評論
打印
Sometimes it just feels like you're having a lucky day.
有時候，你會覺得一天過得很幸運。
Maybe you got the last concert tickets to see your favorite band, or you found 20 bucks on the sidewalk.
也許你得到了最后一張音樂會門票，可以去看最喜歡的樂隊，或者你在人行道上發現了20塊錢。
Either way, you were in the right spot at the right time!
不管怎樣，你都適時出現在了正確地點。
And bam...Your day suddenly got awesome.
然后你的一天突然變得棒極了。
Now, luck might be a strange thing for someone to believe in, especially because we can't prove it really exists,
人們幸運可能是奇怪的東西，特別是因為我們無法證明它確實存在，
but psychologists have found it's a very powerful thing.
但心理學家發現它是非常有力量。
And whether or not you believe in, luck might even determine how successful you are. Well, sort of.
不管你信不信，運氣甚至可能決定你的成功。或許有點兒作用吧。
In a now classic 2010 study, psychologists in Germany challenged 28 university students into a game of mini golf,
在2010年的一項經典研究中，德國心理學家對28名大學生進行了一場迷你高爾夫游戲的挑戰，
where each person had to putt the ball ten times from about a meter away.
每個人都必須從一米外輕擊高爾夫球十次。
Half the group was given a ball they were told had been lucky so far.
一半人被告知他們得到的是幸運球。
The other half was told the ball had just been the one everyone was using.
另一半人被告知他們的是人人在用的球。
Now, there's no such thing as a lucky ball, so it really shouldn't have mattered.
沒有所謂的幸運球，所以它真的不重要。
But the students who were told they were using the lucky ball performed 35% better.
但是被告知使用幸運球的學生表現得更好，水平高了35%。
To figure out why this happened,
為了弄清楚為什么會發生這種情況，
the same researchers also recruited about 40 students who admitted to having lucky charms,
同樣的研究人員又招募了大約40名承認有幸運符的學生，
and then had them take a memory test either with or without their charm.
然后不管他們有沒有幸運符，讓他們進行記憶測試。
Once again, the people who got to keep their charms scored better on the quiz,
同樣，那些在測試中保持幸運符的人得分更高，
but they also reported feeling more confident beforehand.
但他們也表示，在此之前他們感到更加自信。
And that is where researchers think our lucky totems get their powers.
這就是研究人員認為我們的幸運圖騰得到力量的地方。
Just having the charms around boosted the students' self-efficacy,
僅僅有幸運符就能提高學生的自我效能感，
or the belief that they had the right skills and abilities to succeed.
或者他們擁有成功技能和能力的信念。
This played out in a follow-up experiment,
在后續實驗中，這種做法失去了作用，
where 31 students with or without their lucky charms were given a separate, untimed test
他們給了31名有或沒有幸運符的學生一個單獨、不定時的測試，
to make as many anagrams as they could from 8 letters.
從8個字母中找出盡可能多的易位構詞。
Before the challenge, each participant was asked what percentage of all possible solutions they wanted to find before they gave up.
在挑戰之前，每個參與者都被問及他們在放棄之前想要找到所有可能答案的百分比。
The team found that those allowed to keep their charms set higher goals for themselves
研究小組發現，那些被允許保持幸運符的人會為自己設定更高的目標，
and worked harder to identify more words, devoting more than 5 extra minutes to the task.
并且更加努力地識別更多單詞，多花5分鐘的時間完成任務。
This suggests that, because they believed their lucky charms would help them do well,
結果表明，因為這些學生相信幸運符會幫助自己做好，
the students were more ambitious and willing to put in more effort.
他們就更加雄心勃勃，愿意付出更多的努力。
Really, it's all just a self-fulfilling prophecy.
真的，它只是一個自我應驗的預言。
If you think your lucky Star Wars action figure will help you ace a test,
如果你認為你的幸運“星際大戰”行動能幫助你考高分，
you'll probably be more motivated to study for it, even if you don't realize it.
你就可能更有動力去學習，即使自己沒有意識到。
And that is what will get you an A, not the Darth Vader in your pants...
這種做法將會讓你獲得一個A，而不是“褲子上黑武士”。
Still, this kind of positive thinking can be really powerful and it doesn't just apply to lucky charms.
盡管如此，這種積極的想法還是很有力量的，它不僅僅適用于幸運符。
In fact, people who just think of themselves as lucky people also reap the rewards.
事實上，那些認為自己幸運的人也會收獲回報。
In a survey of about 200 college students, those who agreed with statements like
在一項對大約200名大學生的調查中，那些同意這種說法的人，
'I often feel like it is my lucky day', or 'Luck works in my favor,'
“我經常覺得今天是我的幸運日”，或者“運氣對我有利”，
were more likely to have high levels of what psychologists call achievement motivation,
更有可能擁有高水平、也就是心理學家所說的成就動機，
a sense of persistence and drive, compared to those who believed luck was only fleeting.
它是一種堅持和努力的感覺，相比之下，有些人相信運氣只是稍縱即逝。
And more persistence and drive probably means you'll ultimately do better when it comes to exams, homework, or your job.
更多的堅持和努力可能意味著你最終會在考試、家庭作業或工作上做得更好。
One psychologist, Richard Wiseman, who's spent over a decade studying the psychology of luck,
一位心理學家理查德·懷斯曼，花了十年時間研究運氣心理學，
has found that people 'make their own luck' by being more open to unexpected opportunities.
發現人們通過更加開放地對待意外機會來“創造自己的運氣”。
In one experiment, he recruited people who considered themselves lucky or unlucky,
在一個實驗中，他招募了那些認為自己幸運或不幸的人，
and then tasked them with counting the number of photographs in a newspaper as quickly as they could.
然后讓他們盡可能快地數一份報紙上的照片數量。
The lucky people finished on average much faster than their unlucky peers,
幸運之人比不幸之人平均速度快得多，
but not because they counted faster.
但不是因為他們數得更快。
Instead, they spotted a message in big font on top of the page that said,
相反，他們在頁面頂端發現了一條大字體信息，寫著
"Stop counting, there are 43 photographs in this newspaper."
“別數了，這張報紙上有43張照片。”
Meanwhile, the unlucky people were so focused on the photos, they'd missed the clue.
與此同時，那些倒霉的人把注意力都集中在照片上，錯過了線索。
Wiseman argues that part of what makes someone 'lucky' is this openness to new ideas.
懷斯曼認為，讓人“幸運”的部分原因是對新思想的開放性。
If you're receptive to unexpected opportunities like a business offer,
如果你能接受一些意想不到的機會，比如商業邀請，
or meeting someone new on the subway, you can capitalize on them instead of letting them slip by.
或者在地鐵上結識新朋友，就可以積累機會，而不是讓它們溜走。
Another experiment showed that lucky people also tend to be more optimistic,
另一項實驗表明，幸運的人也更樂觀，
if something tragic or unlucky happens, they're more likely to see the silver lining,
如果發生了不幸的事情，他們更有可能看到一線光明，
and that may allow them to stay positive and overcome challenges that come their way.
這可能會讓他們保持積極的心態，克服所面臨的挑戰。
Some of these qualities may be personality-based.
有些品質可能是基于個性。
Wiseman evaluated many lucky and unlucky people with personality tests,
懷斯曼對許多幸運和不幸的人進行了性格測試，
and found that so-called 'lucky people' are usually more extroverted and open and less neurotic, or tense and anxious.
發現所謂的“幸運人”通常更外向、更開放、更少神經質、緊張和焦慮。
But still he thinks anyone can increase their luck by changing their expectations and going out of their way to try new things.
但他仍認為，任何人都可以通過改變自己的期望和嘗試新事物的方式來增加運氣。
So, while there's no evidence that luck exists,
雖然沒有證據表明運氣是存在的，
it doesn't seem like anything bad will happen if you decide to believe in it.
但如果你決定相信它，似乎就不會有任何壞事發生。
Really, you're still doing all the work, and making that good luck come true,
真的，你還在做著一切努力讓好運變成現實，
but sometimes it's nice to think it came from a lucky touch, from Darth Vader in your pants.
但是有時候，認為它來自幸運或“褲子上黑武士”是件好事。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感謝您收看本期的心理科學秀！
If you want to keep getting more of them keep up-to-date on brain stuff,
如果你想更多了解最新的大腦信息，
all our latest videos are going to be in your subscription box
我們所有的最新視頻都將會在你的訂閱箱里，
if only you go to youtube.com/scishowpsych to subscribe.
只要你登錄youtube.com/scishowpsych點擊訂閱即可。
