有時候，你只是對一個人有一種難以撼動的不好的感覺。那麼，當你做出關鍵的（而且常常是持久的）第一判斷時，你的大腦裡發生了什麼？
彼得·門德·西德勒基（Peter Mende Siedlecki）分享了第一印象的社會心理學——實際上，第一印象可能表明，在內心深處，人性本善。
演講題目：Should you trust your first impression?
中英文字幕
Imagine you're at a football game when this obnoxious guy sits next to you. He's loud, he spills his drink on you, and he makes fun of your team. Days later, you're walking in the park when suddenly it starts to pour rain. Who should show up at your side to offer you an umbrella?
想像你在一場足球賽中，這個討厭鬼坐在你的旁邊。他大吵大叫，把飲料濺到你身上，並且還嘲笑你支持的足球隊。幾天之後，當你正在公園散步，突然下起大雨。此時誰會出現在你身邊為你遮雨？
The same guy from the football game. Do you change your mind about him based on this second encounter, or do you go with your first impression and write him off? Research in social psychology suggests that we're quick to form lasting impressions of others based on their behaviors.
恰巧就是足球賽上你旁邊的那個人。此時你對他的看法會因為第二次相遇而改變，還是會堅持對他的第一印象繼續討厭他？社會心理學專家認為我們會基於別人的行為作出永久的印象評價。
We manage to do this with little effort, inferring stable character traits from a single behavior, like a harsh word or a clumsy step. Using our impressions as guides, we can accurately predict how people are going to behave in the future.
我們為此無需付出太多努力，通過單一的行為作出對他人穩定性格的判斷。比如一句傷人的話，或者笨拙的步伐。憑藉主觀印象，我們能準確預測他人將會發生的行為。
Armed with the knowledge the guy from the football game was a jerk the first time you met him, you might expect more of the same down the road. If so, you might choose to avoid him the next time you see him. That said, we can change our impressions in light of new information.
由於把足球賽中第一次遇見的那個人定義為混蛋，你可能會預想他會做出更多混事。如果是這樣，下次遇見的時候你可能會選擇躲著他。基於這樣的理論，通過新的信息，我們可以改變自己的刻板印象。
Behavioral researchers have identified consistent patterns that seem to guide this process of impression updating. On one hand, learning very negative, highly immoral information about someone typically has a stronger impact than learning very positive, highly moral information.
行為研究者發現了引導印象更新過程的固定模式。一方面，對一個人的負面評價所帶來的影響要高於對一個人的正面評價所帶來的影響。
So, unfortunately for our new friend from the football game, his bad behavior at the game might outweigh his good behavior at the park. Research suggests that this bias occurs because immoral behaviors are more diagnostic, or revealing, of a person's true character.
所以，很不幸，對在足球賽中認識的那位新朋友來說，他在觀眾席上不道德的行為帶來的影響會大於他在公園裡的友善行為。研究表明，這種偏見產生的原因在於負面行為更容易識別，或者說讓一個人的真實性格更有呈現力。
Okay, so by this logic, bad is always stronger than good when it comes to updating. Well, not necessarily. Certain types of learning don't seem to lead to this sort of negativity bias. When learning about another person's abilities and competencies, for instance, this bias flips. It's actually the positive information that gets weighted more heavily.
根據這種思維邏輯，在涉及到信息更新時，壞行為的影響力要大於好行為。這一理論不一定完全適用。某些認知方式不會導致這種負面的偏見。當了解到某人的能力時，以此為例，這種偏見就跳開了。實際上，積極信息的影響力變得更大了。
Let's go back to that football game. If a player scores a goal, it ultimately has a stronger impact on your impression of their skills than if they miss the net. The two sides of the updating story are ultimately quite consistent.
讓我們再談回足球賽的事。一個球員踢進球，在你對他技術的印象上比他們丟了球影響力更大。兩方面的信息更新最終相當一致。
Overall, behaviors that are perceived as being less frequent are also the ones that people tend to weigh more heavily when forming and updating impressions, highly immoral actions and highly competent actions.
總的來說，在人們建立或更新印象時，越是少見的行為人們越容易看得更重，比如，非常不道德的行為和能體現能力的行為。
So, what's happening at the level of the brain when we're updating our impressions? Using fMRI, or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, researchers have identified an extended network of brain regions that respond to new information that's inconsistent with initial impressions.
所以，在我們刷新印象時大腦裡發生了什麼呢？利用fMRI——功能性磁共振成像，研究者發現回應新信息的新擴展出的腦區網絡，同最初的印象並無關聯。
These include areas typically associated with social cognition, attention, and cognitive control. Moreover, when updating impressions based on people's behaviors, activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal sulcus correlates with perceptions of how frequently those behaviors occur in daily life.
這些區域尤其同社會認知、注意力以及認知控制相關。再者，當別人的行為刷新了印象，腹內側前額葉皮層的活動和顳上溝會告訴我們，這些行為在日常生活中是否頻繁。
In other words, the brain seems to be tracking low-level, statistical properties of behavior in order to make complex decisions regarding other people's character. It needs to decide is this person's behavior typical or is it out of the ordinary?
換言之，大腦似乎在進行低水平的行為統計，以此來做出關於別人品行如何的複雜的決定。大腦需要判斷這個人的行為是十分典型還是與眾不同？
In the situation with the obnoxious-football-fan-turned-good-samaritan, your brain says, "Well, in my experience, pretty much anyone would lend someone their umbrella, but the way this guy acted at the football game, that was unusual."
在這個煩人的球迷變成好人的情境下，你的大腦告訴你，「依據往常經驗，通常大部分人都會為別人遮雨，但這傢伙在球賽時的舉動可不多見。」
And so, you decide to go with your first impression. There's a good moral in this data: your brain, and by extension you, might care more about the very negative, immoral things another person has done compared to the very positive, moral things, but it's a direct result of the comparative rarity of those bad behaviors.
所以，你決定遵從自己的第一印象。這個信息裡存在良好的道德：你的大腦，或者說你本人也許更關注別人做出的負面的、不道德的事，而不是積極的、有道德的事，但這是那些罕見的壞行為帶來的直接結果。
We're more used to people being basically good, like taking time to help a stranger in need. In this context, bad might be stronger than good, but only because good is more plentiful. Think about the last time you judged someone based on their behavior, especially a time when you really feel like you changed your mind about someone.
我們習慣上認為人大體上是好的，樂於花時間幫助別人。在這樣的背景下，壞影響就遠多於好的，但這只是因為好事更常見。回想一下你上次根據一個人的所作所為來評價一個人，尤其是在你真的想要改變對某人的看法時。
Was the behavior that caused you to update your impression something you'd expect anyone to do, or was it something totally out of the ordinary?
那個引發你改變對方印象的行為，是每個人都會做的事，還是不同尋常的事？
英語資源合集
資源合集： &
歌曲TED： &
電影紀錄片： &
英語教學：