時差N小時:人與名字之間的聯(lián)系

Yael: Hey Don, see that guy over there? I'm alwaysforgetting his name!

雅艾爾：嘿，唐，看見那邊那個人了嗎?我總是忘記他叫什么!

Don: Oh, you mean Matt?

唐：歐，你是指馬特嗎?

Yael: Yeah, that's it! You know, it's really easy forme to remember some names, but others take a lotof work.

雅艾爾：對，他叫馬特!有些人的名字我很容易就記住，但有些就得花點功夫了。

Don: Don't feel bad. It might be because Matt's face doesn't go with his name.

唐：不要難過。也許是因為馬特的長相跟他的名字不相配吧。

Yael: What? How can Matt's face not go with his name? They're both his!

雅艾爾：什么?馬特的長相和他的名字怎么不相配呢?他們都是馬特的啊!

Don: Well, psychologists at Miami University of Ohio conducted experiments showing acorrelation between specific facial features and names. In one experiment, the researchersrandomly presented participants with a name like Bob, Joe, or Dan, and then asked them touse computer software to draw a picture of someone likely to have this name.

唐：好吧，俄亥俄州的邁阿密大學(xué)的心理學(xué)家進(jìn)行了一項實驗，實驗顯示特定的面部特征和名字之間有關(guān)聯(lián)。在試驗中，研究人員隨機(jī)為參與者提供一個姓名，比如說鮑勃，喬伊或者丹，然后讓他們用電腦軟件畫一幅他們心中叫這個名字的人的畫像。

Yael: And?

雅艾爾：然后呢?

Don: The pictures had some striking similarities that depended on the name. For instance, thename "Bob" led most people to draw someone with a rounder face, while the name "Tim"triggered more sketches with longer, thinner features. The study only used common men'snames, though, so it's too early to tell how these findings might apply to women's names, orunusual ones.

唐：同一個名字的畫像有驚人的相似之處。比如說，大多數(shù)人會給叫鮑勃這個人畫一張圓臉，給提姆畫的草圖中，高瘦是最大特點。這項研究只運(yùn)用了平常男性的名字，所以不能斷定這個發(fā)現(xiàn)也適用于女性的名字，或者不尋常的名字。

Yael: Well, that's kind of interesting, but what does it have to do with remembering?

雅艾爾：嗯，這挺有趣的，但是這跟記憶有什么關(guān)系呢?

Don: In another experiment, the participants were shown a series of photos labeled with aname. They were able to learn—and retain—a name much more quickly when the names "fit"their expectations of what a "Bob" or a "Tim" should look like.

唐：在另一項試驗中，向參與者展示一系列貼有名字標(biāo)簽的人物照片。他們能更快記住那些長相跟他們的期望一致的人。

Yael: So, it's easier to remember someone's name if it's a good match to their face?

雅艾爾：那么，如果名字與張相匹配度高的話，就能更容易地記住一個人的名字，是嗎?

Don: Exactly. Some names just fit better.

唐：正是。有一些人的名字匹配度高。

Yael: So, how come you remembered Matt's name?

雅艾爾：那么你是怎么記住馬特的呢?

Don: Oh him. He's my brother.

唐：歐，他呀，他是我哥哥。