃普利研究了一种可能的解释。我们发现，那些随机做善事的人并不总是意识到他们对另一个人有多大的影响。人们一贯地、系统地低估了别人对这些行为的评价。

Across multiple experiments involving approximately 1,000 participants, people performed a random act of kindness--that is, an action done with the primary intention of making someone else (who isn't expecting the gesture) feel good. Those who perform such actions expect nothing in return.

在涉及大约1000名参与者的多个实验中，人们做了一个随机的善举----也就是说，一个行为的主要目的是让其他人（这些人并不期待这种善举）感觉良好。做这种事的人不求任何回报。

From one procedure to the next, the specific acts of kindness varied. For instance, in one experiment, people wrote notes to friends and family "just because." In another, they gave cupcakes away. Across these experiments, we asked both the person performing a kind act and the one receiving it to fill out questionnaires. We asked the person who had acted with kindness to report their own experience and predict their recipient's response. We wanted to understand how valuable people perceived these acts to be, so both the performer and recipient had to rate how "big" the act seemed. In some cases, we also inquired about the actual or perceived cost in time, money or effort. In all cases, we compared the performer's expectations of the recipient's mood with the recipient's actual experience.

从一个程序到下一个程序，具体的善举各不相同。例如，在一项实验中，人们给朋友和家人写了"没什么原因，就是爱你"这样一个便条。在另一项实验中，他们赠送纸杯蛋糕。在这些实验中，我们要求做出善举的人和接受善举的人填写问卷。我们请表现做出善举的人报告自己的经历，并预测接受者的反应。我们想了解人们如何看待这些行为，因此做出善举的人和其接受者都必须评价这些行为看起来有多"大"。在某些情况下，我们还询问了时间、金钱或精力方面的实际成本或感知预计成本。在所有情况下，我们都将做出善举的人对接受者情绪的期望与接受者的实际体验进行了比较。

Across our investigations, several robust patterns emerged. For one, both performers and recipients of the acts of kindness were in more positive moods than normal after these exchanges. For another, it was clear that performers undervalued their impact: recipients felt significantly better than the kind actors expected. The recipients also reliably rated these acts as "bigger" than the people performing them did.

在我们的调查中，出现了几种稳健的模式。一种模式是，在这些善举交互之后，行善的人和其接受者的情绪都比平时更积极高昂。另一个模式是，很明显，行善者低估了他们的影响：接受者感觉比行善的人预期的要好得多。接受者还坚定地声称这些善举远比行善者所想的还要"大"。

We initially studied acts of kindness done for familiar people, such as friends, classmates or family. But we found that participants underestimated their positive impact on strangers as well. In one experiment, participants at an ice-skating rink in a public park gave away hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. Again the experience was more positive than the givers anticipated for the recipients, who were people that just happened to be nearby. While the people giving the hot chocolate saw the act as relatively inconsequential, it really mattered to the recipients.

我们最初研究了对朋友、同学或家人等熟悉的人所做的善举。但我们发现参与者也低估了他们对陌生人的积极影响。在一项实验中，参与者在一个寒冷的冬日在公园的溜冰场赠送热巧克力。再一次，这种体验比给予者对接受者的预期更加积极，这些接受者是恰好在附近的人。虽然赠送热巧克力的人认为这种行为相对无关紧要，但对接受者来说却很重要。

Our research also revealed one reason that people may underestimate their action's impact. When we asked one set of participants to estimate how much someone would like getting a cupcake simply for participating in a study, for example, their predictions were well-calibrated with recipient reactions. But when people received cupcakes through a random act of kindness, the cupcake givers underestimated how positive their recipients would feel. Recipients of these unexpected actions tend to focus more on warmth than performers do.

我们的研究还揭示了人们可能低估其行为影响的一个原因。例如，当我们要求一组参与者估计某人仅仅因为参与一项研究而想要得到一个纸杯蛋糕时，他们的预测与接受者的反应是较为准确的。但是当人们通过随机的善举收到纸杯蛋糕时，送纸杯蛋糕的人低估了接受者的积极感受。这些意料之外的善行的接受者往往比行善者更关注温暖。

词汇预习

• individual [高考]

  美[ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl] | 英[ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl]

  adj. 单独的；一个人的；独有的 n. 个人；个体

• response [高考]

  美[rɪˈspɑːns] | 英[rɪˈspɒns]

  n. 反应；回答；响应；答复

• impact [高考]

  美[ˈɪmpækt , ɪmˈpækt] | 英[ˈɪmpækt , ɪmˈpækt]

  n. 影响；冲击力；撞击 vt. 挤入；压紧；撞击；对 ... 发生影响 vi. 冲击；撞击；产生影响

• relatively [高考]

  美[ˈrelətɪvli] | 英[ˈrelətɪvli]

  adv. 相对地；比较地

• estimate [高考]

  美[ˈestɪmət , ˈestɪmeɪt] | 英[ˈestɪmət , ˈestɪmeɪt]

  n. 估价；估计 v. 估计；估价；评价

• engage [高考]

  美[ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ] | 英[ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ]

  v. 答应，预定，使忙碌，雇佣，订婚，啮合；吸引住（注意力、兴趣）

• significantly [高考]

  美[sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəntli] | 英[sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəntli]

  adv. 意味深长地；意义深远地；重要地；较大地

• consistently [高考]

  美[kənˈsɪstəntlɪ] | 英[kən'sɪstəntlɪ]

  adv. 一贯地，始终；一致地

• multiple [高考]

  美[ˈmʌltɪpl] | 英[ˈmʌltɪpl]

  adj. 多种多样的；许多的 n. 倍数；并联

• well-being [高考]

  美[ˈwel biːɪŋ] | 英[ˈwel biːɪŋ]

  n. 康乐；安宁

• initially [高考]

  美[ɪˈnɪʃəli] | 英[ɪˈnɪʃəli]

  adv. 最初

• behavioral [高考]

  美[bɪ'heɪvjərəl] | 英[bɪ'heɪvjərəl]

  adj. 行为的

• boost [高考]

  美[buːst] | 英[buːst]

  v. 提高；增加；鼓励；举起；为...做宣传 n. 增加；推进；鼓励

• rate [高考]

  美[reɪt] | 英[reɪt]

  n. 比率；速度；价格；费用；等级 v. 认为；估价；定等级；值得；怒斥；责骂

• explanation [高考]

  美[ˌekspləˈneɪʃn] | 英[ˌekspləˈneɪʃn]

  n. 解释；说明

• random [高考]

  美[ˈrændəm] | 英[ˈrændəm]

  adj. 任意的；随机的；随意的 n. 随意；任意 adv. 随机地

• intention [高考]

  美[ɪnˈtenʃn] | 英[ɪnˈtenʃn]

  n. 意图；目的；意向；打算

• actual [高考]

  美[ˈæktʃuəl] | 英[ˈæktʃuəl]

  adj. 实际的；事实上的

• procedure [高考]

  美[prəˈsiːdʒər] | 英[prəˈsiːdʒə(r)]

  n. 步骤；手术；（商业、法律或政治上的）程序

• approximately [高考]

  美[əˈprɑːksɪmətli] | 英[əˈprɒksɪmətli]

  adv. 大约；近似地

• performer [高考]

  美[pərˈfɔːrmər] | 英[pəˈfɔːmə(r)]

  n. 表演者；执行者

• take advantage of [高考]

  美[teɪk æd'væntɪdʒ əv] | 英[teɪk əd'vɑːntɪdʒ əv]

  利用；占…的便宜

• engage in [高考]

  美[ɪn'gedʒ ɪn] | 英[ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ in]

  从事； 参加

• impact on [高考]

  美[ˈɪmˌpækt ɑn] | 英[ˈimpækt ɔn]

  对 ... 产生影响

• fill out [高考]

  美[fɪl aʊt] | 英[fɪl aʊt]

  v. 填写；长胖；充实

• would [高考]

  美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]

  aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式

• recipient [四级]

  美[rɪˈsɪpiənt] | 英[rɪˈsɪpiənt]

  n. 接受者；收信人

• underestimate [四级]

  美[ˌʌndərˈestɪmeɪt , ˌʌndərˈestɪmət] | 英[ˌʌndərˈestɪmeɪt , ˌʌndərˈestɪmət]

  n. 低估 v. 低估

• fully [六级]

  美[ˈfʊli] | 英[ˈfʊli]

  adv. 十分地；完全地；全部；足足

• robust [六级]

  美[roʊˈbʌst] | 英[rəʊˈbʌst]

  adj. 强健的；稳固的；耐用的；粗野的；浓的

• reliably [六级]

  美[rɪˈlaɪəblɪ] | 英[rɪ'laɪəblɪ]

  adv. 可靠地；可信赖地；确实地

• systematically [六级]

  美[ˌsɪstəˈmætɪklɪ] | 英[ˌsɪstə'mætɪklɪ]

  adv. 有系统地；有条理地

• felt [专八]

  美[fɛlt] | 英[felt]

  n. 毛毡；毡制品 vt. 制毡；使粘结 vi. 毡合

• saw [专八]

  美[sɔː] | 英[sɔː]

  n. 锯；谚语，格言 v. 锯，用锯割开；看见，明白（see的过去式）

• varied [托福]

  美[ˈverid] | 英[ˈveərid]

  adj. 各种各样的

重点讲解

Kindness**** Can Have**** Unexpectedly**** Positive**** Consequences****

善举可以带来意想不到的正面结果

People**** who engage**** in**** random**** acts**** of**** kindness**** may not fully recognize the impact**** of**** their behavior**** on**** others****.****

随机行善的人可能无法完全认识到他们的行为对他人的影响。

Scientists who study happiness know that being kind to others can improve well-being. Acts as simple as buying a cup of coffee for someone can boost a person's mood, for example. Everyday life affords many opportunities for such actions, yet people do not always take advantage of them.

研究幸福的科学家们知道，善待他人可以提高幸福感。举个例子，和为某人买杯咖啡一样简单的行为就能让人心情好起来。日常生活中有很多这样的机会，但人们并不总是利用它们。

well-being  n. 幸福；健康；安乐；康乐

【例】Singing can create a sense of well-being.

唱歌能够给人一种心旷神怡的感觉。

【拓展】“well”经常用作前缀构词，表示“良好的”“非常的”:

well-known/well-educated/well-intended/well-meaning/well-documented   知名的/受过良好教育的/出于好意的/善意的/有据可依的

【例】Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. 

这样的图景是美好的，但从未实现。

He is a well-meaning but ineffectual leader 

他是个心有余而力不足的领导者。

The risks of smoking are well-documented.

有许多文献可以证明吸烟有害身体健康。

【反义词】表达“坏的”，“不好的”的英语前缀:

1. mal-   恶，不良

malnutrition/malicious   n./adj.  营养不良/恶意的

【例】Infections are more likely in those suffering from malnutrition.

营养不良的人更有可能被传染。

It was malicious gossip, completely without substance. 

这是恶意造谣，完全没有事实根据。

2. dys-   坏，不良

dyspepsia  n. 消化不良

【例】This medicine is not good for people with dyspepsia.

这个药物对于消化不良的人来说不太好。

In**** a set of**** studies published online**** in**** the Journal of**** Experimental**** Psychology****:**** General,**** Nick**** Epley,**** a behavioral**** scientist at**** the University**** of**** Chicago Booth School**** of**** Business****,**** and I examined**** a possible**** explanation.**** We**** found that**** people**** who perform random**** acts**** of**** kindness**** do**** not always**** realize how much**** of**** an**** impact**** they**** are having**** on**** another individual****.**** People**** consistently**** and systematically**** underestimate how others**** value these acts****.****

在《实验心理学杂志：总论》在线发表的一系列研究中，我和芝加哥大学布斯商学院的行为科学家尼克·埃普利研究了一种可能的解释。我们发现，那些随机做善事的人并不总是意识到他们对另一个人有多大的影响。人们一贯地、系统地低估了别人对这些行为的评价。

Across**** multiple**** experiments involving approximately 1,000 participants****,**** people**** performed a random**** act of**** kindness****--that is****,**** an**** action**** done**** with**** the primary intention of**** making**** someone else**** (who**** isn't expecting the gesture)**** feel**** good****.**** Those who perform such**** actions expect**** nothing in**** return****.****

在涉及大约1000名参与者的多个实验中，人们做了一个随机的善举----也就是说，一个行为的主要目的是让其他人（这些人并不期待这种善举）感觉良好。做这种事的人不求任何回报。

From one procedure to the next, the specific acts of kindness varied. For instance, in one experiment, people wrote notes to friends and family "just because." In another, they gave cupcakes away. Across these experiments, we asked both the person performing a kind act and the one receiving it to fill out questionnaires. We asked the person who had acted with kindness to report their own experience and predict their recipient's response. We wanted to understand how valuable people perceived these acts to be, so both the performer and recipient had to rate how "big" the act seemed. In some cases, we also inquired about the actual or perceived cost in time, money or effort. In all cases, we compared the performer's expectations of the recipient's mood with the recipient's actual experience.

从一个程序到下一个程序，具体的善举各不相同。例如，在一项实验中，人们给朋友和家人写了"没什么原因，就是爱你"这样一个便条。在另一项实验中，他们赠送纸杯蛋糕。在这些实验中，我们要求做出善举的人和接受善举的人填写问卷。我们请表现做出善举的人报告自己的经历，并预测接受者的反应。我们想了解人们如何看待这些行为，因此做出善举的人和其接受者都必须评价这些行为看起来有多"大"。在某些情况下，我们还询问了时间、金钱或精力方面的实际成本或感知预计成本。在所有情况下，我们都将做出善举的人对接受者情绪的期望与接受者的实际体验进行了比较。

vary    v. 

1. 不同;有差异

【例】As they're handmade, each one varies slightly.

由于它们是手工制作的，彼此都会有些微小的差异。

2. 变化

【例】The prices of fish vary according to market conditions. 

鱼的价格随着市场行情而变化。

【辨析】change/alter/convert/modify/transform/turn/vary 

（1）change可指任何变化，强调与原先的情况有明显的不同。

【例】A witch changed the boy into a mouse.

女巫把那男孩变成了一只老鼠。

（2）alter常指轻微改变，强调在保持原状的情况下进行局部改变。

【例】Your coat is too big. You must have it altered.

你的外衣太大了，得找人改一下。

（3）convert指改变形式、用途、使用方式等，也指改变信仰、观点、态度等。

【例】Please convert this money into RMB.

请把这钱兑换成人民币。

（4）modify指对某物作细小的改动以对其进行改进，使其更适用或更高效。

【例】The plan must be modified if it is to be used.

这项计划要用就必须修改。

（5）transform指在形式、外观、性质等方面彻底改变，即成为全新的东西。

【例】The magician transformed the handkerchief into a bird.

魔术师把那条手帕变成了一只鸟。

（6）turn指外形、颜色、气味、性质等方面发生变化。

【例】Coal can be turned into heat.

煤可以转化成热。

just because   没有什么特别的原因，就是喜欢/乐意/愿意

【拓展】just because…doesn’t mean…     仅仅因为……不一定……

【例】Just because it has a good tune does not mean it is great music.

仅仅因为它有一个好的曲调并不意味着它就是伟大的音乐。

Just because you can make it work, doesn't mean you should.

仅仅就是因为你能行，这也并不意味着你非得做。

Across our investigations, several robust patterns emerged. For one, both performers and recipients of the acts of kindness were in more positive moods than normal after these exchanges. For another, it was clear that performers undervalued their impact: recipients felt significantly better than the kind actors expected. The recipients also reliably rated these acts as "bigger" than the people performing them did.

在我们的调查中，出现了几种稳健的模式。一种模式是，在这些善举交互之后，行善的人和其接受者的情绪都比平时更积极高昂。另一个模式是，很明显，行善者低估了他们的影响：接受者感觉比行善的人预期的要好得多。接受者还坚定地声称这些善举远比行善者所想的还要"大"。

robust  adj.  强健的；结实的；耐用的；富有活力的

【例】She was almost 90, but still very robust.

她将近90岁了，但身体仍然十分强健。

This country is experiencing a robust economic growth

这个国家正在经历着一股强劲的经济增长。

【辨析】strong/sturdy/robust

We**** initially studied acts**** of**** kindness**** done**** for familiar**** people****,**** such**** as**** friends,**** classmates**** or**** family****.**** But we**** found that**** participants**** underestimated**** their positive**** impact**** on**** strangers as**** well****.**** In**** one experiment****,**** participants**** at**** an**** ice-skating rink**** in**** a public**** park**** gave**** away**** hot chocolate on**** a cold**** winter****'s day.**** Again the experience**** was more**** positive**** than**** the givers**** anticipated for the recipients****,**** who were**** people**** that**** just**** happened**** to**** be**** nearby****.**** While the people**** giving**** the hot chocolate saw the act as**** relatively**** inconsequential,**** it**** really**** mattered**** to**** the recipients****.****

我们最初研究了对朋友、同学或家人等熟悉的人所做的善举。但我们发现参与者也低估了他们对陌生人的积极影响。在一项实验中，参与者在一个寒冷的冬日在公园的溜冰场赠送热巧克力。再一次，这种体验比给予者对接受者的预期更加积极，这些接受者是恰好在附近的人。虽然赠送热巧克力的人认为这种行为相对无关紧要，但对接受者来说却很重要。

Our research also revealed one reason that people may underestimate their action's impact. When we asked one set of participants to estimate how much someone would like getting a cupcake simply for participating in a study, for example, their predictions were well-calibrated with recipient reactions. But when people received cupcakes through a random act of kindness, the cupcake givers underestimated how positive their recipients would feel. Recipients of these unexpected actions tend to focus more on warmth than performers do.

我们的研究还揭示了人们可能低估其行为影响的一个原因。例如，当我们要求一组参与者估计某人仅仅因为参与一项研究而想要得到一个纸杯蛋糕时，他们的预测与接受者的反应是较为准确的。但是当人们通过随机的善举收到纸杯蛋糕时，送纸杯蛋糕的人低估了接受者的积极感受。这些意料之外的善行的接受者往往比行善者更关注温暖。

calibrate    v. 校定；校准；准确估量

【例】Vitamin levels in food are simply too difficult to calibrate. 

食品中维生素的含量很难精确测定。

Measuring instruments must be calibrated before leaving the factory. 

计量器须校对合格才可出厂。

课后练习

• Why do people sometimes ignore the opportunities for being kind?

  A. Because they are not aware of the psychological benefits of such actions.

  B. Because they are reluctant to devote time and energy to such actions.

  C. Because they don’t know whether other people would accept such actions.

  D. Because they think other people would not care much about such actions.

• The method of the experiments was to ____.

  A. find out as many ways as possible to make people feel good

  B. compare the experiences of the performers and the recipients

  C. measure the influence of the kind acts on the recipients’ mood

  D. ask the performers to evaluate the recipients’ feelings about the acts

• One of the findings of the investigations was that ____.

  A. the kind acts made recipients feel more positive than performers

  B. the influence of the kind acts was greater than performers thought

  C. performers felt better when they knew their kindness was appreciated

  D. recipients overestimated how much effort was put into the kind acts

• The experiments of cupcakes showed that ____.

  A. people made more correct estimations after they received kindness

  B. people could adjust their expectations when they got used to being kind

  C. people felt more positive when they received kindness for nothing

  D. people felt more grateful when they were shown kindness twice