外刊精读:我们可以利用想象力来做出更有意义的决定

标题：

Our Imagination Sets Up Our Decisions

想象力能影响决定

正文：

Sometimes I wish the human brain came with a user’s manual; it would be so handy. Take the relationship between thinking about something and actually doing it, for example. It’s not unusual for people to judge themselves for thoughts they have, even though having a thought isn’t the same as taking action.

有时我希望人类的大脑能配备一本使用手册，那就会非常方便。以思考和实际行动之间的关系为例。人们根据自身想法来对判断自己，这是很正常的现象，尽管有想法并不等同于行动。

Now, although thinking and doing certainly aren’t equal, it’s also common for people to underestimate the link between the thoughts they nurture now and how they behave later. For instance, research shows that when people picture assisting another person (e.g., helping them find an item they lost) they’re more inclined to provide assistance and help them in reality (i.e., give money). Athletes who envision how they want to perform are more apt to enhance their performance.

现在，尽管思考和行动明显不是平等的，但人们也经常低估此刻拥有的想法和以后的行为之间的联系。例如，研究表明，当人们想象为他人提供帮助（例如，帮助他们找到丢失的东西），他们在现实中也更倾向于为他人提供帮助和支持（例如，给钱）。如果运动员想象一下自己期望的表现，则更容易提高真实的表现。

【词汇】

nurture/'nt(r)/v. 养育, 培养；怀有（希望, 想法, 抱负）

例：For a long time she had nurtured the dream of buying a shop.

长期以来她一直梦想着要买下一间店铺。

incline/n'klan/ v. 使想要, 使倾向于：

例：His prejudice inclines him to overlook obvious facts.

他的偏见使他忽视显而易见的事实。

看看美剧中的例子：

envision/n'vn/v. 想像; 设想

例：She envisioned the admiring glances of guests seeing her home.

她想象着客人们看到她的家时那种羡慕的目光。

And in a new study, a team of researchers examined whether picturing a choice impacts whether someone will make that choice in reality. This work revealed that the judgment calls people in the study made in their everyday lives aligned with what they were considering. But the stronger test was what folks would do when the researchers asked them to envision making a specific selection (e.g., asking them to visualize picking snack A over snack B). Would this impact what people actually do? It did. In other words, the course of action people entertain in their imagination can influence the probability of actually taking that path.

在一项新的研究中，一组研究人员研究的问题是：对一个选择进行想象是否会影响人们在现实中做出该选择。这项研究表明，研究对象在日常生活中根据自身判断作出的决定与他们所考虑的内容是一致的。但更有力的测试是，当研究人员让人们想象做出特定选择时，他们会怎么做（例如，让他们想象选择零食A而非零食B）。这会影响人们的实际行为吗？会的。换句话说，人们在想象中采取的行动会影响实际采取行动的可能性。

【词汇】

judgment call 根据自己的判断做出的决定

例：The rules aren't clear in this case, so officials are required to make a judgment call.就这件事而言，规则不是很明确，所以主管人员要靠自己的判断做出决定。

看看美剧中的例子：

align/'lan/v. 排成直线；放入正确（或合适）的相对位置；支持

例：The schools had to align their programs with state requirements.

学校必须按照州的要求调整教学计划。

entertain /ent'ten/ v. 给…娱乐；招待；对（意见, 建议, 感情）给予考虑

例：Washington entertained little hope of an early improvement in relations.

华盛顿对早日改善关系不抱希望。

Certainly, there are boundaries on what we can take away from this study. For instance, the longest time horizon for the choices in this study was one week, so it’s not clear what this means for decisions that are further in the future. It's also not apparent whether visualizing the act of making a choice influences people’s selections separately from simply reporting details of the object a person could choose. To illustrate, suppose you’re asked to imagine choosing a banana (versus an apple) and you wind up actually picking the banana when you get a chance to select the fruit you want. What made the difference? Did it matter that you pictured choosing the banana over just looking closely at the banana and sharing what it looks like? This study doesn’t resolve that question.

当然，这项研究提供的启发也是有限的。例如，在这项研究中，选择的最长时间范围是一周，所以不清楚这对更长远的未来所做的决定有什么意义。同样不清楚的是，想象做出选择的行为是否会影响人们的选择，而不是简单地报告一个人可能选择的物体的细节。假设你被要求想象选择香蕉（而不是苹果），当你有机会选择想要的水果时，你最终确实选择了香蕉。是什么产生的影响？你想象选择香蕉，而不是仅仅仔细观察香蕉并分享其外观，这有关系吗？这项研究并没有解决这个问题。

【词汇】

wind up（使自己）陷入，卷入，落得

例：You don't want to wind up homeless, do you?

你不想最后落得无家可归，对不对？

resolve/r'zlv/v. 解决（问题、争端、争论等）

例：The firm aims to resolve problems within 30 days.

公司打算30天内解决问题。

Notwithstanding these considerations, it’s worth bearing in mind the courses of action we mentally rehearse. To be sure, the mere act of picturing just any game plan doesn’t necessarily translate to acting on it. A person could fantasize about deciding to steal one painting they adore from a museum versus another painting. It certainly doesn’t mean they’ll do it. However, research reveals that imagining a situation elevates a person’s estimation of how probable it is that the situation will occur (e.g., an accident). Moreover, the act of picturing a course of action can increase a person’s sense of how liable they are to follow through on that action, regardless of whether they ultimately do so. And as this research indicates, envisioning a decision could actually increase the possibility of making that decision, at least in some cases.

尽管有这些考虑，我们还是有必要将脑海中预演过的行动牢记在心中。可以肯定的是，想象事先制定的对策的行为并不一定会转化为行动。一个人可以想象从博物馆偷一幅喜欢的画（而不是另一幅画）的决定，这当然不意味着他们会这么做。然而，研究表明，想象某个情景会提高一个人对这种情景发生的可能性的估计（例如：事故)。此外，想象一个行动过程的行为可以增加一个人对自己有多大可能完成这个行动的感知，不管他们最终是否会这样做。正如这项研究表明的那样，设想一个决定实际上可以增加做出这个决定的可能性，至少在某些情况下是这样。

【词汇】

notwithstanding/ntwθ'staend/prep. 尽管, 虽然：

例：They travelled on, notwithstanding the storm.

尽管有暴风雨,他们仍然继续赶路。

game plan（尤指在体育、政治、商业活动中）事先制定的对策。

fantasize/'faentsaz/v. 做白日梦；想像; 幻想

例：He sometimes fantasized about emigrating.

他有时幻想着移居国外。

elevate/'elvet/v. 举起, 抬起; 提升, 提高；使情绪高昂

例：The fresh morning air elevated him.

早晨清新的空气使他神清气爽。

liable /'labl/ adj.（应）负有法律责任的；有…的倾向, 可能…：

例：Patients were liable to faint if they stood up too suddenly.

病人如果突然站起可能会晕倒。

So, how could you apply this to your own life? Perhaps you might envision making a decision that aligns with what’s meaningful and uplifting to you. Or, you might catch yourself picturing a choice that you know wouldn’t be helpful to you or others (e.g., hurling insults at someone versus slowing down and speaking respectfully), and changing the mental channel to choices that align with how you really want to be in the world. Whatever you decide, consider collecting your own personal data and seeing what happens. Does it elevate how you feel, think, or act?

那么，你如何将这个发现应用到生活中呢？也许你可以设想做出一个对你有意义和令人振奋的决定。或者，你可能会发现自己在想象一个你知道对自己或他人都没有帮助的选择（例如，对某人进行侮辱，还是放慢速度、尊重地说话），然后改变心理通道，选择与你真正想要在这个世界上保持的状态一致的选择。无论你做什么决定，可以收集自身的资料，看看会发生什么。有没有提升你的感受、思考或行为？

【词汇】

hurl /hl/ v. 力掷; 猛投; 凶恶地叫（骂）

例：The angry man hurled insults at the referee.

那个愤怒的人对裁判大声辱骂。

看看美剧中的例子：