研究称获得铜牌比获得银牌更开心

    研究称获得铜牌比获得银牌更开心
    Finishing first is what matters at the Winter Olympics， but scientists believe that coming home third is often better than being second best.
    It's all to do with a tongue－twisting phenomenon called "counterfactual thinking" or "what might have been"， said Victoria Medvec， a psychologist and university professor.
    "On average， bronze medallists are happier than silver medallists，" she told the Globe and Mail newspaper， explaining that third－place winners have upward thoughts （"at least I won"） that increase satisfaction.
    In stark¹ contrast， those who come in second tend to have downward "if only" thoughts that decrease happiness.
    The most telling study involving athletes used footage from medal ceremonies at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
    Researchers including Medvec from the Northwestern University''s School of Management in Illinois， asked subjects to rate the satisfaction of bronze and silver medal winners based on their facial expressions.
    The study revealed a discrepancy² between performance and satisfaction， said Medvec.
    "Those who perform objectively³ better can actually feel worse than those who they outperformed．"Expectations from sponsors， teammates and fans can contribute to an athlete''s sense of disappointment， according to Saul Miller⁴， a Vancouver－based psychologist.
    在冬奥会上争得第一名固然重要，但是科学家认为摘得铜牌而归比摘得银牌感觉更好。
    心理学家、大学教授维多利亚?麦维琪说，这一切都和“反向思考”现象有关，也就是“本来可以怎么样”的想法。
    她告诉《环球邮报》说： “一般来说，铜牌获得者比银牌获得者更快乐。”她解释说，第三名的获得者会抱着积极向上的想法（“至少我得奖了”），这种想法增加了满足感。
    与此构成鲜明对比的是，那些获得第二名的人倾向于抱有“要是……就好了”的消极想法，这种想法减少了他们的快乐。
    最能说明问题的和运动员相关的研究采用了1992年巴塞罗那夏季奥运会的颁奖典礼的录像带片段。
    研究者包括来自美国伊利诺斯州西北大学管理学院的麦维琪教授。他们让参与者根据录像带上运动员的面部表情来评定铜牌和银牌获得者的满意度。
    麦维琪说，研究揭示，运动员的表现和满意度之间有落差。
    “实际上，那些客观上表现较好的人比那些表现不如他们的人的满意度要差。”
    温哥华心理学家索尔?米勒说，来自赞助商、队员和支持者的期待都可能造成运动员的失落感。

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

3 objectively   

ad.客观地，客观上地

参考例句：

• Everything that exists objectively can be understood. 客观存在的事物都是能够被理解的。
• He hoped they would write objectively about China. 他希望他们能客观地报道中国的情况。

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。