最新研究顯示情緒是如何影響行爲的

People tend to engage in unpleasant but necessary activities, such as paying bills or doing housework, when they are in a good mood and choose pleasurable activities as a way to feel better when they are in a bad mood, according to new research by a psychologist at Stanford University.

根據斯坦福大學一位心理學家的一項新研究顯示，人們在愉悅狀態下傾向於處理一些必要卻痛苦的事項，比如買單或者做家務。而情緒消極時，又會選擇做一些愉快的事情。

"These findings clarify how emotions shape behavior and may explain how humans trade off short-term happiness for long-term welfare," said James Gross, a professor of psychology who studies emotions and how people control or regulate their emotions.

研究情緒以及人們如何控制情緒的心理學教授詹姆斯·格羅斯表示：“這些研究剖析了人類的情感如何塑造其行爲，並揭示了人類如何在短期快感與長期幸福間尋求平衡。”

"Overcoming such trade-offs might be critical for our personal well-being and our survival as a species."

“正確處理這種平衡關係對於個體的健康乃至人類種族的生存都是至關重要的。”

In their study, Gross and his fellow researchers used a smartphone app to randomly survey the activities and moods of more than 60,000 people over an average of 27 days, and found that mood plays a strong role in how people decide to spend their time each day.

在研究中，格羅斯和和他的團隊利用一款手機應用，來隨機調查記錄了6萬名接受測試者在27天內的行爲和情緒。結果顯示，心情對於人們決定如何度過每一天起着非常重要的作用。

Gross and his co-authors of a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences call this dynamic "hedonic flexibility," namely people tend to use their good mood as a resource, allowing them to work on challenges, thus delaying short-term gratification for long-term benefits, such as regular sleep, stable employment and a clean, well-organized personal environment, all of which are linked to good mental and physical health.

格羅斯和合著作者發表在《美國國家科學院院刊》上的一篇文章將這個動態過程稱爲“快樂的靈活性”，即人們將積極情緒視爲資源，用以消耗在挑戰性工作中，推遲短期滿足感從而獲取長期幸福感。比如規律的睡眠、穩定的僱傭關係、清潔有序的個人環境等，這些均有助於提高我們的心理和生理健康水平。

The study showed that "hedonic flexibility" was consistently practiced in a range of daily choices made by respondents, such as when an upbeat mood helps one endure a long line at, say, the post office or grocery.

研究顯示，“快樂的靈活性”始終如一的體現在受試者的一系列日常選擇中，比如積極的情緒能幫助人們忍受在郵局或者雜貨店排起的長隊。

Suggesting that the ability of people to leverage a "good" mood to complete important but unpleasant tasks and use a "bad" mood to experience pleasurable activities may hold the key to happiness and well-being.

格羅斯認爲，利用積極情緒來完成重要卻不那麼愉快的事，利用消極情緒來感受愉悅，這可能是幸福快樂的真諦。

Gross said the research confirms how human emotions shape behavior and may help persons become less focused on short-term pleasure and more centered on long-term stability.

他表示，該研究確認了人們的情感如何塑造其行爲，並幫助人們少追求短期快感，更專注於培養獲取長期幸福的能力。