Rapid Thinking Makes People Happy
Lousy day? Don’t try to think happy thoughts—just think fast. A new study shows that accelerated thinking can improve your mood. In six experiments, researchers at Princeton and Harvard universities made research participants think quickly by having them generate as many problem-solving ideas (even bad ones) as possible in 10 minutes, read a series of ideas on a computer screen at a brisk pace or watch an I Love Lucy video clip on fast-forward. Other participants performed similar tasks at a relaxed speed.
今天不爽么？不要试图想一些高兴的事情——就试试快速思考吧！一项新的研究表明快速思考能让我们心情更好。来自普林斯顿（Princeton）和哈佛（Harvard）大学的研究人员做了6项实验，他们让实验参与者在10分钟内快速地想出尽可能多的解决问题的方法（即使是一些糟糕的方法），或者让他们在计算机屏幕上快速阅读一系列的想法，或者让他们以快进的方式观看电视剧《我爱露西》（I Love Lucy）的一个片段。研究者让其他的参与者悠闲地做上述这些活动。
Results suggested that thinking fast made participants feel more elated, creative and, to a lesser degree, energetic and powerful. Activities that promote fast thinking, then, such as whip?ping through an easy crossword puzzle or brain-storming quickly about an idea, can boost energy and mood, says psychologist Emily Pronin, the study’s lead author.
研究结果认为快速思考让实验参与者感觉更加高兴、更具创造力；同时让他们感觉更加有活力和强大（在程度上弱一些）。心理学家Emily Pronin是该项研究的主要作者，他说，促进我们快速思考的活动能增强我们的活力，提升我们的心情。这些活动包括比如快速做一些简单的填字游戏或者针对一个想法迅速地想出一些独创性的方法。
Pronin notes that rapid-fire thinking can sometimes have consequences. For people with bipolar disorder, thoughts can race so quickly that the manic feeling becomes aversive. And based on their own and others’ research, Pronin and a colleague propose in another recent article that although fast and varied thinking causes elation, fast but repetitive thoughts can instead trigger anxiety. (They further suggest that slow, varied thinking leads to the kind of calm, peaceful happiness associated with mindfulness meditation, whereas slow, repetitive thinking tends to sap energy and spur depressive thoughts.)
Pronin注意到快速的思考有时候也带来一些问题。对于那些患有两极型紊乱的人，他们的思考变得非常快，以至于使狂热的感觉会变为厌恶的感觉。Pronin和他的一名同事根据他们自己的以及他人的研究结果，在最近另外的一篇文章中提出，虽然快速和多变的思考能使人高兴，不过快速但重复的思考相反能引起焦虑。（他们进一步提出缓慢多变的思考有助于获得那种安宁祥和的幸福，人们一般把这种幸福与全神贯注的沉思联系在一起。但是，缓慢重复性的思考容易使人疲惫和引起抑郁。）
It is unclear why thought speed affects mood, but Pronin and her colleagues theorize that our own expectations may be part of the equation. In earlier research, they found that people generally believe fast thinking is a sign of a good mood. This lay belief may lead us to instinctively infer that if we are thinking quickly we must be happy. In addition, they suggest, thinking quickly may unleash the brain’s novelty-loving dopamine system, which is involved in sensations of pleasure and reward.joozone.com