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这才是最恼人的事情――正要出门
It’s the most annoying thing — you’re about to walk out of the house
却发现自己想不起来钥匙放在哪了
when you realize you have no idea where your keys are.
你本应该把它挂在门边的小挂钩上
They’re not on the little hook by the door
显然那里没有
where you’re supposed to put them, of course.
虽然你翻箱倒柜地找
And though you tear your place apart,
却花了大概30分钟思考你把它放在哪了
it takes you like 30 minutes to figure out where you put them.
频繁丢东西 如钥匙 是日常健忘的一种表现
Frequently, losing things like your keys is one example of everyday forgetfulness,
心理学家不仅能解释这种情况发生的原因
and psychology can explain not only why it happens,
还能给你提供一些克服忘性的方法
but also some ways you can combat it.
别担心 像丢钥匙什么的 并不能准确反应你的记忆能力
Don’t worry, losing something like your keys is not a sure sign that your memory is going.
无论哪里都有三分之一到一半的年轻人认为自己健忘
Anywhere from one third to one half of young people consider themselves forgetful,
经常做一些把东西放错位置 忘记名字或长相的事
doing things like frequently misplacing objects or forgetting names or faces.
这些小的“认知失败”
And these little “cognitive failures”
对你的智商根本没有任何影响
don’t have anything to do with your intelligence, either.
其频率和严重程度与一般认知能力或智力无关
Their frequency and severity don’t correlate with things like general cognitive ability or IQ,
心理学家强调 这是源于心不在焉 而不是智力低下
and psychologists stress that they stem from absentmindedness, not a lack of intellect.
实际上 如果非要说区别的话 你丢东西的频率
Really, if anything, how often you lose your stuff
和基因的关系大于和你头脑 年龄或健康的关系
could be more tied to your genes than your smarts, age, or health.
人与人之间50%的变异可以追溯至遗传因素
About 50% of the variation between people can be traced to genetic factors.
例如 科学家们发现良性记忆流失
For example, scientists have found a link
和某种基因变异之间的联系是
between benign memory lapses and certain variations
一个编码为多巴胺D2的受体或D2R2受体
in the gene that encodes for the dopamine D2 receptor, or DRD2.
不要与R2D2搞混
Not to be confused with R2D2,
这是一种神经递质和多巴胺相结合的蛋白质
this is a protein that binds the neurotransmitter dopamine,
当你试图回想东西在哪时
and it’s heavily involved in the cellular communication
它主要参与的是细胞间通讯
that occurs when you try to recall where things are.
其他小型基因突变同样和健忘有关
Other small gene changes have similarly been linked to forgetfulness.
但是并这不是所有的先决条件
But it’s not all predetermined.
你是怎样看待你的记忆可能也对此有影响
How you think about your memory problems may also have an effect?
根据研究 相信自己能控制记忆的人
According to research, people who believe they have control over their memory
比那些认为健忘是年龄增长中不可逆的人
tend to be less forgetful than those who think forgetfulness
更不容易忘事
is just an irreversible part of getting old.
研究也普遍支持记忆训练
Studies also find general support for the idea that memory training
和学习特殊策略能提高记忆
and learning specific strategies can improve your recall.
来分析一下当你忘记东西放哪时 你的大脑中
This all makes sense when you break down what’s actually happening in your brain
的运作机制就能理解了
when you forget where something is.
从心理学的角度来说
From a psychological perspective,
丢钥匙意味着以下两件事中其一已经发生：
losing your keys means one of two things has happened:
要么你未能成功回忆起你把钥匙放哪了
You’ve either failed to recall where you put them,
要么就是你从一开始就不知道它们是放在哪的
or you never knew where they were put in the first place.
如果你在放下钥匙时没有注意 后者可能会发生
The latter can happen if you’re not paying attention when you set them down.
为了记住信息 你必须做心理学家所说的编码
To remember information, you have to do what psychologists call encoding.
那就是你储存刚刚所获取的信息的地方
That’s where you store the information you’ve just gained,
比如 你把你刚刚放钥匙的地方
like the location you’re putting your keys
存储到大脑里短期仓库里 即工作记忆里
into your brain’s short term storage or working memory.
你根本没有足够的存储空间来记忆
You simply don’t have enough storage space to remember
每一种景象 气味 声音和感觉
every sight, smell, sound, and feeling.
所以 只有那些在环境中被你选择性关注的――
So only the things you selectively focus on in your environment —
那些让你注意到的――会被储存起来
those that are given your attention — can get stored.
那意味着 如果你在放下钥匙时没有留意
That means if you’re not paying attention when you set down your keys,
而是在想着 比如你饿了以及晚餐吃什么
say you’re hungry and thinking about what you might have for dinner instead,
那你就再也想不起来钥匙被放在哪了
then you’ll never remember where they are.
你一开始就没有在大脑中储存那条信息
You didn’t actually store that information in your brain to begin with.
好消息是 心理学家说很多简单的做法能够对此有帮助
The good news is, psychologists say that simple things can actually help with this.
比如说 虽然可能有点傻
Like, as silly as it sounds,
你可以大声宣布你把东西放哪了
you could announce out loud where you’re putting stuff.
“嘿 我正把钥匙放在柜台上”
“Hear ye, I am putting my keys on the counter.”
或者 至少花些时间真正去想一想
Or, at least, take the moment to really think about
你把它们放在哪了和为什么放在那
where you’re putting them and why.
那样 当你需要找到它们时 马上就能回忆起来
That way, there’s something to remember later when you need to find them.
你的健忘也可能源于事情的另一端：
Your forgetfulness might also stem from the other end of things:
整个记忆过程
the whole remembering bit.
例如 可能你记的根本就是错的
For example, you might just be remembering the wrong thing,
因为回忆会被一种叫做干扰的东西破坏
since recollection can be impaired by something called interference.
大致说来 当你试着记起钥匙在哪时
Basically, when you try to remember where your keys are,
你所拥有的任何记忆
any memories you have of ever setting them down
都会与回忆相对抗
can compete to be the one recalled.
如果你常常移动钥匙的位置
So if you constantly move your keys around,
你可能会记得它在你的梳妆台上
you might remember them being on your dresser,
在你的咖啡桌上 或是在门旁边 这会让你
on your coffee table, or by the door, which makes it tougher
更难记住哪里是最后放的地方
to remember which place you actually used last.
那些由于基因或者别的原因
People who are less prone to everyday cognitive lapses,
而不容易会有日常认知失误的人
whether because of genetics or otherwise,
一般不会被这个问题所困扰
don’t tend to have this problem as often.
他们更擅长记住正确的地点和忘记其他
They’re better at remembering the right spot and forgetting the others
这是一种被称为提取诱发遗忘的现象
a phenomenon called retrieval-induced forgetting.
但对于不太擅长这个的我们
But for those of us who aren’t so awesome at that,
心理学家推荐 找一个专门的地方来放你经常丢的东西
psychologists recommend having a dedicated spot for things you often lose,
比如 门旁边的钥匙挂钩 这样一来就能减少干扰
like a key hook by the door, which can help cut down on interference.
如果你已经习惯在门上挂钥匙了
And if you make hanging your keys automatic,
即使你没有花时间注意你把它放哪了
then there’s also a good chance they’ll be on the hook,
你也很有可能能在门的挂钩上找到钥匙
even if you didn’t take the time to focus on where you put them.
不可否认是
Admittedly, though,
如果完全依赖你的下意识动作 却没有把东西放在
relying on automation could make it harder to remember where things
该放的位置上 你可能更难回想起东西的位置
are if you don’t put them where you’re supposed to,
因为你根本不会注意
because of that whole attention bit.
也许不丢钥匙最好的方法是
So maybe the best way not to lose your keys
找一个专门放钥匙的地方而且每次放的时候都非常留心
is to have a dedicated spot and to always be very attentive about putting them there.
比如 宣布
Like announcing,
“嘿 我正往挂钩上挂钥匙呢”
“Hear ye, I am hanging my keys on the hook,”
在每次回家放钥匙的时候
while you do it every time you get home.
我从没说过不丢东西的技巧很酷
I never said the tricks to not losing your stuff were cool.
总之 如果你想提高记忆力
If you want to improve your memory in general,
你也可以尝试一下定期练习和保持充足的睡眠
you could also try exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.
虽然结果有些许不同 但做这两项可以提高
Both have been tied to better cognitive performance
认知能力以及减少健忘
and less forgetfulness, though results vary.
如果你还是找不到钥匙的话
And if you still can’t find your keys,
可以看一下那些远程定位的东西
you might look into one of those remote finder things
把它们滑进你的钥匙链里
that you can slip on your keychain.
什么都行 不是吗？
And whatever works, right?
感谢观看本集心理科学秀！
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
如果你认为自己是一个忘性十足的人 没关系
If you consider yourself a forgetful person, it’s okay.
这可能不完全是你的错
It might not be totally your fault,
因为有些时候 你的记忆会骗你
because sometimes, your memories can trick you.
你可以观看我们的视频来学习这是如何发生的
You can watch our episode to learn how.
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