鼓掌
[clapping]
如果我问你
If I asked you
情绪心理学家在哪些情绪的研究上花的时间最多
what emotions psychologists have spent most of their time study in,
如果回答是
would you be surprised
生气 恐惧 焦虑或是悲伤 你会不会感到惊讶
if the answer was anger, fear, anxiety or sadness?
好吧 这惊到我了
Well, it surprised me.
不要会错意了
Now, don’t get me wrong.
这个研究是非常重要的
This research is incredibly important.
但如此着重研究我们的负面情绪
But focusing so heavily on our negative emotions
只能给出非常片面的关于人类体验的结果
portrays very one-sided image of the human experience
无法捕捉到生命的美好与坚韧
that fails to capture its beauty and its resilience.
因为我们也有多种多样的积极情绪
We feel such a wide variety of positive emotions,
像同情 喜悦 爱和敬畏
like compassion, joy, love and awe.
事实上 我们在日常生活中体验到的
In fact, in our everyday lives we experience these positive emotions
积极情绪是负面情绪的三倍左右
three times as often as negative emotions.
我很高兴的汇报一下包括我自己在内的新一代研究者
Now I’m happy to report that a new generation of researchers, myself included,
正开始专注研究积极情绪对于
are starting to focus on the impact of positive emotions
身体健康 人际关系和幸福感的影响
for outcomes like health, relationship quality and well-being.
纵览每一个领域的测量结果
And it turns out that across every domain of measurement
积极情绪都有深远的影响
the positive emotions are revealing themselves to have a profound effect.
我来说说两个我和我同事做的学术研究
Let me tell you about two studies my colleagues and I have done.
它们都是聚焦于积极情绪与机体健康之间的
They both focus on one potential biological pathway
潜在的生物学影响
between positive emotions and physical health.
这个研究的核心是免疫功能中的一些重要标记物
At the center of this work are some important markers of immune functioning
叫做促炎细胞因子
called proinflammatory cytokines.
这些蛋白质被称为免疫系统的监管机构
These proteins are called the regulators of the immune system.
当人体出现感染 疾病或外伤时
And they actively promote inflammation in the body in response to
它们对机体的炎症的发生起重要推动作用
infection, illness or injury.
它们虽然个头很小
Now they may be small in size
但是我可以向你保证它们的影响是巨大的
but I can assure you that their impact is dramatic.
它们会引发如发热 疲倦甚至疼痛等急性症状
They give rise to acute symptoms like fever, fatigue and even pain.
而人如果一直处于应急状态
And over time when chronically elevated,
会对健康产生不利的影响
they have harmful effects for health,
会导致糖尿病 心血管疾病和抑郁症
contributing to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and depression.
目前发现多种不同类型的促炎细胞因子
Now there are many different types of proinflammatory cytokines.
我们的研究重点关注一个叫做白介素6的促炎细胞因子
So in our work we chose to focus on one called
或者简称IL6
interleukin 6, or IL 6 for short.
多亏了科学的进步 我们才能通过收集人的唾液
Thanks to scientific advances we can now measure IL 6
以相对廉价又便捷的方式 在实验室测量IL6的含量
relatively cheaply and easily in the lab by collecting a person’s saliva.
我们的想法是那些经历更多积极情绪的人
Our idea was that people who experience more positive emotions
在他们的机体循环中IL-6的含量更低
would have lower levels of IL 6 circulating in their body.
我们为什么会这么想呢
Why did we think this?
既然特定的负面情绪和IL6的浓度升高有关联
Well certain negative emotions have been associated with increases in IL 6.
那么我们猜想 积极情绪可能会与之相反
So we thought perhaps positive emotions would have the opposite effect,
使这些破坏性生物标记物含量更低
leading to lower levels of this damaging biomarker.
因此 我们在两个研究中请了一些学生到实验室来
So in two studies we had students come into the lab,
并测量了他们上个月所感受到的积极情绪的量的多少
and we measured how much positive emotion they felt in the past month.
然后我们收集了唾液样本以检测其中IL6的含量
Then we collected sample saliva in order to measure IL 6.
结果表明我们的假设是正确的
It turns out that our hypothesis was correct.
参与实验的学生中 积极情绪预示低水平的致炎细胞因子
Positive emotions predicted lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines in our student population.
所以接下来我们问道 特定的积极情绪
So next we asked:” Are certain positive emotions
相较于其它情绪 是否能更好地预示低水平的IL6含量呢？
better predictors of lower levels of IL 6 than others?”
因此在进一步的研究中我们请参与者填写了
So in an additional study we had participants fill out a survey
测量人们体验7种
that was designed to measure the frequency and intensity
特定积极情绪的次数和强度的调查表
with which people experience seven specific positive emotions,
分别有欢愉 敬畏 满足 同情 自豪 爱和快乐
amusement, awe, contentment, compassion, pride, love and joy.
我们不仅再次得到了我们最初的发现结果
Not only did we replicate our original findings
就是积极情绪能使致炎细胞因子处于低水平状态
that positive emotions predicted lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines,
我们也发现四种特定的积极情绪
we also found that four specific positive emotions
能更好地预示低水平的IL6
were particularly good predictors of lower levels of IL 6.
这些情绪是喜悦 自豪 满足和敬畏
Those emotions were joy, pride, contentment and awe.
并且它们的预言性价值是十分有意义的
and their predictive value was significant.
有趣的是敬畏这个情绪
Interestingly the emotion of awe
它与IL-6的水平有着最强的反比关系
had the strongest negative relationship to levels of IL 6,
即使我们将其它6种积极情绪的影响都纳入考量
even when we controlled for the other six positive emotions,
即使我们在报告中加入相关的人格测量
even when we took the relevant personality measures into account.
即使我们使用另一种测量方法（结果都一样）
and even when we used another measure
即询问试验者从他们进入实验室的那一天起
that asked participants how much awe, wonder and amazement they felt
感受到敬畏 惊异和惊讶的量的多少
the day they came into the lab.
那就让我们来谈点和敬畏有关的吧
So let’s talk a little bit about awe.
敬畏是一种强大并且能促使人改变的情绪
Awe’s a powerful and transformative emotion.
它能激发伟大的艺术作品的灵感
It’s inspired great works of art
能煽动宗教运动
incited religious movements
能使人对终级性问题产生哲学上的辩思
and generated philosophical musing about the sublime.
但尽管有这些令人不可思议的影响
But despite this impressive resume,
而直到最近我们才开始在心理学上研究这种情感
only very recently have we begun to study this emotion in psychology.
所以什么是敬畏
So what is awe?
我用它的同义词
I define it by its synonyms.
渴望和惊异来定义它 也用它的心理体验来定义它
wonder and amazement, and by its psychological experience.
我们在遇到一些浩瀚雄伟之物时会心生敬畏
We feel awe when we encounter something vast and grande
那些事物挑战我们的世界观
that challenges our world view.
当看到比人类伟大的东西时 我们会觉得自己很渺小
It makes us feel small in the presence of something bigger than ourselves
并且推己以人
and connected with others around us.
现在你可能认为为了经历这个情绪
Now you may be thinking that you have to travel
你不得不去遥远的地方旅行
to remote places in order to experience this emotion,
但是我可以告诉你那不是这样的
but I can tell you that that’s not the case.
事实上参与者报告一周平均两次能感受到敬畏这种情绪
In fact, participants report feeling awe about twice a week on average,
所以它比你预期的更常见
making it a more common emotion than you might expect.
我们会敬畏 当我们欣赏美妙的音乐时
We feel awe when we hear beautiful music,
当我们仰望夜空看到满天星辰时
when we look up at the night sky and see the stars,
或者当我们看到运动员达到了我们认为超出现实的成绩时
or when we watch athletes achieve feats that we thought were beyond reality.
那么问题来了
So here’s the question:
为什么在预示健康时 敬畏要强于其他积极情绪呢
why would awe be a better predictor of good health than other positive emotions?
我们还不知道
We don’t yet know.
可能是因为敬佩（所产生）特定的蛋白质能减轻压力
It may be because awe’s particular protein at reducing stress
或者能增加对于社会关系的感知
or increasing feelings of social connection.
可能因为敬畏使我们产生了
It may be because awe generates a desire
对身边世界的参与或探索的渴望
to engage or explore the world around us.
最近的研究给我们的启示是 敬畏能
Recent work suggests that awe promotes greater
提高人的谦逊程度 亲社会性与幸福感
humility, prosociality and well-being.
所有这些都能影响机体的健康
And all of these things could impact physical health.
我所知的是这些发现改变了
What I do know is that these findings have changed
我对自己生活中敬畏的认知
how I think about awe in my own life.
我过去常把在大自然中漫步
I used to see a walk in nature or
或是去博物馆参观当做奢侈的事情
a trip to the museum as a luxury
那是我在我忙碌生活中很少能去做的
that I could rarely afford in my busy life.
现在我发现这些经历
Now I see these experiences as
对我的精神和物理健康非常重要
essential to my mental and physical health.
就这个领域来说 我们心理学家正在改变
And as a field, we psychologists are changing
我们对积极情绪的看法
how we think about positive emotions.
我们现在认为积极情绪
We now recognize that they aren’t simply
不是简单的没有负面情绪
the absence of negative emotions,
它们有着自己的多彩多样的样式
but that they’re colorful and varied in their own right.
而那特定的积极情绪例如敬畏
And that specific positive emotions like awe
对身体健康一类的事情可能至关紧要
might hold important benefits for things like physical health.
关于敬畏 我们需要研究的还有很多
Now we still have a lot to learn about the emotion of awe.
但它是如此迷人 引我们去探寻
But it’s fascinating to think that in seeking out
这个世界的
the beauty and the mystery and the vastness
美丽 神秘与浩瀚
that our world has to offer
我们可能真的找到了一把
that we might actually find a key
通往我们身体健康大门的钥匙
to our own physical health
谢谢
thank you
[鼓掌]
[clapping]