Laura Carstensen: Older people are happier

翻译人员: Karen SONG 校对人员: Dennis Guo

People are living longer and societies are getting grayer.

人们现在越活越久

社会也逐渐变得老龄化

你可能总是听到别人这么说

You hear about it all the time.

你也从报纸上如是读到

You read about it in your newspapers.

从电视上看到

You hear about it on your television sets.

有时候我很担心

Sometimes, I'm concerned

that we hear about it so much that we've come to accept longer lives

我们听过长寿太多次

以至于人们带着自满

with a kind of a complacency, even ease.

甚至安逸的情绪开始接受

长寿的事实

但是请别搞错

But make no mistake, longer lives can --

长寿能够 --

and, I believe, will improve quality of life at all ages.

而且我相信，它肯定会 --

改善所有年龄的人们的

生活品质

现在让我们先拉个远景

Now to put this in perspective, let me just zoom out for a minute.

从宏观的角度来看

人们的

More years were added to average life expectancy in the 20th century

平均寿命

在整个20世纪增加的年数

要比

than all years added across all prior millennia

上千年来

人类进化过程中所增加的总和还要多

of human evolution combined.

就在眨眼之间

In the blink of an eye,

我们已经将我们的寿命

we nearly doubled the length of time that we're living.

延长了一倍

So if you ever feel like you don't have this aging thing quite pegged,

所以，如果你觉得你对变老这件事并不关心

不要自责

don't kick yourself.

It's brand new.

这个话题太新了

And because fertility rates fell across that very same period

因为在同一时期内

生育率下降了

平均寿命增加了

that life expectancy was going up,

that pyramid that has always represented the distribution of age in the population,

那个用来表示

人口年龄分布的金字塔形

底部的年轻人口总是很多

with many young ones at the bottom winnowed to a tiny peak of older people

延伸到老龄人口的尖顶

who make it and survive to old age,

那些是成功存活到高龄的人

is being reshaped into a rectangle.

（人口金字塔）形状发生了改变

变成了长方形

如果你是那种

And now, if you're the kind of person

对人口统计感到恐惧的人

who can get chills from population statistics,

(Laughter)

these are the ones that should do it.

这些变化应该会让你感到难受

Because what that means

因为这变化表明

is that for the first time in the history of the species,

在人类种族历史上头一回

大多数

the majority of babies born in the developed world

在发达国家出生的婴儿

are having the opportunity to grow old.

有机会

活到老年

这是怎么发生的？

How did this happen?

Well, we're no genetically hardier than our ancestors were 10,000 years ago.

我们并不是在基因上

比一万年前的祖先强壮

平均寿命的增加

This increase in life expectancy is the remarkable product of culture --

全要归功于文化 --

一个包含了

the crucible that holds science and technology

科学和技术

and wide-scale changes in behavior that improve health and well-being.

以及广泛的（社会）行为改变的熔炉

导致人们的健康和福利的增进

通过文化的改变

Through cultural changes, our ancestors largely eliminated early death

我们的祖先

大幅度地消除了早亡

so that people can now live out their full lives.

所以现在的人可以走完完整的一生

Now there are problems associated with aging --

老龄化催生了很多问题

diseases, poverty, loss of social status.

疾病、贫困、社会地位的丧失

It's hardly time to rest on our laurels.

这可不是坐享荣誉的时候

不过当我们研究的越多

But the more we learn about aging,

老龄化就变得越清晰

the clearer it becomes that a sweeping downward course

把它说成是一条单纯的下坡路

是非常不准确的

is grossly inaccurate.

衰老也带来一些非同凡响的进步

Aging brings some rather remarkable improvements --

increased knowledge, expertise --

知识的增加，专业的精深

人生的情绪层面也有所提升

and emotional aspects of life improve.

这句话很对

That's right, older people are happy.

老年人是快乐的

They're happier than middle-aged people, and younger people, certainly.

他们比中年人更快乐

更理所当然地比年轻人更快乐

(Laughter)

一个又一个的研究

Study after study is coming to the same conclusion.

证实了相同的结论

The CDC recently conducted a survey

疾病防治中心(CDC)最近进行了一次调查

where they asked respondents simply to tell them

他们简单地要求受试者来报告

whether they experienced significant psychological distress

在过去的一周里自己是否经历了

重大的心理困扰

in the previous week.

And fewer older people answered affirmatively to that question

老年人承认有这类问题的

比中年人少

than middle-aged people, and younger people as well.

也比年轻人少

一项近期的盖洛普调查

And a recent Gallup poll asked participants

询问参与者

how much stress and worry and anger they had experienced the previous day.

有多少压力、焦虑和愤怒情绪

他们在前一天体验过

And stress, worry, anger

压力、焦虑、愤怒

都随着年龄增长而减少

all decrease with age.

Now social scientists call this the paradox of aging.

社会学家称这种现象为老龄化悖论

I mean, after all, aging is not a piece of cake.

老龄化可不是小事

我们问了各种各样的问题

So we've asked all sorts of questions to see if we could undo this finding.

试图推翻这个研究结论

We've asked whether it may be that the current generations of older people

我们提出这可能是因为

现在正值老年的这一代人

一直以来都是

are and always have been the greatest generations.

最伟大的一代人

That is that younger people today may not typically experience

而现在的年青一代

可能不会在成长过程中

these improvements as they grow older.

经历同样的进步

We've asked,

我们也提出

well, maybe older people are just trying to put a positive spin

也许老年人只是在发扬阿Q精神

on an otherwise depressing existence.

来应对令人沮丧的事实

（笑声）

(Laughter)

然而我们越是想要颠覆这个结论

But the more we've tried to disavow this finding,

the more evidence we find to support it.

反而找到越多的证据

来支持这个结论

Years ago, my colleagues and I embarked on a study

很多年前，我和同事一起开始了一项研究

我们对同一组人进行跟踪调查长达十年

where we followed the same group of people over a 10-year period.

这组人最开始的年龄从18岁到94岁不等

Originally, the sample was aged 18 to 94.

And we studied whether and how their emotional experiences changed

我们研究了他们的情绪体验

是否随着岁月而改变

as they grew older.

研究参与者随身携带电子纸张

Our participants would carry electronic pagers

每次持续一周时间

for a week at a time,

and we'd page them throughout the day and evenings at random times.

我们在早晚的任意时间呼叫他们

每一次我们呼叫他们

And every time we paged them,

我们会问他们几个问题

we'd ask them to answer several questions --

用1到7的量表来衡量他们当时高兴的程度

"On a one to seven scale, how happy are you right now?"

悲伤的程度

"How sad are you right now?"

"How frustrated are you right now?" --

沮丧的程度

so that we could get a sense of the kinds of emotions and feelings they were having

这样我们就能

监测到他们情绪和感觉上的

日常状况

in their day-to-day lives.

通过这种

And using this intense study of individuals,

对个人的密集调查

we find that it's not one particular generation

我们发现并没有任何一代人

that's doing better than the others,

比其他人更好

but the same individuals over time

但是同一个人随着年岁增长

come to report relatively greater positive experience.

开始报告

相对更积极的体验

现在你看到在非常高的年龄

Now you see this slight downturn at very advanced ages.

这里有些许下降

这里的确有一些下降

And there is a slight downturn.

But at no point does it return to the levels we see in early adulthood.

但是绝没有回复到

他们

早期成年期的水平

Now it's really too simplistic to say that older people are "happy."

当然，光说

老年人更“快乐”，那太过草率

In our study, they are more positive.

在我们的研究里，他们更积极

但他们也比年轻人

But they're also more likely than younger people

更能体会到复杂的情感

to experience mixed emotions --

sadness at the same time you experience happiness;

悲喜交加

你们知道

you know, that tear in the eye when you're smiling at a friend.

就是冲着朋友微笑的同时眼含泪花

And other research has shown that older people seem to engage with sadness

有其他研究显示

老年人能够

更从容地应对悲伤

more comfortably.

They're more accepting of sadness than younger people are.

他们比年轻人更能接受悲伤情绪

And we suspect that this may help to explain

我们怀疑这能帮助解释

why older people are better than younger people

为什么老年人比年轻人

at solving hotly charged emotional conflicts and debates.

更擅长处理激烈的情绪冲突和争论

老年人看待不公

Older people can view injustice with compassion,

能够带着怜悯

而不是绝望

but not despair.

And all things being equal,

在同等条件下

older people direct their cognitive resources, like attention and memory,

老年人会将自己的认知资源

比如注意力和记忆力

to positive information more than negative.

更多地导向积极信息，而不是消极信息

If we show older, middle-aged, younger people images,

我们向老年组、中年组和青年组展示图像

正如你们在屏幕上看到的

like the ones you see on the screen,

and we later ask them to recall all the images that they can,

过后我们让他们

回忆他们看到的图像

老年组，而非青年组

older people, but not younger people,

remember more positive images than negative images.

记得的积极图像

多过消极图像

We've asked older and younger people to view faces in laboratory studies,

我们让老年组和青年组

去看实验室研究所用的脸部表情

一些皱眉、一些微笑

some frowning, some smiling.

Older people look toward the smiling faces and away from the frowning, angry faces.

老年组看向微笑的脸

而回避皱眉的、愤怒的脸

在日常生活中

In day-to-day life, this translates into greater enjoyment and satisfaction.

这转换成更大的乐趣

以及满足

But as social scientists, we continue to ask about possible alternatives.

但作为社会学家，我们继续问

是否有其他可能

也许老年人

We've said, well, maybe older people report more positive emotions

报告更多的积极感受

because they're cognitively impaired.

是因为他们认知机能受损

(Laughter)

（笑声）

会不会

We've said, could it be

that positive emotions are simply easier to process than negative emotions,

积极情绪比消极情绪更易处理

所以他们更倾向于积极情绪？

and so you switch to the positive emotions?

也许我们脑内的神经系统

Maybe our neural centers in our brain

退化了

are degraded such that we're unable to process negative emotions anymore.

以致无法处理消极情绪

But that's not the case.

但事实并非如此

The most mentally sharp older adults

老年组里思维最敏捷的

恰恰是最积极的

are the ones who show this positivity effect the most.

在关键时刻

And under conditions where it really matters,

older people do process the negative information

老年人处理消极情绪

和处理积极情绪的能力是一样的

just as well as the positive information.

So how can this be?

这是为什么呢？

在我们的研究里

Well, in our research,

我们发现这些改变

we've found that these changes are grounded fundamentally

在最基本上植根于

人类监控时间的独特能力

in the uniquely human ability to monitor time --

不光是时钟的时间和日历的时间

not just clock time and calendar time, but lifetime.

更是生命的时间

And if there's a paradox of aging,

如果说老龄化悖论成立

it's that recognizing that we won't live forever

那也是因为我们认识到生命易逝

changes our perspective on life in positive ways.

而使我们把人生观

变得更积极

人生的终点遥远又朦胧

When time horizons are long and nebulous, as they typically are in youth,

年轻时通常都这么想

人们就会一直跃跃欲试

people are constantly preparing,

trying to soak up all the information they possibly can,

试图尽可能地去吸收信息

承担风险、探索未知

taking risks, exploring.

我们可能会跟不喜欢的人共度时光

We might spend time with people we don't even like

因为感觉这挺有趣

because it's somehow interesting.

We might learn something unexpected.

我们也许不经意间学到一些不该学的东西

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We go on blind dates.

我们去相亲

(Laughter)

（笑声）

毕竟

You know, after all,

if it doesn't work out, there's always tomorrow.

就算失败了，也还有明天

超过50岁的人

People over 50 don't go on blind dates.

就不会去相亲了

(Laughter)

（笑声）

当我们逐渐变老

As we age, our time horizons grow shorter and our goals change.

跟人生终点的距离不断缩短

我们的人生目标从而改变

When we recognize that we don't have all the time in the world,

当我们意识到时间不再多的可以尽情挥霍

we see our priorities most clearly.

就能清楚地看到事情的轻重缓急

我们变得不在意琐碎之事了

We take less notice of trivial matters.

我们享受人生

We savor life.

我们更懂感恩

We're more appreciative,

更向往和谐

more open to reconciliation.

We invest in more emotionally important parts of life,

我们更致力于精神层面上重要的东西

and life gets better,

生活变得更好

so we're happier day-to-day.

所以日益快乐

But that same shift in perspective

但是这种观念的改变

leads us to have less tolerance than ever for injustice.

也降低了

对不公的容忍

到2015年

By 2015,

美国人口中

there will be more people in the United States

60岁以上的人口

over the age of 60 than under 15.

将会超过不满15岁的人口

社会老龄化之后

What will happen to societies that are top-heavy with older people?

会有什么改变？

数量并不能

The numbers won't determine the outcome.

左右结果

Culture will.

文化才会

If we invest in science and technology

如果我们投入科学和技术

and find solutions for the real problems that older people face

为老龄化问题

找出解决之道

and we capitalize on the very real strengths of older people,

我们充分发挥

老年人的

真正优势

那么，寿命的增加

then added years of life can dramatically improve quality of life at all ages.

将会戏剧性地改善人们的生活质量

无论是哪个年龄段

社会上有上百万的

Societies with millions of talented, emotionally stable citizens

有才能而且情绪稳定的市民

who are healthier and better educated than any generations before them,

他们更健康，受过更高的教育

与他们之前的任何一代人比

armed with knowledge about the practical matters of life

用知识武装自己

了解人生的各种状况

and motivated to solve the big issues

积极主动地

去解决重大问题

社会将变得更加美好

can be better societies than we have ever known.

比我们已知的更好

我父亲已经92岁了

My father, who is 92, likes to say,

他喜欢说

”让我们不要再说

"Let's stop talking only about how to save the old folks

解救老年人这种话了

and start talking about how to get them to save us all."

我们要开始谈谈

如何让老年人解救所有人。”

谢谢

Thank you.

(Applause)

（鼓掌）