地平线系列：性格的真相（2013）

其影响只有乐观的一半
it would half as much,
可以延长寿命三至四年
three to four years to life expectancy.
但是如果你不是乐天派
But what can you do
那该怎么做呢
if you’re not naturally a positive, happy soul?
我一直想着会发生最坏的事
I keep on thinking that the worst is going to happen.
但并没有发生 同时
It doesn’t happen but, in the meanwhile,
与考虑当下和现有情况
rather than engaging in the present and sort of being there,
或是同家人交谈相比 我更容易
chatting with my family, I’m sometimes staring off
让思维漫游 去考虑
into outer space, thinking about things
一些不太可能发生的事
which will probably never occur.
我的睡眠也很糟糕
I’m also still sleeping terribly
如果我能做些什么
and, so, if I could do something
让情况有所改变
that would make that different,
那我真的很愿意试试
then I would really love to do it.
过去的几年里
Over the last few years,
我关注着关于
I’ve looked at the evidence
我们机体如何运作的科学证据
behind the science of how our bodies work.
我对自己尝试了各种不同的测试和操作
I’ve tried a lot of different tests and procedures on myself.
吸气
Breathe in!
现在我准备将关注方向从身体转向心理
Now I want to move on from the body to the mind,
探索积极心理学背后的科学原理
to examine the science behind positive psychology.
第一步是找出测量性格的
And the first step is to find objective ways
客观方法
to measure personality.
我们的性格是由多种特征交互的复合体
Our personalities are a complex interaction of character traits
影响着行为和情绪 并最终引导我们的生活
that affect behaviour, emotions and ultimately the lives we lead.
而基本驱动力之一就是乐观
And one of the fundamental drivers is how optimistic
或悲观的程度
or pessimistic we are.
这也是最热门的科研领域之一
This is also one of the hottest new areas of scientific research.
但究竟如何客观地进行测量呢
But how on earth do you objectively measure it?
我身高1米80 76公斤
I am 5 ft 11, I’m 168 lbs
胸围107厘米
and my chest size is 42 inches.
这些都很容易测量
Now these things are easy to measure,
但我们的性格该如何测量呢
but what about aspects of personality?
为此我来到艾塞克斯大学
Well, I’ve come here to Essex University,
他们将探测我的大脑
where they’re going to probe my brain
之后就可以告诉我
and apparently they can tell me
我到底是天性乐观还是悲观
whether I am fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic.
艾塞克斯大学
脑科学研究中心
健康与人类科学院
伊莱恩·福克斯教授是一名神经学家
Professor Elaine Fox is a neuroscientist
是乐观性格科学的主要研究者之一
and one of the leading researchers in the science of optimism.
准备好了吗 我会注入少量的凝胶
Now, ready? All I do is put in a small amount of gel
你会感到很凉
and then you’ll feel it cold.
一些人的大脑很容易关注消极信息
We know that some people’s brains tune in very much
伊莱恩·福克斯教授 艾塞克斯大学
而另一些人则易关注积极信息
negative information and others tune into positive information,
我们希望在研究中
and what we’re hoping to do,
可以测量你的脑电活动
we’re measuring the electrical activity in your brain
然后我们会尝试探测
and we’re really just going to try and probe
和观察你的大脑倾向于关注
and see whether your brain naturally tunes in
积极信息还是消极信息
to either positive stuff or negative stuff.
我必须承认 我对你的发现
I am, I must admit, phenomenally interested
非常感兴趣 因为…
to see what you discover because…
是的 会很有趣
Yes, it’ll be interesting, yeah.
我估计我可能偏向于消极
I would suspect that I have a bias towards the negative.
你这么想吗 是的
Do you think so? Yes.
也许结果显示我是个极度乐观主义者
It may turn out that I’m a rip-roaring optimist.
绝对有可能 很有可能
Well, it absolutely might, yes, exactly.
有趣的是我经常和我妻子
It’s funny because I have these conversations with my wife
交流这些 因为她是一个…
quite frequently because she has a…
我觉得 她天生性格阳光
I think, a kind of naturally sunny disposition,
她觉得这样很让她沮丧
and she finds it quite frustrating.
她会不停地说 这些事不会发生
You know, she keeps on saying, “These things won’t happen.”
-不 确实 -你为什么一直去想那些
– No, exactly. – Why do you keep thinking about them?
-不停地讨论和计划那些 -是的
– Why do you keep on talking and planning about things, – Yes
发生概率很低
Which the odds on them ever, ever happening
-很低的事 -是的
– are just fantastically low? – Yes, exactly.
为什么不静观其变呢
Why don’t you just wait and see what happens?
这是灾难啊 孩子们最终都要去坐牢了
It’s a disaster, the kids will all end up in jail.
令人尴尬的是 当他们为我连接测试设备时
Embarrassingly, I can’t even stop worrying
我都无法停止担忧
while they’re setting this up.
天啊 那里有光在闪 这不好
Oh dear, there’s a flashing light there. It’s not good.
这不关我的事 我知道
It’s not my bloody job, I know that.
我的视线一直被吸引 我就一直观察
My eye keeps on being drawn to it and I keep on going,
这现象重要吗
Is that important?
别担心那些闪光
Don’t worry about the flashing light.
我知道这跟我没关系 可就是控制不住
I know, it’s nothing to do with me but I can’t quite stop myself.
测试的第一部分包括
The first part of the test involves measuring levels
在我静息时
of electrical activity
对大脑两侧电活动水平的测量
on the two sides of my brain while I’m resting.
令人惊讶的是 研究表明
Surprisingly enough, studies have shown
倾向于高度悲观 神经质
that people who are prone to high levels of pessimism,
和焦虑的人 其右侧额叶皮层
neuroticism and anxiety tend to have greater activity
比左侧的活跃程度更高
on the right side of their frontal cortex than the left.
这被称为脑不对称性
This is known as cerebral asymmetry.
我们知道这发生了 却不知道发生机理
We know it happens, we don’t know why.
现在为了更有效地说明问题
Now for something more active.
伊莱恩要求我在看到屏幕上显示的
Elaine’s asked me to press a button
脸后面有闪烁的点时 就按下按钮
when I see dots flashing up behind faces on the screen.
这个时候 我完全处在
At the moment, I’m just in a kind of
一种失神的状态
a completely zoned-out territory.
脑中一片空白
I have no idea.
完全一团糟
That was a cock-up, yeah.
我没意识到 这么做
I didn’t realise while I was doing it
其实是在测试我的潜意识偏向
that the whole point is to test unconscious biases.
他们要测试我的反应时间是否会受到
They wanted to see if my response time was influenced
亮点前面的面部表情
by whether the dots appeared
是快乐还是愤怒的影响
behind angry or behind happy faces.
是否顺利按照你的计划进行了
Did that kind of go as you’d planned?
是的 收集到数据了
Yes, it did. There’s the data.
天哪 这样很不好看吧
God, this is not a good look, is it?
伊莱恩·福克斯教授 心理科
-你好 -你好 迈克尔
– Hello, there! – Hi, Michael.
几小时过后 我的结果出来了
A couple of hours later, and my results are ready.
计算机测量了你按下按钮的速度
The computer measured the speed that you pressed the button
有时生气的表情会出现在左手边
and sometimes there was an angry face on the left hand side,
也就是说开心的表情出现在右手边
say, sometimes a happy face on the right hand side,
可以看到 目标出现在愤怒表情边上时
so you can see that’s how quickly you responded
你的反应有多快
when the target appeared near the angry faces.
真是不寻常 我的反应要快很多
It’s extraordinary. My reaction times are much faster…
-快很多 如你所见 -面对愤怒表情
– Much faster, as you see. – ..With the angry faces.
没错 当小的点出现
Exactly, so when the little probes
愤怒表情附近时
appeared where the angry faces were,
你的反应快很多 所以…
you were actually much, much faster, so…
-真的是不同寻常 -是的
– That is, OK, that is extraordinary. – Yes
我对这些完全没有意识
I had absolutely no idea that was going on at all.
是的 这是针对心理的小探测器
Exactly, it’s a little probe into your mind showing us
显示你的大脑反应略快一些
your brain is just slightly faster
是因为你潜意识已经有倾向了
because you were already there.
你的注意力立刻就被愤怒表情吸引了
Your attention has gone to the angry face immediately,
当你反应的时候 由于你已经有了倾向
so when you react, because you’re already there,
你就会略快一些
you’re a little bit faster.
而伊莱恩还另有发现
But Elaine has found something else
那些发现更让人不安
which is a bit more unsettling.
在实验的第一部分中
The first part of the test,
他们测量了我静息时的大脑活动
where they measured my brain activity at rest,
结果发现我的右侧额区比左侧
revealed I have nearly three times more activity
活跃度高近三倍
in the right frontal areas than the left.
这表明大脑比我所以为的
This suggests a brain that is even more tuned to the dark side
更倾向于黑暗面
than I thought.
如果你的机器判定我是个极度乐观主义者
I would have been surprised if your machine had decided
我会很吃惊的 因为那不是事实