歡迎轉載文章連結,但請勿直接轉貼內文,謝謝合作。

2010年1月27日 星期三

非理性行為


(image credit to http://www.foodnetwork.com/)

昨天開車上班途中在廣播裡聽到一個很有意思的實驗。大致上是說:

一般人的記憶一次約可以記七樣東西,這是一個1956年由喬治.米勒作的實驗得出來的結果。舉例來說,我念一串數字,4、3、6、9、7、18、...,接著請你覆誦,一般人能背的出來大概就是七個數字左右,也就是所謂的魔術數字「七」

史丹佛大學的Baba Shiv教授做了一個有意思的實驗。他告訴受試者,我會給你一個數字,請把它記起來,然後穿過走廊到另一頭去把數字背出來。他們沒有告訴受試者的是,他們將來參加實驗的受試者(幾十位大學生)分成兩組,給一組學生的數字都是兩位數的(例如:23),另一組則都是七位數的數字(例如:7246593)。然後呢,他們在走廊安排一位工作人員,在學生經過時問:「感謝你來參加實驗,你可以在兩樣點心中選擇其中一種。」這兩樣點心一樣是巧克力蛋糕,另外一樣是一碗健康的水果沙拉。

奇怪的是,實驗結果顯示腦中記七位數字的受試者選擇巧克力蛋糕的比例竟然是記二位數受試者的兩倍!

Shiv 教授的解讀是,多出來的那幾位數佔用了腦中珍貴的空間,也就是認知上的超載(cognitive overload),心中理性的聲音告訴你:「為了健康,選擇水果沙拉吧。」但僅僅多出五位數就使一個人變得難以抵擋誘惑了。腦中負責理性思考、作正確選擇的部份,其實很容易被感官或外在誘惑。你要做出理性的判斷是須要動腦的,而腦的處理能力有限(魔術數字七),所以當你忙著記數字,你選擇蛋糕的機會就大多了。原作者寫道:「這或許可以解釋為什麼經過一整天累人的工作後,一個人更容易放縱自己吃下一桶冰淇淋。」

是不是很有趣呢?下次變魔術的時候又多了一個可以閒扯的東西啦。

這讓我想起在英國的心靈師戴倫.布朗(Derren Brown)的網站上看過一份推薦書單,其中就包含了許多這方面的書。我搜尋了一下,發現很多都出過中文版。以下是這份書單;

對了,有些封面跟布朗網頁所列長得不一樣,這應該只是英國版和美國版的區別。另外我做了一份亞馬遜書店的清單(Listmania),可以看到在美國亞馬遜網站上書的價錢和評分。

Portraits by Derren Brown
Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown
The Atheist's Guide to Christmas by Ariane Sherine
On Deception by Derren Brown (Foreword), Harry Houdini (Author)
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

(中譯版:透視影響力,作者:羅伯‧齊歐迪尼,譯者:陳志銘,陳逸如,出版社:培生)
The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki

(中譯版:群眾的智慧,作者:索羅維基,譯者:楊玉齡,出版社:遠流)
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

(中譯版:誰說人是理性的,作者:丹.艾瑞利,譯者:周宜芳、林麗冠、郭貞伶,出版社:天下文化)

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler

(中譯版:推力:決定你的健康、財富與快樂,作者:理查.塞勒、凱斯.桑思坦,譯者:張美惠,出版社:時報出版)

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

(中譯版:左右決策的迷惑力-聰明人為什麼會做傻事?,作者:歐瑞.布萊夫曼、朗姆.布萊夫曼,譯者:姜雪影,出版社:遠流)

Flip: How to Turn Everything You Know on Its Head by Peter Sheahan

Irrationality by N. S. Sutherland

The Right Way To Do Wrong: An Expose Of Successful Criminals by Harry Houdini

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt

(中譯版:象與騎象人,作者:強納森.海德特,譯者:李靜瑤,出版社:網路與書出版)

The Story of Art: Pocket Edition(口袋書版) by E. H. Gombrich

(中譯版:藝術的故事,作者:宮布利希,譯者:雨云,出版社:聯經出版公司)

On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins

(中譯版:創智慧-理解人腦運作,打造智慧機器,譯者:洪蘭,出版社:遠流)

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku

(中譯版:電影中不可能的物理學,作者:加來道雄,譯者:許晉福,出版社:世茂)

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Darkby Carl Sagan

(中譯版:魔鬼盤據的世界-薩根談UFO、占星與靈異,作者:薩根,譯者:陳瑞清,出版社:天下文化)

Do You Think What You Think You Think? by Julian Baggini

(中譯版:你以為你以為的就是你以為的嗎?,作者:朱立安.巴吉尼,傑瑞米.史坦葛倫,譯者:陳信宏,出版社:麥田)

Mind Hacks: Tips & Tricks for Using Your Brain by Tom Stafford

(中譯版:腦力駭客一百招-基礎篇,譯者:莊惠淳,出版社:歐萊禮)

Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better by Gina Trapani

Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams by Paul Martin

The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers by Daniel L. Schacter

(中譯版:記憶七罪,作者:丹尼爾‧沙克特/著,譯者:李明,出版社:大塊文化)

The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory by David J. Chalmers

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina

(中譯版:大腦當家-靈活用腦12守則,學習工作更上層樓,譯者:洪蘭,出版社:遠流)

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Take Hold and Others Come Unstuck by Chip Heath

(中譯版:創意黏力學,作者:奇普.希思,丹.希思,譯者:姚大鈞,出版社:大塊文化)

The Art of Memory by Frances A. Yates

(中譯版:記憶之術,作者:法蘭西絲.葉茲,譯者:薛絢,出版社:大塊文化)

An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi

The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions by Robert Todd Carroll

Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions by James Randi

How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich

Bad Medicine: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Distance Healing to Vitamin O by Christopher Wanjek

Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History by David Aaronovitch

SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable by Bruce Hood

Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things by Madeleine L. Van Hecke

Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You by Sam Gosling

A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives by Cordelia Fine

(中譯版:住在大腦裡的八個騙子,譯者:饒偉立,出版社:大塊文化)

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

(中譯版:萬物簡史, 作者:比爾.布萊森,譯者:師明睿,出版社:天下文化)

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow

(中譯版:醉漢走路 - 機率如何左右你我的命運和機會,作者:曼羅迪諾,譯者:胡守仁,出版社:天下文化)

Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin

(中譯版:我們的身體裡有一條魚,作者:蘇賓,譯者:楊宗宏,出版社:天下文化)

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes

Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts by Elliot Aronson

Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control by Kathleen E. Taylor

What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro

(中譯版:FBI教你讀心術:看穿肢體動作的真實訊息,作者:喬.納瓦羅、馬文.卡林斯,譯者:林奕伶,出版社:大是文化)

Emotions Revealed, Second Edition: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life by Paul Ekman

Trick or Treatment?: Alternative Medicine on Trial by Simon Singh



另一位心靈師班納切克(Banachek)的網站上也有類似的推薦書單。我把這份書單也做成了一份亞馬遜書店的清單

1 則留言:

esb6149 提到...

您好,我從您的網誌受益良多,也開始蒐集Genii過刊,最近有個不幸的消息,賈克禮老師去世了http://tznthou.pixnet.net/blog/post/26574594

歡迎轉載文章連結,但請勿直接轉貼內文,謝謝合作。