TED演讲:你真的知道你行为背后的动机吗(7)

 And here I must point out, of course, that you are not allowed to use this as an actual method to change people's votes before an election, 在这里我还想指出的是，当然，你会被禁止在大选之前使用这项手段来改变人们的投票意向，

and we clearly debriefed¹ them afterwards and gave them every opportunity to change back to whatever they thought first. 之后我们还很清楚地告诉了他们，我们给他们改回原来他们所想的答案的机会。

But what this shows is that if you can get people to see the opposite view and engage in a conversation with themselves, 但是这个试验表明，如果你可以让这些人们看到与他们相对的观点，并且让他们仔细斟酌自己的想法，

that could actually make them change their views. OK. 那就可以使他们改变他们的观点。好的。

So what does it all mean? What do I think is going on here? 那么这一切都是什么意思？我认为这里到底发生了什么呢？

So first of all, a lot of what we call self-knowledge is actually self-interpretation². 首先，那些我们所谓的自知之明其实是我们的自我诠释。

So I see myself make a choice, and then when I'm asked why, 我明白我做了一个选择，而当我被问起为什么时，

I just try to make as much sense of it as possible when I make an explanation. 我仅仅是想让我的解释听起来尽可能的合理。

But we do this so quickly and with such ease that we think we actually know the answer when we answer why. 但是我们迅速并且很容易地完成了这一过程，就是我们会误以为自己已经知道答案了。

And as it is an interpretation, of course we sometimes make mistakes. 因为这仅仅是一种诠释，当然我们时常会犯错误。

The same way we make mistakes when we try to understand other people. 当我们尝试去理解他人时，我们会以同样的方式犯错误。

So beware³ when you ask people the question "why" because what may happen is that, 当你问别人“为什么”的问题时要小心，因为将会发生的事是，

if you asked them, "So why do you support this issue?" "Why do you stay in this job or this relationship?" 如果你问他们，“为什么你会支持这个主张？”“你为什么从事这份工作，或持续这段感情？”

what may happen when you ask why is that you actually create an attitude that wasn't there before you asked the question. 其实你已经建立了一种态度，这种态度在你问这个问题之前并不存在。

 

1 debriefed   

v.向（外交人员等）询问执行任务的情况( debrief的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was taken to a US airbase to be debriefed on the mission. 他被带到美国空军基地汇报执行使命情况。
• We debriefed our pilot after he had flown over the enemy's land. 我方飞行员飞越敌境之后，我们向他询问情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

3 beware   

vt./vi.谨防，当心

参考例句：

• Beware of the fire.留心火烛。
• Beware of being too impatient with others.注意不要对他人太没有耐心。