國外"退休後冒險家"是怎樣煉成的

Paul Cusma manages his clients' money cautiously, so the retirees among them 'don't have to go back to work, ' says the Tampa, Fla., financial adviser. In the investment realm, 'I'm always planning for a rainy day, ' he says.

來自美國佛羅里達州坦帕市(Tampa)的財務顧問保羅·庫斯瑪(Paul Cusma)說，他在打理客戶資金的時候非常謹慎，爲的是保證他們中間的退休者“不必重返工作崗位”。他還說，“我一直都是未雨綢繆。”

But off the job -- watch out. Mr. Cusma, 36, rides one of the fastest motorcycles on the highway for 'an adrenaline boost, ' he says, adding: 'If you lose focus for one second, you crash and burn and die.' He also traveled to Russia to ride in a MiG fighter jet at more than 1, 000 miles per hour, soaring as high as 70, 000 feet. 'I don't want to wake up one day and realize I forgot to live my life, ' he says.

但是對下班以後的庫斯瑪，你可要當心嘍。36歲的他在高速路上騎的是當今世界上最快的一種摩托車，他說這樣做是爲了“尋求刺激”。庫斯瑪還表示，“如果你走神一秒鐘，你就可能會撞車、着火，甚至死亡。他還專程去過俄羅斯，爲的是乘坐時速超過1,000英里（約1,600公里）、飛行高度高達70,000英尺（約213,360米）的米格(MiG)戰鬥機。他說，“我不想哪天一覺醒來，卻突然發覺自己並沒有真正活過。”

You might not think of yourself as a risk-taker. Think again. Recent studies using new experimental tools are upending the old belief that a person's appetite for risk is mostly inborn and unchanging. In fact, the reasons people take crazy gambles are far more complex. People who are cautious in some contexts may embrace risk in others, depending on factors such as their familiarity with the setting and their emotions at the time. The findings are exploding old stereotypes -- that women are innately more cautious than men, for example, or that teenagers are inevitably risk-seekers.

你可能並不認爲自己是一個冒險家。那麼再仔細想想吧！雖然傳統觀念認爲，一個人的風險偏好在很大程度上是與生俱來並且一成不變的，但是通過運用最新的實驗工具，近期的研究正在着顛覆這一觀念。事實上，促使人們做出瘋狂冒險行爲的原因要複雜得多。在某些環境下謹小慎微的人，在不同的環境下可能會勇於挑戰風險，這具體取決於很多因素，比如人們對所處環境的熟悉程度以及他們當時的情緒。研究結果推翻了很多固有觀念，比如，女人天生就比男人謹慎，以及青少年一定是追求刺激的人等。

'It has been surprising to learn what a wide variety of reasons people have for risk-taking, ' says Elke Weber, a professor of international business at Columbia University and a leading researcher on risk. Understanding the roots of risk-taking can guide people in making better decisions, she says. Some long to advance in their careers or have new adventures but overestimate the hazards. Others race quickly and without thinking into dangerous risks.

美國哥倫比亞大學(Columbia University)國際商業管理學教授、風險領域的前沿學者埃爾克·韋伯(Elke Weber)表示，“得知促使人們採取風險行動的原因是如此多種多樣真令人驚訝。”她還表示，搞清楚冒險行爲產生的根源能夠引導人們做出更好的決定。有些人渴望在職業上取得發展或開啓新的冒險旅程，但他們卻高估了風險。還有一些人行事草率，根本就沒有考慮可能存在的危險。

Getting to know your surroundings can change how you size up a risk. 'Most people overestimate the probability of something going wrong' when they venture into unfamiliar turf, says Margie Warrell, a Melbourne, Australia-based authority on risk-taking who has coached many U.S. executives and employers. 'They also overestimate the consequences of things going badly, ' says Ms. Warrell, author of 'Stop playing Safe.' With experience, they become more realistic, and learn they can handle the consequences of failure. 'The more often we step out of our comfort zone, the more we build our tolerance for risk-taking, ' she says.

瞭解你周邊的環境可以改變你對風險程度的評估。來自澳大利亞墨爾本、研究風險承擔方面的權威瑪吉·沃勒爾(Margie Warrell)表示，當人們來到不熟悉的環境時，“多數人都會高估事情可能會出差錯的概率”。沃勒爾曾經指導過很多美國的公司高管和僱主，並著有《別再打穩妥牌》(Stop Playing Safe)一書。她說，“人們同時也會高估事情出差錯後所帶來的後果。”隨着經歷的累積，人們會變得越來越切合實際，並且意識到他們能夠掌控失敗所帶來的後果。她說，“我們越經常踏出我們感覺踏實的地帶，我們對風險的容忍度就會越高。”

Mr. Cusma is an athlete who practices martial arts and works out regularly, lending him confidence in handling physical risks. Adventures like taking the MiG flight, set up in 2009 through a Sarasota, Fla., travel company called Incredible Adventures, provide an emotional outlet, he says.

庫斯瑪是一名武術健將，並且經常健身，這讓他具備了處理人身風險的自信。他說，搭乘米格戰鬥機這樣的歷險經歷，爲他提供了發泄冒險情緒的出口。庫斯瑪搭乘米格戰鬥機的行程是由位於佛羅里達州薩拉索塔(Sarasota)的、一家名爲“不可思議探險公司”(Incredible Adventures)的旅遊公司安排的。

Sometimes an environment can shape risk-taking behavior. Jennifer Bellinghausen of Austin, Texas, a full-time caregiver to her disabled mother, isn't a risk-taker and never thought of getting a tattoo. The 39-year-old mother of two is terrified of needles and devotes her time to her family. But when she ventured into Mom's Tattoos in Austin several years ago with a friend who was getting one, the atmosphere in the shop changed her mind. Owner Deborah Obregon was so friendly that 'it was like we were instant best friends, ' Ms. Bellinghausen says. Ms. Obregon and another tattoo artist chatted with her for more than an hour, and Ms. Bellinghausen eventually took the plunge and got a 3-inch ankle tattoo of 'a little kitty cat, ' she says. 'It surprised me; I'm not a risk-taker, ' she says.

有些時候，環境能夠塑造冒險舉動。來自德克薩斯州奧斯汀(Austin)的詹妮弗·別林斯豪森(Jennifer Bellinghausen)全職在家照顧她殘疾的母親，她不是一個愛冒險的人，也從來沒想過去紋身。這位39歲、兩個孩子的母親害怕見針，她把全部時間都奉獻給了家人。但是，數年以前，當她陪着一個想要紋身的朋友走進奧斯汀一家名爲“媽媽紋身”(Mom's Tattoos)的店鋪時，她的觀念便被這家店鋪的氣氛改變了。別林斯豪森表示，店主黛博拉·奧夫雷貢(Deborah Obregon)是那麼友善，“我們瞬間就變成了要好的朋友”。別林斯豪森說道，奧夫雷貢和另一位紋身師花了一個多小時和她面談，最終她鼓起勇氣，在腳踝處紋上了一隻3英寸（約7.6釐米）大的“小貓”。她還說，“我自己也很吃驚；我並不是個愛冒險的人。”

Effects of 'Culture of Honor'

“尊榮文化”的影響

Strong emotions also spur risk-taking, research shows. Men who subscribe to a 'culture of honor' and believe they must defend their manhood or keep others from pushing them around are more likely to start an argument or attack a fellow motorist in a fit of road rage, says a 2012 study in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Other research shows that experiencing discrimination or rejection leads people to take more chances.

研究表明，強烈的情緒也會激發冒險行爲。2012年發表在《社會心理和人格科學》(Social Psychological and Personality Science)上的一篇研究表明，那些崇尚“尊榮文化”、篤信自己的男性尊嚴不容侵犯或者認定自己必須避免被別人擺佈的男性，更容易在發生駕駛糾紛時出言不遜或對其他司機大打出手。另有研究表明，遭到歧視或者拒絕也會讓人們鋌而走險。

Ione Fletcher Kleven was annoyed one spring night in 2010 when she heard a fight break out in the front yard of her Castro Valley, Calif., home. She was determined to protect a garden she and her grandson had just planted there.

2010年一個春日的夜晚，家住加利福尼亞卡斯特羅谷(Castro Valley)的艾奧尼·弗萊徹·克列文(Fletcher Kleven)聽到她家前院有打架的聲響。她很生氣，並且決意要保護她和她的孫輩剛剛耕種不久的花園。

The 67-year-old portrait artist isn't usually a risk-taker. She dislikes flying, never gambles and has been married to her husband Oliver for 49 years. When she opened the door, her eyes met those of a helpless, screaming 14-year-old boy who was being beaten and stabbed by two burly men. 'I felt a rush of heat up my spine, ' says the 5-foot-6-inch grandmother, 'and I started running' straight toward the assailants. 'I got so mad I scared myself.'

這位67歲的肖像畫家通常不是個愛冒險的人。她討厭坐飛機，從沒去過賭場，嫁給她丈夫奧利佛(Oliver)已經49年。當她打開門，一個孤獨無助、正在喊叫的14歲男孩把目光投向了她，兩個健壯的男子正在毆打這個男孩，甚至還用刀刺傷了他。這位5英尺6英寸高（約1.68米）的祖母說，“我頓時火冒三丈，我立即衝向”那兩個襲擊者。“我是那麼瘋狂，連我自己都被嚇到了。”

She grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him from under his attackers, screaming in their faces, 'Get out of here!' Her husband, a 6-foot former Marine, stepped onto the porch, and the attackers fled. The wounded teen recovered after surgery and several months' rehabilitation. Ms. Kleven is still surprised at the gamble she took, she says. 'I don't want to hurt anybody. But that night I would have ripped their heads off.'

她一把抓過那個男孩的手腕，把他從那兩個襲擊者的身旁拉開，並對他們大喊“走開！”這時，她的丈夫─一位身高6英尺（約1.83米）的前海軍陸戰隊士兵來到了門廊上，襲擊者逃跑了。這個受了傷的男孩經過手術治療和數月的復原後最終得以痊癒。克列文表示，直到現在，她仍然對自己的見義勇爲之舉感到驚訝。“我不想傷害任何人。但是，那個晚上，我甚至可以把他們的頭擰下來。”

Past studies typically measured people's appetite for risk by asking them to make choices in a laboratory setting between receiving a set amount of cash and playing a lottery with varying odds of winning different amounts of money. Men tended to make riskier choices in these experiments, which led researchers to conclude the women in general have less appetite for risk. The reality may have been that men typically are more used to taking financial risks.

以往的研究通常是通過下面的方式來衡量人們的風險偏好的：研究人員會設置一個實驗性的場景，然後要求測試對象在獲得一筆固定金額的現金和中獎機率不同、獎金金額不同的抽獎之間做出選擇。男性傾向於在這類實驗中做出更冒險的選擇，研究人員便由此得出了女性一般來講風險偏好更低的結論。而事實可能是，男性通常只是更習慣於承擔財務風險。

Researchers have developed new tools to measure the nuances of risky behavior, and their findings have dashed that stereotype. A scale developed at Columbia University gauges risk-taking not only in the financial domain but in social, ethical, recreational and health areas. Researchers have found risk-takers in one realm may be timid in others.

研究人員已經開發出了衡量風險行爲差異的最新工具，而相關的研究成果則打破了上述固有印象。哥倫比亞大學研發出的一套標準不僅能夠衡量人們在財務領域的風險行爲，也能衡量人們在社會、道德、娛樂和健康領域的風險行爲。研究人員發現，在某一領域愛冒風險的人可能在其他領域卻頗爲小心謹慎。

Women feel more comfortable than men taking social risks, such as moving to a new city or wearing unconventional clothes, according to studies using this new, domain-specific risk-taking scale. When researchers factor in differences in how men and women perceive various kinds of risks, women are no more risk-averse than men, Dr. Weber says.

根據使用了這一全新的、分領域風險行爲衡量標準的研究，女性在承擔社會風險的時候比男性更加遊刃有餘，這類風險包括搬至一個新的城市或者穿着前衛的服飾。韋伯表示，當研究人員綜合考慮男性和女性應對不同種類的風險的差異後發現，女性的避險觀念並不比男性強烈。

'Cold' vs. 'Hot' Decision-Making

“冷靜”和“衝動”決策

Another experimental tool, called the Columbia Card Task, enabled researchers to discover that teens aren't always the dangerous risk-takers they are believed to be. The task presents subjects with a computer image of several rows of cards face down. They earn money by turning over a winning card with a smiley face, but they lose a lot of money if they turn over a losing card with a frowning face. A 'cold version' of the task invites calm, rational decision-making by having participants decide all at once how many cards to turn over. A 'hot version' arouses more tension and emotion by requiring subjects to turn cards over one by one.

另一項名爲哥倫比亞卡片任務(Columbia Card Task)的試驗工具令研究人員發現，青少年並不像大家通常認爲的那樣總是不計後果的冒失鬼。這項任務的每位測試對象都會看到一個電腦畫面，畫面上排列着幾排全部正面朝下的卡片。當測試對象翻過畫着笑臉的得分卡時便可以贏錢，但當他們翻過畫着皺眉臉的失分卡時就會輸掉很多錢。這項任務的“冷靜”版本需要測試對象運用鎮定、理性的決策方式立即決定他們想要翻過多少張卡片。而這項任務的“衝動”版本則要求測試對象一張一張的翻過卡片，令測試過程更加緊張、刺激。

The task's creator, Bernd Figner, an assistant psychology professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands, likens the cold version of the test to making a single decision about car-insurance policies with varying deductibles and coverage limits. The hot version is like going out to a bar for a drink, then deciding with each new round whether to have another, he says. 'In the hot state, people are more likely to do risky things they will later regret.'

這項任務的創造者是貝恩德·菲戈內(Bernd Figner)，他是荷蘭內梅亨大學(Radboud University)的心理學助理教授。菲戈內把“冷靜”版本的任務比作根據不同的免賠金額和覆蓋範圍，做出一個關於汽車保險的決定。而“衝動”版本就像去酒吧喝酒，在一輪酒剛倒上的時候就決定跟不跟着喝下一輪，他說。“在衝動狀態下，人們更經常做以後會後悔的冒失事兒。”

Teens take plenty of risks during the hot version of the task, Dr. Figner's research shows. But even a reckless teenager becomes sober as a judge during the cold version of the task in a laboratory. Helping teens understand how emotions can affect their choices -- for instance when they're feeling peer pressure or the pull of a strong temptation during a night out -- could help reduce risk-taking.

菲戈內的研究表明，青少年在執行“衝動”版本的任務時常常鋌而走險。但是，當在實驗室中執行“冷靜”版本的任務時，即使是最魯莽的青少年都會變得像法官一樣冷靜。幫助青少年瞭解情緒怎樣影響他們的行爲選擇─比如在感覺到來自同伴的壓力或者晚上外出情緒激動時─可以幫助他們減少冒險舉動。