金谷园:心理情感与身体的联动

最新的研究结果表明，人类会本能地利用情感去促进道德行为的产生。

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed. D., a researcher at the University of Southern California, found that individuals who were told stories designed to evoke compassion and admiration for virtue sometimes reported that they felt a physical sensation in response.

美国南加州大学的研究员Mary Helen Immordino-Yang发现当被试验人讲述旨在唤醒同情和钦佩等美德的故事时，讲述者会有感觉到一种生理上的反应。

These psycho-physical “pangs” of emotion are very real — they’re detectable with brain scans — and may be evidence that pro-social behavior is part of human survival.

这种心理-生理的联动感觉是一种可以被脑部扫描所探知的真实感觉，并且可以作为亲社会行为是人类生存中的组成部分的证据。

Immordino-Yang’s hypothesis, borne out thus far by her research, is that the feeling or emotional reactions in the body may sometimes prompt introspection, and can ultimately promote moral choices and motivation to help or emulate others.

“These emotions are foundational for morality and social learning. They have the power to change the course of your very life,” Immordino-Yang said.

“这些情感是社会道德和学习的基础。他们具备改变你人生历程的力量。"Immordino-Yang说。 

The study may be found in the journal Emotion Review.

在《Emotion Review》杂志中刊载了该项研究。

During the study, Immordino-Yang observed several instances that support the mental-physical-moral connection.

在这项研究中，Immordino-Yang观察了几位实验者，其结果支持了这种心理-生理的联动作用。

In one instance, a participant responded to a story of a little boy’s selflessness toward his mother by reporting that he felt like there was a “balloon or something under my sternum, inflating and moving up and out.”

在其中的一个例子中，一个参与者在阅读了一个小男孩对于母亲无私的故事之后，报告说感觉到似乎“有一个气球或是类似的东西在我胸腔，不断膨胀上升，最后冲出胸腔。”

While pondering this physical sensation, the participant paused for a moment and considered his own relationship with his parents. Ultimately, he voiced a promise to express more gratitude toward them.

当参与者思考其所体会到得生理感受之时，他停顿了一会去思考自己与其父母的关系。最终，他做出了一个对父母表达更多感谢的承诺。

Researchers noted similar reactions to varying degrees in the test’s other participants.

研究人员在测试其他参与者的时候注意到了类似的情况。

Immordino-Yang’s team has performed about 50 of these qualitative analyses in Beijing and at USC. The researchers provide the emotional story, then record the participant’s reaction, and also use brain scans to record the physiological response.

Immordino-Yang的团队在北京和南加州大学进行了大学50次定性的实验分析。研究者首先提供一个富有情感的故事，然后记录下参与者的反应，并且同时利用大脑扫描技术记录下生理反应。

“It’s a systematic but naturalistic way to induce these emotions,” Immordino-Yang said. After being told an emotional true story during a private, taped interview, the participant is simply asked to describe how he or she feels.

“这是一种系统的，但是自然的诱发这些情感的方式，”Immordino-Yang说。在通过私人录音采访的方式中给参与者讲述一个感人的真实故事之后，参与者被要求简要的描述他（她）的感受。

Immordino-Yang said she isn’t surprised at the findings, though she is excited by them.

Immordino-Yang说她虽然对结果感到很兴奋，但是并不感觉到意外。

“We are an intensely social species,” she said. “Our very biology is a social one. For centuries poets have described so-called gut feelings during social emotions. Now we are uncovering the biological evidence.”

“我们人类有着强烈的社会属性，”她说，“我们的生物体是一种社会单元。几个世纪以来诗人们用‘本能直觉’在描述在社会情感中的这种情况。如今我们正在揭示生物学的证据。“

Future analysis of the data her team has gathered will focus on discovering to what degree culture and individual styles and experiences influence these reactions, as well as how they develop in children and how they can be promoted by education.