国家地理 我们为什么说谎(3)

The ubiquity of lying was first documented systematically¹ by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to jot² down for a week every instance they tried to mislead someone. The researchers found that the subjects lied on average one or two times a day. Most of these untruths were innocuous, intended to hide one's inadequacies or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses -- one subject blamed the failure to take out the garbage on not knowing where it needed to go. Yet other lies -- such as a claim of being a diplomat's son -- were aimed at presenting a false image. While these were minor³ transgressions⁴, a later study by DePaulo and other colleagues involving a similar sample indicated that most people have, at some point, told one or more "serious lies" -- hiding an affair from a spouse⁵, for example, or making false claims on a college application.

来自加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的社会心理学家贝拉·德保罗，首次将谎言的普遍性系统地记录在案。20年前，德保罗和她的同事们要求147名成年人做一个为期一周的实验，在实验中记录下他们每一个试图误导他人的例子。研究人员发现，被试平均每天撒谎一次或两次。这些谎言大部分是无害的，旨在掩盖自己的不足或保护别人的感受。一些谎言则是借口，就像是把垃圾拿出来却不知道要丢到哪里的借口。还有一些谎言的目的在于提出虚伪的形象，比如声称自己是外交官的儿子。虽然这都是一些轻微的过错，由德保罗和其他同事提到的类似案例的随后研究表明，大多数人在某种程度上都说过一个或多个严重的谎言——遮掩自己的外遇行为或者在大学的申请中提供虚假的文书信息。

That human beings should universally possess a talent for deceiving one another shouldn't surprise us. Researchers speculate that lying as a behavior arose not long after the emergence⁷ of language. The ability to manipulate others without using physical force likely conferred an advantage in the competition for resources and mates, akin⁶ to the evolution of deceptive⁸ strategies in the animal kingdom, such as camouflage⁹. "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," notes Sissela Bok, an ethicist¹⁰ at Harvard University who's one of the most prominent thinkers on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

人类应该普遍拥有欺骗彼此的天赋，我们不应该对此感到惊讶。研究人员推测，说谎行为诞生于语言出现之后不久。在不使用物理力量的情况下，操纵他人的能力可能在竞争资源和伴侣方面具有优势，类似于动物王国中欺骗性战略的演变，如伪装。哈佛大学的伦理学家西塞拉·博克是这一领域最突出的思想家之一，他说： “与其他获得权力的方法相比，说谎是非常容易的。为了获得钱或财富，说谎比打倒某人或抢劫银行容易多了。”

As lying has come to be recognized as a deeply ingrained human trait, social science researchers and neuroscientists have sought to illuminate¹¹ the nature and roots of the behavior. How and when do we learn to lie? What are the psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of dishonesty? Where do most of us draw the line? Researchers are learning that we're prone¹² to believe some lies even when they're unambiguously contradicted by clear evidence. These insights suggest that our proclivity¹³ for deceiving others, and our vulnerability to being deceived, are especially consequential¹⁴ in the age of social media. Our ability as a society to separate truth from lies is under unprecedented¹⁵ threat.

说谎已被认为是根深蒂固的人格特征，社会科学的研究人员和科学家都试图阐明说谎行为的性质和根源。我们如何又何时学会说谎？不诚实的心理和神经生物学基础是什么？我们多数人的底线在哪呢？研究人员发现即使在明确的证据表明矛盾的情况下，我们也容易相信一些谎言。这些见解表明，我们欺骗他人的倾向，以及我们被欺骗的脆弱性在社交媒体时代尤为明显。作为一个社群，我们区分谎言和真相的能力也受到前所未有的威胁。

1 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

2 jot   

n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下

参考例句：

• I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来，免得忘了。
• There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网

5 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

6 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

7 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

8 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

9 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

10 ethicist   

n.伦理学家，道德学家

参考例句：

• They are used to resolving conflicting principles, says Dick Willems, a Dutch doctor and ethicist. 荷兰的医生，伦理学家DickWillems说，他们惯于解决相冲突的原则。
• They are used to resolving conflicting principles, says Dick Willems gold, a Dutch doctor and ethicist. 一个荷兰医生与道德家，认为他们习惯了解决有冲突的原则。

11 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

12 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

13 proclivity   

n.倾向，癖性

参考例句：

• He has a proclivity toward violence.他有暴力的倾向。
• He has a proclivity for exaggeration.他总爱夸夸其谈。

14 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

15 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。