The science of attraction - Dawn Maslar

翻译人员: Huiling Jiang 校对人员: Sherry Chen

We like to think of romantic feelings

我们倾向于将浪漫当成是一种

as spontaneous and indescribable things that come from the heart.

来自于内心内心，自发而又而难以言述的行为

But it's actually your brain

但是实际上是你的大脑，

running a complex series of calculations within a matter of seconds

在瞬间做出的一系列复杂运算

that's responsible for determining attraction.

决定了一个人对你的吸引力

Doesn't sound quite as poetic, does it?

听起来一点也没有诗意对吧？

But just because the calculations are happening in your brain

然而，虽然所有的运算都是由大脑完成的

doesn't mean those warm, fuzzy feelings are all in your head.

那些温暖而朦胧的感觉并不仅仅存在于脑海中

In fact, all five of your senses play a role,

实际上，你的五种感觉都参与其中

each able to vote for, or veto, a budding attraction.

各自趋同或者否决了正在萌芽中的吸引力

The eyes are the first components in attraction.

眼睛是吸引力的第一个裁判

Many visual beauty standards vary between cultures and eras,

不同的文化和时代，

对视觉美的标准都有所不同

and signs of youth, fertility and good health,

而作为年轻、活力、健康的标志，

such as long lustrous hair,

比如富有光泽的长发

or smooth, scar-free skin,

或者光滑无疤的皮肤

are almost always in demand

永远很受欢迎

because they're associated with reproductive fitness.

因为它们也代表着良好的繁殖能力

And when the eyes spot something they like,

当眼睛注意到他们喜爱的事物，

our instinct is to move closer

我们的本能让我们越靠越近

so the other senses can investigate.

这时其他的感觉也参与其中

The nose's contribution to romance

鼻子对于浪漫的贡献

is more than noticing perfume or cologne.

绝不仅仅是分辨香水或古龙水

It's able to pick up on natural chemical signals

它能够辨别一种被称作“费洛蒙“的

known as pheromones.

天然的化学信号

These not only convey

它们不仅传递着气味发出者

important physical or genetic information about their source

重要的生理或基因信息

but are able to activate a physiological or behavioral response in the recipient.

而且能够激发接收者的

心理或行为上的反应

In one study, a group of women

在一个研究中，一组处于不同月经周期的女性

at different points in their ovulation cycles

wore the same T-shirts for three nights.

连续三个晚上穿着同样的T恤

After male volunteers were randomly assigned

之后，男性志愿者被随机抽取

to smell either one of the worn shirts, or a new unworn one,

去闻一件穿过的T恤，

或者一件新的没穿过的

saliva samples showed an increase in testosterone

唾液样本显示那些闻过排卵期女性穿过的T恤的男性

in those who had smelled a shirt worn by an ovulating woman.

睾丸素分泌有明显的增加

Such a testosterone boost

睾丸素分泌的增加

may give a man the nudge to pursue a woman

可能会促使这个男人去追求

he might not have otherwise noticed.

这个平时他可能就会忽略的女性

A woman's nose is particularly attuned

女性的鼻子对一种名为

to MHC molecules, which are used to fight disease.

MHC分子的化学物质尤为敏感

这种物质是用来对抗疾病的

In this case, opposites attract.

因此，异性相吸

When a study asked women to smell T-shirts that had been worn by different men,

另一个研究要求女性来闻

不同男性穿过的T恤

they preferred the odors of those whose MHC molecules differed from theirs.

她们更倾向于

和她们自己的MHC分子不同的气味

This makes sense.

这是说得通的

Genes that result in a greater variety of immunities

基因造成的免疫力的巨大差异

may give offspring a major survival advantage.

可能会给后代以重要的生存优势

Our ears also determine attraction.

我们的耳朵同样决定着吸引力

Men prefer females with high-pitched, breathy voices,

男人更喜欢女性拥有音调较高、带有呼吸声、

and wide formant spacing, correlated with smaller body size.

共振间隔较长的声音

因为它让人联想到小巧玲珑

While women prefer low-pitched voices with a narrow formant spacing

而女性则更喜欢音调低沉、

共振间隔较短的男性声音

that suggest a larger body size.

因为它让人联想到高大威猛

And not surprisingly,

意料之中

touch turns out to be crucial for romance.

触觉对浪漫有着决定性的作用

In this experiment, not realizing the study had begun,

在一个实验中

被告知实验开始前

participants were asked to briefly hold the coffee,

参与者被要求短暂地拿着一杯咖啡

either hot or iced.

或者是热的，或者是冷的

Later, the participants read a story about a hypothetical person,

然后，参与者被要求阅读

一个假想的人的故事

and were asked to rate their personality.

并且评价他的个性

Those who had held the hot cup of coffee

拿着热咖啡的人

perceived the person in the story as happier,

认为故事里的人快乐、

more social, more generous and better-natured

具有社会性、慷慨、天性善良

than those who had held the cup of iced coffee,

而拿了冷咖啡的人则认为

who rated the person as cold, stoic, and unaffectionate.

这个人冷酷、恬淡无欲、没有感情

If a potential mate has managed to pass all these tests,

即便一个潜在的伴侣已经成功通过以上所有的测试

there's still one more:

这里还有最后一关

the infamous first kiss,

初吻

a rich and complex exchange of tactile and chemical cues,

初吻是一次内涵丰富而寓意复杂的

触觉和化学信息的交换

such as the smell of one's breath,

比如口气

and the taste of their mouth.

和嘴唇的触感

This magical moment is so critical that a majority of men and women

这个神奇的时刻如此关键

以至于大部分的男性和女性

have reported losing their attraction to someone

均表示曾因为一个糟糕的初吻

after a bad first kiss.

而丧失了对对方的吸引力

Once attraction is confirmed, your bloodstream is flooded

一旦吸引力被确认

你的血液

with norepinephrine,

和肾上腺素一起沸腾

activating your fight or flight system.

激发你的“战斗或逃跑”系统

Your heart beats faster,

你的心跳加速

your pupils dilate,

你的瞳孔扩大

and your body releases glucose for additional energy,

你的身体也释放出葡萄糖来提供更多的能量

not because you're in danger but because your body is telling you

这不是因为你面临着危险

而是你的身体在告诉你

that something important is happening.

这件事十分重要

To help you focus,

为了帮助你专心

norepinephrine creates a sort of tunnel vision,

肾上腺素创造出一种管状视力

blocking out surrounding distractions,

防止注意力涣散

possibly even warping your sense of time,

甚至有可能弯曲你的时间观念

and enhancing your memory.

并提升记忆力

This might explain why people never forget their first kiss.

这也许能够解释为什么人们对初吻念念不忘

The idea of so much of our attraction

我们的大部分吸引力

being influenced by chemicals and evolutionary biology

被化学和进化生物学深深影响

may seem cold and scientific rather than romantic,

这个观点也许看上去冷酷又理性，一点也不浪漫

but the next time you see someone you like,

但是下次你见到一个喜欢的人的时候

try to appreciate how your entire body is playing matchmaker

试试让你的整个身体都参与配对过程

to decide if that beautiful stranger is right for you.

来决定这个美丽的陌生人是否是那个对的人