做决定时很冲动？用外语思考更理智

Got a difficult decision to make? Why not mull it over auf deutsch?

面临艰难的抉择？为什么不试试用德语来思考？

A new study suggested that people are prone to make more sound, less risky decisions if they are thinking in a language other than their native tongue.

一项新的研究结果显示，当人们用母语之外的语言思考的时候，往往更能做出理智而非轻率的决定。

The series of experiments, conducted by Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago, led the scientists to believe that ‘using a foreign language reduces decision-making bias,’ Dr Keysar’s team wrote.

美国芝加哥大学的宝姿·凯莎教授带领其学生进行了相关研究，他们的研究成果向科学界证实——如凯莎教授的研究团队在发表的文章中所述——“使用外语能够减少决策过程中的母语偏见。”

Their findings, published in an April 18 Psychological Science study, say that human reasoning is shaped by both systematic, rational ideas, and another that’s emotionally-charged and rapid.

他们的研究报告刊登在4月18日的《心理科学研究》中，报告指出，人的逻辑思维分成两个部分，其一是系统的、理性的思维，另一种是情感充裕、迅速的思维。

The team gathered 54 UC students who knew Spanish as a second language to place bets on a coin toss.

研究团队对芝加哥大学内54名以西班牙语为第二语言的学生进行了调查，参加实验的学生被要求参加猜硬币正反面的游戏。

Each student was given $15 in dollar bills, and could bet $1 at a time on either heads or tails. If they bet and won, they could win $1.50, and lost nothing if they did not bet.

每名参与调查的学生都有15美元可下注，每次用1美元猜抛出的硬币是正面还是反面。如果他们才对了，就可以赢得1.5美元。如果他们不下注，就不会损失任何钱。

When they were given the experiment in English, the students acted narrow-mindedly, and took the bet only about half of the time.

当这些学生们在实验过程中说英语的时候，他们思路狭窄，在游戏中有一半的时间内并没有下注。

But when the same students heard instructions in Spanish, they bet 74 per cent of the time.

但是当研究者们用西班牙语讲述游戏规则的时候，这些参与调查的学生在游戏74%的时间里都愿意下注。

The conclusion, then, these scientists believe, is that thinking in a foreign language distances people from snap emotional decisions, allowing decisions to be more logical.

研究者们相信，这项实验证明，使用外语思考能够避免人们在做决定时感情用事，过于轻率，从而使人们做出更符合逻辑的决定。

The hope, they wrote, is that people can think in foreign languages to make more prudent financial and economic decisions.

研究人们表示，他们希望人们在进行金融和经济方面的决策时，通过运用外语思考来做出更理智的决定。