科學證明對死亡的看法影響人的行爲
對死亡的看法可影響人們的行爲，這一看法對很多人來說毋庸置疑，而最新研究也的確證明了這一點。
"Death is a very powerful motivation," said Laura E.R. Blackie, a Ph.D. student at the University of Essex in Britain. "People seem aware that their life is limited. That can be one of the best gifts that we have in life, motivating us to embrace life and embrace goals that are important to us."
“死亡是強有力的動機，”英國埃塞克斯大學博士生勞拉E.R.布萊基說道。“人們似乎明白生命有限這個道理。而這可謂我們在世的最好禮物這一，它鼓勵我們面對生活，實現對我們而言重要的目標。”
Blackie and her advisor, Philip J. Cozzolino, recruited 90 people in a British town center and asked separated them into three groups. One group was asked to respond to general questions about death – such as their thoughts and feelings about death and what they think happens to them if they die. The other was asked to imagine dying in an apartment fire and then asked four questions about how they thought they would deal with the experience and how they thought their family would react. A control group thought about dental pain.
布萊基和她的導師菲利普J. 科佐利諾在英國某小鎮中心招收了90名志願者，並將他們分成三組。其中一組需回答關於死亡的一般性問題——比如他們對於死亡的想法和感覺、他們死了會遭遇到什麼經歷。另外一組則被要求在想象自己死於公寓大火的情景後回答4個問題，以說明他們對於這種經歷將如何應對、家人對此如何反應。最後一組控制組只需想象牙疼即可。Next, the participants read an article about blood donations. Some were given an article saying blood donations were "at record highs" and the need was low; others read another article reporting the opposite – that donations were "at record lows" and the need was high. All were then offered a pamphlet guaranteeing fast registration at a blood center that day and told they should only take a pamphlet if they intended to donate.
接下來，志願者們需閱讀關於獻血的文章。其中一部分讀到的文章稱獻血量達到“創紀錄之多”，而需求量實際沒那麼多；另一部分讀到的文章內容恰恰相反——獻血量“史上最少”，需求量實際很大。隨後所有人都拿到了有助於他們在獻血中心快速登記的小冊子，並被告知如果想獻血他們只需帶這本小冊子。
People who thought about death in the abstract were more likely to take a pamphlet if they read the article about a blood shortage. But people who thought about their own death were likely to take a pamphlet regardless of which article they read — their willingness to donate blood didn't seem to depend on how badly it was needed.
對死亡只有模糊認識的志願者在讀了關於獻血量短缺的文章後更傾向於帶上小冊子。但是經歷過想象自己死亡情景的志願者不論讀了什麼樣的文章，都會願意帶着小冊子——看來他們獻血的意願並不決定於血液的需求量。
When people think about their demise abstractly, they may be more likely to fear death, while thinking specifically about your own death "enables people to integrate the idea of death into their lives more fully," Blackie said. Thinking about their mortality in a more personal and authentic manner may make them think more about what they value in life.
當人們只是籠統地看待生命終結，他們更有可能對死亡產生恐懼，而將死亡觀念具體化“能夠讓人們將死亡觀念和生活融合地更加充分”，布萊基說道。用一種更個人、更逼真的方式來看待自己的死亡讓人們更多思考自己生命的價值。
The findings will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
這些研究發現將會在下一期《心理科學》中得到詳盡闡述。
