評論
打印
YAEL:Good news, Don, I think I've finally mastered schmoozing with strangers.
雅艾爾:唐，告訴你個好消息,我想終于掌握了與陌生人閑談的訣竅。
DON:You have?
唐:你有什么秘訣嗎?
YAEL:It all has to do with what scientists call trait transference, the process through which observers deduce facts about other people based on the things those people say.
雅艾爾:這一切都與科學家們所謂的特質轉移有關,在這一進程中,觀察人員根據這些人說的事情演繹別人的事實。
Researchers studying trait transference conducted an experiment in which they divided participants into two groups.
研究人員進行了一項研究特質轉移的實驗,他們把參與者們分成兩組。
Members of the first group watched videos of people describing themselves, and members of the second group watched videos of people describing acquaintances.
第一組看描述自己的視頻,而第二組則觀看人們描述熟人的視頻。
And here's the interesting thing.
而后有趣的事情出現了。
The observers associated the traits the speakers talked about with the speakers themselves, even if the speakers were describing their acquaintances.
觀察人員演講者談論的相關特征與演講者自己聯系起來,即使說話人是描述他們的熟人。
In other words, when you hear a stranger saying someone is mean, you end up thinking the stranger is the mean one.
換句話說,當你聽到一個陌生人說別人吝嗇,你最終會認為這位陌生人是個吝嗇鬼。
DON:But that makes no sense.
唐:但這簡直沒有道理。
YAEL:The researchers were surprised too, and here is what they think happens.
雅艾爾:研究人員也對此發現感到驚訝,接下來就是他們認為發生的事情。
When a person says something, the first thing you do is figure out the gist of what he or she is saying.
當一個人說了一些事情,你的第一反應是找出他或她說的要點。
So if I tell you my friend George is mean, the gist of that will be meanness.
所以如果我告訴你我的朋友喬治吝嗇，毋庸置疑要點就是吝嗇。
But because I'm the one talking, you begin to associate that trait with me.
但是,因為我是說話者,你開始將這一特點與我聯系。
DON:Kind of like shooting the messenger.
唐:有點像是當頭棒喝。
YAEL:Exactly. And eventually, you forget whether I was talking about myself or someone else, and end up thinking I'm the mean one.
雅艾爾:的確如此。最終,你忘了我是否在談論自己或別人,最終會想我是個吝嗇鬼。
DON:So if you say nice things about other people, they'll end up thinking you're the nice one.
唐:所以,如果你說的是別人的好話,他們最終可能會認為你是個不錯的家伙。
YAEL:You got it. I guess that old saying is true:
雅艾爾:現在你明白其中道理了。我想老話說的都是真理:
if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!
如果你嘴里沒好話，那干脆就什么也別說!
