B2U5Social Behavior
Reading Text One>Text One
Who Speaks Up in the Face of Uncivil Behavior?
Daisy Grewal
Culture Notes
1 Have you ever been out in public and seen someone do something outrageous? Maybe you witnessed someone yelling a racial slur at a stranger or physically abusing a young child in their care. All of us probably remember a time when someone’s behavior violated our standards of moral decency, but only some of us can say we actively intervened. What separates those who speak up from those who stay silent?
你是否曾在公共场合见过让人义愤填膺的所作所为？也许你曾目睹有人冲着陌生人大喊种族蔑称，或曾亲眼见到有人虐待由他们看护的孩童。我们可能都记得有这么一次，某个人的行为与我们的道德标准背道而驰，但只有小部分人能够说自己曾经积极干预过。有些人直言相劝，而有些人则保持缄默，这其中差别何在？
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2 On the one hand, you might hypothesize that people who are more aggressive or hostile by nature are more likely to openly challenge a stranger. On the other hand, speaking out against injustice could be seen in a more positive light, as an act of maturity. Emerging research supports the latter idea — that people who stand up to incivility have a strong sense of altruism, combined with self-confidence. Understanding what motivates these heroic individuals could lead to more effective ways of curbing everyday immoral behavior.
一方面，你可能会假设，那些天生更具攻击性或敌意的人，更有可能公然挑衅陌生人。另一方面，直言不公，从积极的角度看，可以被视为一种成熟的行为。最新的研究支持后一种观点：面对不文明行为挺身而出的人具有强烈的利他意识，而且充满自信。了解这些勇士的动机，可能有助于找到更有效的、遏制日常不道德行为的方法。
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3 Psychologist Alexandrina Moisuc of the University of Clermont Auvergne in France and her colleagues recently published findings from three studies looking at the personality profile possessed by people who say they would intervene in the face of bad behavior. Although there has been extensive research on how situational factors can impact people’s motivation to intervene (the bystander effect), there have been fewer studies looking at the role of personality.
法国克莱蒙—奥弗涅大学的心理学家亚历山德里娜•莫伊苏克及其同事刚刚发表了基于三项研究的最新成果，这些研究关注那些自称会对不良行为进行当面干预的人，分析了他们的性格特征。针对情境因素对人们的干预动机的影响（旁观者效应）已有大量研究，但关注性格特征在其中所起作用的研究要少一些。
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4 The researchers tested two competing and equally plausible theories about who stands up: the “bitter complainer” versus the “well-adjusted leader.” The “bitter complainer” theory suggests that hostile, aggressive and insecure people are more likely to become vigilantes out of a desire to unleash displaced frustration onto an unsuspecting target. In contrast, the “well-adjusted leader” theory takes the view that people who intervene are more likely to be confident, stable and mature.
研究人员测试了两种相互矛盾但同样可信的理论，研究哪类人会直言相对：是“怨天尤人者”，还是“情绪稳定的领导者”。“怨天尤人者”理论认为，怀有敌意和攻击性，且缺乏安全感的人更有可能去维持治安，因为他们需要将自己的挫败感转而发泄到毫无戒备的目标身上。相比之下，“情绪稳定的领导者”理论认为，出面干预的人更有可能是自信、稳定且成熟的人。
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5 In an initial study, the researchers recruited 291 Austrian students to watch six short video clips online showing a person engaging in various types of uncivil behavior. For example, in one video the person was shown kicking a can of beer several times and then leaving it on the ground without picking it up. In another video a person is shown sitting on a bench and making an obscene gesture to a woman walking by. In all instances, the person in the video was depicted as a young man wearing regular, average clothes. After watching each video, participants rated the emotions they were feeling such as fear, disdain and disgust. These emotion ratings were combined to provide an overall measure of “moral outrage” for each participant. Next the participants were asked how they would have reacted if they had encountered the behavior in the video in their real lives. They rated the likelihood they would have done each of the following: had no reaction at all, given the person a disapproving look, made a loud and audible sigh, alerted an authority such as the police, made a disapproving comment not directly addressed to the person, made a polite comment to the person, or made an aggressive comment to the person. Participants also filled out a number of other questionnaires that measured various dimensions of their personalities such as altruism and self-esteem.
在一项初步研究中，研究人员招募了291名奥地利学生，让他们在线观看六段短片，短片中展示了一个人的各种不文明行为。例如，一段视频显示，这个人对着一个啤酒罐踢了好几脚，之后任其留在地上，并未将之随手捡起。另一段视频中，一人坐在长凳上，对着一名路过的女性做出下流的手势。在所有这些情景中，视频中的人都被设定为一个穿着普通的年轻人。每观看完一段视频之后，受试者就对自己的情绪，如恐惧、蔑视、厌恶等，进行评分。这些情绪评分综合起来，为每位受试者提供了一个“道德愤慨”的总体衡量标准。接下来，研究人员询问受试者，如果他们在现实生活中遇到了视频中的行为，会作何反应。受试者对自己作出如下每种反应的可能性进行了评分：完全不作任何反应、用眼神对当事人表达反感、大声叹气让当事人听见、通知警方等权威部门、表达不赞同但不直接面对当事人、对当事人作出客气的评论、对当事人作出攻击性的评论。受试者还填写了其他一些问卷，以测评他们性格的各个方面，比如利他和自尊。
译文
6 Overall, the findings seemed to support the “well-adjusted leader” theory rather than the “bitter complainer” hypothesis. People who said they would react to the behaviors depicted in the videos felt more moral outrage (stronger feelings of anger and disgust), but they did not appear to be inherently more aggressive than other people, as measured by a personality scale. Instead, they scored higher on a measure of altruism, suggesting that their motivation to act was coming from a place of wanting to help others rather than harm the person engaging in the bad behavior.
总体而言，研究结果似乎支持“情绪稳定的领导者”理论，而非“怨天尤人者”假说。那些自称会对视频中所描述的行为作出反应的人，会感受到更多的道德愤慨（更强烈的愤怒和厌恶感），但根据性格量表的测评，他们似乎并不比其他人天生更具有攻击性。相反，他们在利他方面得分更高，这表明，他们行为的动机在于想要帮助他人，而不是伤害行为不当的人。
译文
7 However, before drawing firm conclusions, the researchers sought to replicate and extend their findings in two additional studies that included a more diverse sample of working adults. Participants in these studies read about a greater variety of scenarios where people engaged in uncivil or immoral acts. For example, they read about a person who left dog droppings on the sidewalk without picking them up and another where a man at a public zoo hits his three-year-old son in the face. Again, participants rated the likelihood that they would say or do something in reaction to the immoral behavior. They also filled out a number of questionnaires measuring their various personality traits. Once again, the findings showed support for the “well-adjusted leader” hypothesis: participants who reported that they would have reacted in some way to the outrageous behavior showed a number of positive personality traits including self-acceptance, social responsibility and independence. They also tended to report having better control over their emotions. Also, aggression was again unrelated to the tendency to speak up, as was empathy, self-esteem, gender and occupation. Being older and having a higher salary did correlate with intervening, suggesting that feeling more secure or confident in one’s social position in society might be related to a willingness to react.
然而，在得出确切的结论之前，研究人员试图在另外两项研究中复制和深化其研究结果，容纳更加多样化的在职成年人样本。在这些研究中，受试者读到更多关于人们参与各种不文明或不道德行为的场景描述。例如，他们读到有人任由犬只的粪便留在人行道上而不去捡拾，以及一名男子在动物园里掌掴三岁的儿子。同样，受试者将自己对不道德行为作出反应的可能性进行评分。他们也填写了一些问卷，来测评他们的各种性格特征。研究结果再一次显示出对“情绪稳定的领导者”假说的支持：那些声称自己会以某种方式对不道德行为作出反应的受试者，表现出了包括自我接纳、社会责任感和独立性在内的一系列积极人格特征。他们往往也报告称对自己的情绪有更好的控制力。而且，攻击性和同理心、自尊、性别以及职业一样，都与是否会直言无关。而年龄大、收入高确实会与干预行为相关，这表明一个人若对于自己的社会地位有较强的安全感或自信心，他可能会愿意作出反应。
译文
8 Moisuc and her colleagues seem to have found that people who stand up in the face of uncivil behaviors are the opposite of complainers. They seem to possess traits that characterize upstanding citizens: a strong desire to help others, self-confidence, security in one’s place in society and maturity in handling their own emotions. Other research has supported the idea that people who intervene have a more positive outlook on others. Psychologists Aneeta Rattan of London Business School and Carol Dweck of Stanford University found that people who believe that others have the capacity to change are more likely to confront prejudice.
莫伊苏克及其同事似乎已经发现，面对不文明行为挺身而出的人完全不同于那些牢骚满腹的人。他们似乎拥有正直公民的诸多特征：有帮助他人的强烈意愿，有自信心，对自己的社会地位有安全感，能成熟地把控自己的情绪。其他研究也支持了这一观点，即积极干预的人对他人有更正面的看法。伦敦商学院的心理学家阿尼塔•拉坦和斯坦福大学的卡罗尔•德韦克发现，相信他人有能力作出改变的人更有可能抵制不公正现象。
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9 A major limitation of this research is that it is based on people’s self-reports rather than a measure of actual behavior. Perhaps future studies will look at the relationship between personality traits and people’s willingness to intervene in a staged scenario. However, the results remain important for helping us understand how to promote a more civil society. After all, the willingness to openly express disapproval in the face of immorality, or even step in and try to directly intervene, is often the first and most direct path toward social change.
这项研究的一个主要局限在于，它是基于人们的自我表述，而不是对他们实际行为的测评。也许未来的研究将着眼于在一个设定好的情景中，考察性格特征和人们的干预意愿之间的关系。尽管如此，这项研究对于帮助我们理解如何提高社会文明程度仍有重要意义。毕竟，面对不道德行为，愿意公开表达不赞同，甚至介入其中并试图直接干预，这往往是通向社会变革的首要的也是最直接的途径。
Reading Text Two>Text Two
People Use Less Energy When They Think Their Neighbors Care about the Environment
Jon M. Jachimowicz, Oliver Hauser, Julie O’Brien, Erin Sherman & Adam Galinsky
Culture Notes
1 Last November the U.S. government released a report detailing the devastating impact of global warming for the U.S. economy: They predicted that GDP would shrink by more than 10% by the end of the century if nothing was done to reduce rising temperatures.
去年11月，美国政府发布了一份报告，详细阐述了全球变暖对美国经济的破坏性影响。他们预测，如果不采取任何措施来抑制气温上升，到本世纪末，美国国内生产总值将缩减10%以上。
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2 The report makes clear that a significant reduction in energy consumption is needed to help meet critical temperature thresholds. New research we conducted points to a way to help consumers work toward this goal — one that doesn’t rest on changing people’s personal beliefs about climate change. Our research suggests that whether you believe your neighbors care about energy conservation is an important motivator for how you consume energy.
该报告明确指出，需要大幅降低能源消耗，以期达到临界温度阈值。我们进行的新研究指出，有一种方法可以帮助消费者朝这个目标努力，且此法不依赖于改变人们对气候变化的个人信念。我们的研究显示，人们对自己的邻居是否关心节能的看法将成为改变他们能源消耗方式的一个重要动力。
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3 We partnered with the utility provider Opower, acquired by Oracle in 2016, to find out what predicts whether someone will or will not reduce their energy consumption. Opower’s flagship product is their Home Energy Report (HER), which tells residential energy customers not just how much energy they use, but also how much energy their neighbors consume. Prior research finds that this single-page document helps customers reduce their energy use, on average about 1–2% per year.
为了找出是什么决定着人们是否会减少能源消耗，我们与民用电力供应商欧电公司合作，该公司于2016年被甲骨文收购。欧电的旗舰产品是他们的“家庭能耗报告”，该报告不仅告诉居民能源客户自家使用了多少能源，还显示他们的邻居消耗了多少能源。此前的研究发现，这份单页文件可以帮助客户平均每年减少约1%—2%的能源使用量。
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4 But averages don’t tell the whole story. Every time Opower implements their intervention in a new region or with a new utility company, they conduct a randomized controlled trial, comparing a treatment group that receives the HER with a control group that does not. We received access to the 211 randomized controlled trials Opower conducted over the last decade, which included over 16 million households in 27 states.
但平均数并不能说明事情的全貌。每当欧电在新的地区、或与新的公用事业公司合作推行这个干预方案时，都会进行随机对照试验，将接收家庭能耗报告的实验组和不接收报告的对照组进行对比研究。我们拿到了欧电在过去十年间进行的211项随机对照试验的数据，其中包括27个州的1600多万个家庭。
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5 Puzzlingly, we found that the average reduction in energy usage by households that received the HER varies: In some cases, households achieved a 2.55% reduction in energy consumption, whereas others reached only 0.81%. Why is the impact so inconsistent? The answer has to do with the core principle and motivator baked into every HER: social norms.
令人困惑的是，我们发现，收到报告的家庭平均减少的能源使用量各不相同：有些家庭达到了2.55%的能耗减幅，而有些家庭仅达到0.81%。为什么结果会如此不一致呢？答案与每一份家庭能耗报告所蕴含的核心原则和动力有关：社会规范。
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6 The HER is essentially a simple 3-bar graph called “the neighbor comparison.” It shows recipients how much energy they are consuming, how much energy “efficient neighbors” consume, and how much “average neighbors” consume. It also rates them on how they are doing in terms of energy reduction. The graph depicts a “social norm” by communicating how others like them behave — and challenges them to do better if they are falling short of the neighbors.
家庭能耗报告本质上是一个简单的三柱图，叫作“邻里对比图”。该图向接收报告的人显示自家、“节能邻居”和“一般邻居”分别消耗了多少能源。报告还根据人们在节能方面的表现对他们进行评级。这张图通过告诉人们与其相似的人表现如何，从而描绘出一种“社会规范”──并激励那些表现不及邻居的人努力做到更好。
译文
7 Opower expected that the HER would influence consumers equally. After all, decades of social science research shows that people generally want to be like their peers (or better), and no one wants to be seen as caring less about the environment than their neighbors. Yet some people seemed to be less motivated by the report than others.
欧电预计，家庭能耗报告对用户们的影响会差不多。毕竟，几十年的社会科学研究表明，人们一般都希望自己和同伴一样好（或更好），没人愿意被视为不如邻居那般爱护环境。然而，有些人似乎不像其他人那样受到这份报告的激励。
译文
8 To find out what drove this difference, we surveyed individuals in the 27 states that Opower’s randomized controlled trials were in, asking them two questions: whether they themselves believe that energy conservation helps to save the environment, and whether they believe that the majority of their neighbors believe that saving energy helps to save the environment.
为了找出导致这种差异的原因，我们调查了参与欧电随机对照试验的27个州的个人，问了他们两个问题：他们自己是否相信节约能源有助于保护环境；他们是否相信大多数邻居认为节约能源有助于保护环境。
译文
9 Surprisingly, what matters more than one’s own attitudes and beliefs — how concerned we are with our own energy use and the environment — is whether we believe our neighbors view saving energy as important to saving the environment. Receiving the HER with information about your neighbors’ energy consumption has a stronger influence on your own energy use when you believe that your neighbors care about saving energy as an issue.
出乎意料的是，比起自己的态度和信念──我们对自己的能源使用和对环境的关注程度──更重要的是，我们是否相信邻居认为节约能源对保护环境相当重要。当你相信邻居对节能很上心，那么你收到的家庭能耗报告中关于邻居的能耗信息就会对你自己的能源使用产生更大的影响。
译文
10 Imagine receiving this report stating that you consume more energy than your neighbors. You may wonder: “What are my efficient neighbors doing?” And you may think, “Haven’t they been on vacation?” “Aren’t their kids already in college?” “Are they even doing it on purpose?” “They were surely just lucky this month!” If your neighbors are using less energy than you by accident, rather than out of concern for the environment, then perhaps their efficient energy use is hardly a valid basis for you to change light bulbs and turn off the AC.
想象一下，当你收到一份报告，显示你比邻居消耗了更多能源。你可能会纳闷：“我那些节能邻居们都在做什么？”接着你可能会想，“他们不是去度假了吗？”“他们的孩子不是已经上大学了吗？”“他们到底是不是有意这么做的？”“他们这个月肯定只是运气好罢了！”如果你的邻居只是碰巧比你用的能源少，而不是出于对环境的关切，那么他们对能源的节约利用也许不会成为你更换灯泡和关闭空调的有效理由。
译文
11 However, if you believe that your neighbors do deeply care about reducing their energy usage, then you may view your own consumption of more energy through a different lens, asking yourself: “What steps are they taking to conserve energy?” “Perhaps I could ask them for help?” or even, “They seem to be taking this seriously.” In other words, the more you think that your neighbors actually care about saving energy to help the environment, the more you will engage in energy reducing behaviors.
然而，如果你相信邻居确实非常在意减少能源使用，那你可能会从另一个角度来看待自己能源消耗更大这件事，你会问自己：“他们采取了哪些节能措施？”“或许我可以向他们求助？”甚或是“他们似乎真的很重视这件事。”换句话说，你越相信邻居真心重视通过节能来保护环境，你就越会做出节能的举动。
译文
12 The suggestion here is what we believe about why others behave the way they do drives our own behavior, as much as our personal attitudes and beliefs and what we observe others doing. The implications of this perspective go beyond energy consumption.
这里的暗示是，我们对于他人行为动机的理解能够驱动我们自己的行为，其影响不亚于我们自己的态度、信念以及我们观察到的他人的行为。这一观点的意义已经超出了能源消耗的范畴。
译文
13 Imagine that you are a manager seeking to improve your employees’ work-life balance. As a student of successful management practices and behavioral science, you look at the data and decide to employ a social norm message, such as: “70% of your colleagues don’t check email on nights and weekends” or “85% of your colleagues use all of their vacation days by the end of each year.” Our results imply that you might want to go one step further: You need to help your employees understand that others in the firm not only engage in these behaviors, but also deeply care about them. So it might be better if you write, “We all value time with our families, and so does our firm. That’s why 85% of your colleagues use all of their vacation days by the end of each year.”
设想一下，如果你是一名管理者，希望帮助员工更好地达成工作与生活之间的平衡。学习了成功的管理实践和行为科学后，你看了一下数据，决定采用一条涉及社会规范的信息，比如：“70%的同事晚上和周末不查看邮件”或“85%的同事每年年底前把所有的假期都用完”。我们的研究结果表明，你也许还能更进一步：你要帮助你的员工了解，公司里的其他人不仅有这些行为，而且对此非常重视。因此，你最好这样写：“我们都重视与家人相处的时间，公司亦是如此，所以85%的同事每年年底前会把所有的假期都用完。”
译文
14 Above all, our results remind us that whenever we attempt to change human behavior, we must go one step beyond seeking to change what a person believes, and instead also pay attention to what they think others believe. We are social beings and care deeply about not just what our neighbors and co-workers do but also what they think.
最重要的是，研究结果提醒我们，每当我们试图改变人们的行为时，都必须在努力改变其个人信念的基础上，更进一步，也去关注他们对别人的想法是怎么理解的。我们都是社会人，我们所深切关注的不仅是邻居和同事在做什么，还有他们在想什么。
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