You aren't at the mercy of your emotions -- your brain creates them | Lisa Feldman Barrett

翻译人员: Chen Zou 校对人员: Phoebe Ling Zhang

My research lab sits about a mile from where several bombs exploded

我的研究室距离 2013 年波士顿 马拉松期间的系列爆炸

during the Boston Marathon in 2013.

仅有大约一英里。

The surviving bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of Chechnya,

爆炸肇事者，车臣共和国的 Dzhokhar Tsarnaev 活着

was tried, convicted and sentenced to death.

被送上审讯，被定罪判死刑。

Now, when a jury has to make the decision

当陪审团要做出决定，

between life in prison and the death penalty,

选择终身监禁还是死刑，

they base their decision largely on whether or not the defendant

他们很大程度上根据被告是否

feels remorseful for his actions.

对他的行为感到懊悔。

Tsarnaev spoke words of apology,

Tsarnaev 做出了道歉的陈述，

but when jurors looked at his face,

但是当陪审团去看他的脸，

他们看到的是面无表情的脸上 一双凝视的双眼。

all they saw was a stone-faced stare.

Now, Tsarnaev is guilty, there's no doubt about that.

Tsarnaev 是有罪的， 这是毫无疑问的，

He murdered and maimed innocent people,

他使无辜的人致死或致残，

and I'm not here to debate that.

我对此没有异议。

My heart goes out to all the people who suffered.

我对所有遇难的人们深表同情。

But as a scientist, I have to tell you

但是作为一个科学家， 我得告诉你们，

that jurors do not and cannot detect remorse

陪审团不会也检测不出懊悔，

or any other emotion in anybody ever.

或者任何人的任何情感。

Neither can I, and neither can you,

我也不能，你们也不能，

and that's because emotions are not what we think they are.

那是因为情感不是我们所想的那样。

They are not universally expressed and recognized.

它们不是被普遍表述和认为的那样，

They are not hardwired brain reactions

它们不是不受控

that are uncontrollable.

的固化的脑部反应。

We have misunderstood the nature of emotion

我们对情感的本质是什么的误解

for a very long time,

很久以前就存在了。

and understanding what emotions really are has important consequences for all of us.

理解感情真正是什么， 对我们所有人都很重要。

I have studied emotions as a scientist for the past 25 years,

作为一个科学家，过去的 25 年中 我一直躲在研究情感。

and in my lab, we have probed human faces by measuring electrical signals

在我的实验室，我们通过测量 电子信号探测人脸，

that cause your facial muscles to contract to make facial expressions.

这些电子信号会引起脸部肌肉收缩， 从而制造脸部表情。

We have scrutinized the human body in emotion.

我们仔细研究了处于 情感状态下的人体，

We have analyzed hundreds of physiology studies

分析了数百个生理研究案例，

involving thousands of test subjects.

其中包含了数千名测试对象。

We've scanned hundreds of brains,

我们扫描了数百个大脑，

and examined every brain imaging study on emotion

检查了过去 20 年间发表的

处于情感中的每一个 脑图像的研究结果。

that has been published in the past 20 years.

And the results of all of this research are overwhelmingly consistent.

所有这些研究结果都惊人的一致。

It may feel to you like your emotions are hardwired

你也许会觉得 你的情感是已固化存在的，

and they just trigger and happen to you,

它们只不过是是不是被触发，

but they don't.

但事实并非如此。

You might believe that your brain is prewired with emotion circuits,

你也许认为你的大脑 预铺设好了情感电路，

that you're born with emotion circuits, but you're not.

你生来就有情感电路，那就错了。

In fact, none of us in this room have emotion circuits in our brain.

实际上，我们在座各位， 没有人的大脑里有情感电路。

In fact, no brain on this planet contains emotion circuits.

实际上，世界上没有任何人的 大脑里有情感电路。

So what are emotions, really?

那么究竟什么是情感呢？

Well, strap on your seat belt, because ...

系好你的安全带 因为 ...

emotions are guesses.

情感是各种猜想。

They are guesses that your brain constructs in the moment

它们是你大脑 在某个时刻建立的猜想，

where billions of brain cells are working together,

是数十亿个大脑细胞共同协作的产物，

你对这些猜想可以做出的控制

and you have more control over those guesses

than you might imagine that you do.

比你想象中你所能做的要多。

Now, if that sounds preposterous to you, or, you know, kind of crazy,

如果对你来说这听起来很荒谬， 或者说颇为疯狂，

我非常理解，因为坦白说， 如果我没有亲眼见到这些证据，

I'm right there with you, because frankly, if I hadn't seen the evidence for myself,

decades of evidence for myself,

我几十年来获得的证据，

I am fairly sure that I wouldn't believe it either.

我很确定我也不会相信。

But the bottom line is that emotions are not built into your brain at birth.

但重点在于，情感不是你出生时 就在你的大脑中已经建造好的。

They are just built.

它们是刚刚才形成的。

To see what I mean, have a look at this.

要理解我的意思，请看这张图。

Right now, your brain is working like crazy.

现在，你们的大脑正在疯狂地运行。

Your neurons are firing like mad trying to make meaning out of this

你们的神经细胞繁忙地工作， 试图去理解这张图，

so that you see something other than black and white blobs.

从这一团团的黑与白 中看出些什么。

Your brain is sifting through a lifetime of experience,

你的大脑在一生的经历中筛选，

making thousands of guesses at the same time,

在同一时间做出上千个猜想，

weighing the probabilities,

衡量着各种可能性，

试着回答

trying to answer the question,

"What is this most like?"

“这最有可能是什么？”，

而不是“这是什么？”

not "What is it?"

but "What is this most like in my past experience?"

是“根据我过去的经验， 这最有可能是什么？”

And this is all happening in the blink of an eye.

这一切都发生在眨眼之间。

Now if your brain is still struggling to find a good match

现在如果你的大脑仍然在 努力找寻一个正确的匹配，

and you still see black and white blobs,

而你仍然看到的是一团团的黑与白，

then you are in a state called "experiential blindness,"

那么你正处在一个叫做 “经验盲点”状态中，

and I am going to cure you of your blindness.

而我将治愈你们的盲点，

This is my favorite part. Are you ready to be cured?

这是我最喜欢的部分。 你们准备好了被治愈吗？

(Cheers)

（观众欢呼）

All right. Here we go.

好的，那么我们开始。

(Gasps)

（惊讶声）

All right.

好的。

So now many of you see a snake,

那么现在你们中很多人看到了一条蛇，

and why is that?

那是为什么呢？

Because as your brain is sifting through your past experience,

因为随着你们的大脑 在过去的经历中筛选,

there's new knowledge there,

那里有了新的知识，

the knowledge that came from the photograph.

从照片中来的知识。

And what's really cool is that

很酷的一点是，

that knowledge which you just acquired moments ago

你刚刚才获取的知识

is changing how you experience these blobs right now.

正在改变你现在对 这些黑白斑块的体会。

So your brain is constructing the image of a snake

你们的大脑在没有蛇的地方

where there is no snake,

建造了一条蛇的图像，

and this kind of a hallucination

这样的一种幻觉

is what neuroscientists like me call "predictions."

被像我一样的神经学家叫做“预测”。

Predictions are basically the way your brain works.

预测，简单说来就是 你们大脑运作的方式。

It's business as usual for your brain.

是你们的大脑运作的普遍方式。

Predictions are the basis of every experience that you have.

预测是你所拥有的每样经历的依据，

They are the basis of every action that you take.

它们是你做出的每个行动的依据。

In fact, predictions are what allow you to understand the words that I'm speaking

实际上，预测使得你们 能够理解我的话，

as they come out of my --

随着这些话语出自我的——

Audience: Mouth. Lisa Feldman Barrett: Mouth. Exactly.

观众们：嘴。 Lisa Feldman Barrett: 嘴，正是。

Predictions are primal.

预测是原始的能力。

They help us to make sense of the world in a quick and efficient way.

它们帮助我们快速有效地 理解这个世界。

So your brain does not react to the world.

所以，大脑并不会 对世界做出反应。

Using past experience,

使用过去的经验，

your brain predicts and constructs

你们的大脑预测和建造了

your experience of the world.

你对世界的经验。

The way that we see emotions in others are deeply rooted in predictions.

我们看其他人情感的方式 很大部分从预测中发展得来。

So to us, it feels like we just look at someone's face,

所以对我们来说， 我们只是看着一个人的脸，

and we just read the emotion that's there in their facial expressions

在他们的面部表情中做出解读，

the way that we would read words on a page.

这种方式与阅读一页文字 的方式没有差别。

But actually, under the hood, your brain is predicting.

但实际上， 你的大脑是在预测。

It's using past experience based on similar situations

它在用基于类似情况下 的过去的经验

to try to make meaning.

来试图找出意义。

This time, you're not making meaning of blobs,

这次，你不是在试图解读一个图案，

you're making meaning of facial movements

你在解读面部运动，

like the curl of a lip or the raise of an eyebrow.

比如像撇嘴或是挑眉 这样的面部运动，

And that stone-faced stare?

面无表情的脸上凝视的双眼？

That might be someone who is a remorseless killer,

那可能表示某人是个冷血杀手，

but a stone-faced stare might also mean

但面无表情的脸和凝视的双眼

that someone is stoically accepting defeat,

也可能意味着某个人 默默地接受了失败，

which is in fact what Chechen culture prescribes for someone

实际上这正是车臣文化 处在 Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's situation.

这种情况下的人的典型表现。

So the lesson here

所以我们在这里学到的是，

is that emotions that you seem to detect in other people

看似是你在他人身上探测出的感情，

actually come in part from what's inside your own head.

实际上部分来自于 你自己大脑里的经验。

And this is true in the courtroom,

在法庭如此，

but it's also true in the classroom,

在课堂上，

in the bedroom,

家中，

and in the boardroom.

董事会中也是如此。

And so here's my concern:

所以我的担忧是，

tech companies which shall remain nameless ...

科技公司—— 我在这里不应该点名——

好吧，还是提一下，

well, maybe not.

就像谷歌，脸书——

You know, Google, Facebook --

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

are spending millions of research dollars to build emotion-detection systems,

花费数百万美金建造感情探测系统，

and they are fundamentally asking the wrong question,

他们完全是在问错误的问题，

because they're trying to detect emotions in the face and the body,

因为他们在试图从 面部和身体中探测出感情，

but emotions aren't in your face and body.

但感情并不存在于你的面部和身体里。

Physical movements have no intrinsic emotional meaning.

身体的运动并不具备 本质上的感情意义。

We have to make them meaningful.

我们要让它们具有意义。

A human or something else has to connect them to the context,

人或者其它东西 必须将它们置于具体情境中

and that makes them meaningful.

才能使它们有意义。

That's how we know that a smile might mean sadness

那样我们就会知道 微笑也许意味着难过，

and a cry might mean happiness,

哭泣也许意味着快乐，

and a stoic, still face might mean

克制静默的脸也许意味着

that you are angrily plotting the demise of your enemy.

你生气地密谋击败你的敌人。

Now, if I haven't already gone out on a limb,

如果到现在大家还相信我的说法，

I'll just edge out on that limb a little further and tell you

我想再前进一小步，告诉你们，

that the way that you experience your own emotion

你们经历自己的感情的方式

is exactly the same process.

正是同样的过程。

Your brain is basically making predictions, guesses,

你们的大脑简单说来是 在进行预测，猜想，

that it's constructing in the moment

数十亿细胞正在共同运作，

with billions of neurons working together.

建造此时的预测和猜想。

Now your brain does come prewired to make some feelings,

你们的大脑的确有 先前搭好的网络来制造一些感觉，

simple feelings that come from the physiology of your body.

来自身体，生理的简单感觉。

So when you're born,

所以当你出生的时候，

you can make feelings like calmness and agitation,

你已经有了一些感觉， 比如平静和激动，

excitement, comfort, discomfort.

兴奋，舒服，不舒服。

But these simple feelings are not emotions.

但是这些简单的感觉 不是情感，

They're actually with you every waking moment of your life.

它们实际上是伴随着你 生命的每一个醒着的时刻。

They are simple summaries of what's going on inside your body,

它们是你身体里发生 的种种情况的简单总结，

kind of like a barometer.

一种晴雨表。

But they have very little detail,

但它们是没有什么细节的，

and you need that detail to know what to do next.

而你需要细节 来知道下一步要做什么，

What do you about these feelings?

去知道你要对这些感觉做什么。

那么你的大脑是如何 提供你那些细节的呢？

And so how does your brain give you that detail?

Well, that's what predictions are.

那就是预测。

预测将你身体里的感官体验，

Predictions link the sensations in your body

that give you these simple feelings

也就是各种简单的感觉，

with what's going on around you in the world

与这世界上正在 发生的事进行连接，

so that you know what to do.

于是你就知道要做什么了，

And sometimes,

有时候，

those constructions are emotions.

那些连接就是情感。

So for example, if you were to walk into a bakery,

比如说，如果你正走进一家糕点房，

your brain might predict that you will encounter

你的大脑也许会预测你将会看到

美味香浓，新鲜出炉的巧克夹心饼干。

the delicious aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

I know my brain would predict

我知道我的大脑会预测

the delicious aroma of freshly baked chocolate cookies.

美味香浓，新鲜出炉的巧克力饼干。

And our brains might cause our stomachs to churn a little bit,

我们的大脑也许会引发 胃部进行蠕动，

to prepare for eating those cookies.

来准备吃这些饼干。

And if we are correct,

如果我们是对的，

if in fact some cookies have just come out of the oven,

如果的确有一些饼干刚出炉，

then our brains will have constructed hunger,

我们的大脑将会构造饥饿感，

and we are prepared to munch down those cookies

我们会准备吃掉这些饼干，

and digest them in a very efficient way,

然后以一种很有效的方式 消化掉它们，

也就是说，我们可以吃掉很多，

meaning that we can eat a lot of them,

which would be a really good thing.

那将是一件非常美妙的事情。

You guys are not laughing enough. I'm totally serious.

大家别笑，我是很严肃的。

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

But here's the thing.

但重点是，

That churning stomach,

那个不断蠕动的胃

if it occurs in a different situation,

如果发生在一个不同的情况下，

it can have a completely different meaning.

它可能有完全不同的意义。

So if your brain were to predict a churning stomach

所以如果你的大脑将要预测 一个蠕动的胃，

in, say, a hospital room while you're waiting for test results,

比如说，当你呆在一间医院的病房 等待检测结果的时候，

then your brain will be constructing dread

那么你的大脑将会产生畏惧，

or worry or anxiety,

或者担忧，或者焦虑，

and it might cause you to, maybe,

它也许会让你开始

wring your hands

把双手扭来扭去，

或深呼吸，甚至是哭泣。

or take a deep breath or even cry.

Right? Same physical sensation, same churning stomach,

同样的身体感觉， 同样的蠕动的胃，

different experience.

却是不同的体验。

And so the lesson here

所以我们可以从中学到的是，

is that emotions which seem to happen to you

那个似乎发生在你身上的感情，

are actually made by you.

实际上你制造出来的。

You are not at the mercy of mythical emotion circuits

你不是完全被早早深植于你大脑

which are buried deep inside some ancient part of your brain.

某部分的神秘感情电路支配。

You have more control over your emotions

你对你的感情可以做出的控制

than you think you do.

比你想象中的要多。

I don't mean that you can just snap your fingers

我不是说你可以只是打个响指，

and change how you feel the way that you would change your clothes,

然后就像换衣服一样 换掉你的感觉，

but your brain is wired

但是你的大脑有着连通的线路，

so that if you change the ingredients that your brain uses to make emotion,

所以如果你改变大脑 用于制造感情的那些成份，

then you can transform your emotional life.

那么就可以彻底改变你的情感生活。

So if you change those ingredients today,

如果你今天改变这些成份，

you're basically teaching your brain how to predict differently tomorrow,

你就是在教授你的大脑明天 将如何以不同的方式做预测，

and this is what I call being the architect of your experience.

这就是我所描述的， “做你自身经历的建筑师”。

So here's an example.

这里有一个例子。

All of us have had a nervous feeling before a test, right?

我们在场的所有人都有过 考试前紧张的感觉，对吧？

But some people experience crippling anxiety before a test.

但是有些人在考试前 经历了极度的紧张

They have test anxiety.

他们有考试焦虑症。

Based on past experiences of taking tests,

根据过去参加考试的经历，

their brains predict a hammering heartbeat,

他们的大脑预测出 一个极度强烈的心跳，

sweaty hands,

出汗的手心，

so much so that they are unable to actually take the test.

严重到他们几乎 无法真正参加考试。

They don't perform well,

他们在考场表现得不好，

and sometimes they not only fail courses but they actually might fail college.

有时候他们不仅仅会挂科， 甚至会无法从大学毕业。

But here's the thing:

但重点在于，

a hammering heartbeat is not necessarily anxiety.

一个极度强烈的心跳 不一定代表焦虑，

It could be that your body is preparing to do battle

它可能代表你的身体 在准备战斗，

and ace that test ...

准备在考试中大显身手——

or, you know, give a talk

或者，比如演讲，

in front of hundreds of people on a stage where you're being filmed.

站在台上，面对数百个观众，还被录像。

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

I'm serious.

我是认真的。

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

And research shows that when students learn

研究显示，当学生们学会

下定这种充满能量的决心，

to make this kind of energized determination

instead of anxiety,

而不再焦虑的时候，

they perform better on tests.

他们在考试中表现得更出色。

And that determination seeds their brain to predict differently in the future

而那种决心在大脑里扎根， 在未来会用不同的方式去预测，

so that they can get their butterflies flying in formation.

这样他们就可以对 紧张情绪有所控制。

And if they do that often enough,

如果他们常常那样做的话，

they not only can pass a test

他们不仅可以通过考试，

but it will be easier for them to pass their courses,

这个过程也会变得更容易，

and they might even finish college,

他们甚至可以完成学业，

which has a huge impact on their future earning potential.

那对他们未来发挥潜力 有着巨大的影响。

So I call this emotional intelligence in action.

我把这称作“行动中的情商”。

Now you can cultivate this emotional intelligence yourself

你可以自己培养这种情商，

and use it in your everyday life.

在你每天的日常生活中使用它。

So just, you know,

就比如，

imagine waking up in the morning.

想象早上醒来，

I'm sure you've had this experience. I know I have.

我肯定你们有过这种经历，我有过。

You wake up and as you're emerging into consciousness,

你醒来，随着意识变得清晰，

you feel this horrible dread,

你感受到了强烈的恐惧，

you know, this real wretchedness,

这种真切的痛苦

and immediately, your mind starts to race.

让你的思绪立刻开始狂奔。

You start to think about all the crap that you have to do at work

你开始想着你工作中 必须要做的一切，

and you have that mountain of email

堆积如山的邮件，

那些向来都把你弄得 透不过气的海量邮件，

which you will never dig yourself out of ever,

the phone calls you have to return,

你必须回复的电话，

在城市另一头召开的重要会议，

and that important meeting across town,

and you're going to have to fight traffic,

你在路上会遇到交通拥堵，

you'll be late picking your kids up,

你接孩子会迟到，

your dog is sick, and what are you going to make for dinner?

你的狗生病了， 你晚饭要准备什么，等等。

噢，我的天呐！

Oh my God.

What is wrong with your life?

你的生活怎么了？

What is wrong with my life?

我的生活怎么了？

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

That mind racing is prediction.

那些狂奔的思绪都是预测，

Your brain is searching to find an explanation

你的大脑在搜寻一种解释，

for those sensations in your body that you experience as wretchedness,

为这些你身体里感觉到 的不适寻找解释，

just like you did with the blobby image.

就像你在面对黑白斑块图案 的时候一样。

So your brain is trying to explain what caused those sensations

你的大脑尝试着去解释 是什么引起了这些感觉，

so that you know what to do about them.

这样你就知道要怎么做。

But those sensations

但是这些感觉

might not be an indication that anything is wrong with your life.

也许并不表示你生活 出现了任何问题。

They might have a purely physical cause.

它们背后也许有一个 纯粹的物理原因。

Maybe you're tired.

也许你很疲劳，

Maybe you didn't sleep enough.

也许你的睡眠不足，

Maybe you're hungry.

也许你很饥饿，

Maybe you're dehydrated.

也许你脱水了。

The next time that you feel intense distress,

下次你感觉到心情压抑的时候，

ask yourself:

问问你自己：

Could this have a purely physical cause?

这是否仅是身体原因导致的？

Is it possible that you can transform

有没有可能你可以将

emotional suffering into just mere physical discomfort?

情绪上的痛苦转化成 仅仅是身体的不适？

Now I am not suggesting to you

我不是在建议各位，

that you can just perform a couple of Jedi mind tricks

只需要去表演 一些哄骗头脑的小把戏，

and talk yourself out of being depressed

就能使你自己从抑郁

or anxious or any kind of serious condition.

或焦虑，或任何一种 严重状况中走出来。

But I am telling you

但我要告诉各位的是，

that you have more control over your emotions than you might imagine,

你对你的情感可以做出的控制 比你想象中的更多。

and that you have the capacity

而且你有能力

to turn down the dial on emotional suffering

通过学习如何用不同的方法 建立你的经历

and its consequences for your life

去降低情感上痛苦的程度，

by learning how to construct your experiences differently.

以及它对于你人生的影响。

And all of us can do this

我们所有人都可以做到，

and with a little practice, we can get really good at it,

只需要稍加练习， 就可以应对自如，

like driving.

就好像开车。

起初，我们需要付出很大的努力，

At first, it takes a lot of effort,

but eventually it becomes pretty automatic.

但逐渐就会形成一个自发的过程。

Now I don't know about you,

我不知道你们怎么想，

but I find this to be a really empowering and inspiring message,

但我发现这真是 一个鼓舞人心的信息，

and the fact that it's backed up by decades of research

是经过数十年研究 才得以发现的事实，

makes me also happy as a scientist.

作为科学家的我也感到高兴。

But I have to also warn you that it does come with some fine print,

但我也必须提醒你们， 它还附带了一些细则，

because more control also means more responsibility.

因为更多的控制 意味着更多的责任。

If you are not at the mercy of mythical emotion circuits

如果你不是受控于深植在你的大脑

which are buried deep inside your brain somewhere

内部某处，而且会自动激发的

and which trigger automatically,

神秘的情感电路，

then who's responsible,

那么谁来负责，

who is responsible when you behave badly?

谁会在你做出负面行为时负责？

You are.

你来负责。

Not because you're culpable for your emotions,

不是因为你应该为你的 感情负责，

but because the actions and the experiences that you make today

而是因为你今天所做出的行为 和取得的经验

become your brain's predictions for tomorrow.

会成为你大脑对未来的预测。

Sometimes we are responsible for something

有时候我们对某些事情负责，

not because we're to blame

不是因为是我们的错，

but because we're the only ones who can change it.

而是因为我们是唯一能 够去改变它的人。

Now responsibility is a big word.

责任是一个很重的字眼。

It's so big, in fact,

它是如此之重，

that sometimes people feel the need to resist the scientific evidence

以至有时人们觉得需要 抗拒关于情感是后天形成

that emotions are built and not built in.

而不是先天存在的 这一科学证据。

The idea that we are responsible for our own emotions

我们要对我们自身 的感情负责这一概念

seems very hard to swallow.

似乎很难接受。

But what I'm suggesting to you is you don't have to choke on that idea.

但我建议你们 不必在那个卡在这个概念上。

You just take a deep breath,

你只需要深呼吸，

maybe get yourself a glass of water if you need to,

如果需要，给自己倒一杯水，

and embrace it.

然后去拥抱它。

Embrace that responsibility,

拥抱那个责任，

因为这是造就 一个更健康的身体，

because it is the path to a healthier body,

a more just and informed legal system,

更公正和健全的法律系统，

and a more flexible and potent emotional life.

以及一个更灵活， 充满力量的情感生活的道路。

Thank you.

谢谢。

（观众掌声）

(Applause)