Helping others makes us happier -- but it matters how we do it | Elizabeth Dunn

翻译人员: jacks peng 校对人员: Bighead Ge

So, I have a pretty fun job,

我的工作很有趣，

which is to figure out what makes people happy.

内容是搞清——什么让人快乐。

It's so fun, it might almost seen a little frivolous,

它是如此有趣，以至看起来没啥用，

especially at a time where we're being confronted

尤其是当我们面临

with some pretty depressing headlines.

一些非常令人沮丧的头条新闻时。

But it turns out that studying happiness might provide a key

但结果发现研究幸福可能是

to solving some of the toughest problems we're facing.

解决我们面临的这些难题的钥匙。

It's taken me almost a decade to figure this out.

我花了快10年时间才明白这点。

Pretty early on in my career,

在我职业的早期阶段，

I published a paper in "Science" with my collaborators,

我和我的合作者在《科学》上 发表了一篇论文，

entitled, "Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness."

题为“为他人花钱能带来幸福。”

I was very confident in this conclusion,

我对这个结论非常有信心，

except for one thing:

除了一点：

it didn't seem to apply to me.

它在我身上好像不起作用。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I hardly ever gave money to charity,

我几乎不给慈善组织捐钱，

and when I did,

就算当我捐款了，

I didn't feel that warm glow I was expecting.

我也没感受到预期的充实。

So I started to wonder if maybe there was something wrong with my research

于是我开始怀疑 是不是我的研究存在问题

or something wrong with me.

或者我本人有什么问题。

My own lackluster emotional response to giving was especially puzzling

我自己在给予他人之后感觉很平淡， 这让我很困惑，

because my follow-up studies revealed that even toddlers exhibited joy

因为我后续的研究发现， 即便是蹒跚学步的孩子

from giving to others.

也能在给予中感到快乐。

In one experiment, my colleagues Kiley Hamlin, Lara Aknin and I

在一个实验中，我和我的同事 基利·哈姆林、劳拉·阿克宁

brought kids just under the age of two into the lab.

把不到2岁的孩子带到实验室。

Now, as you might imagine,

正像你们想的那样，

we had to work with a resource that toddlers really care about,

我们必须用一些小孩特别喜欢的玩意，

so we used the toddler equivalent of gold,

所以我们使用了儿童非常喜欢的食物，

namely, Goldfish crackers.

也就是金鱼饼干。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We gave kids this windfall of Goldfish for themselves

我们给孩子们发了一笔 “金鱼横财”，

and a chance to give some of their Goldfish away

并给他们一个机会 把他们的一部分金鱼送给

to a puppet named Monkey.

一个叫猴子的木偶。

(Video) Researcher: I found even more treats,

（视频）研究员： 我发现了更多的糖果，

and I'm going to give them all to you.

我要把它们都给你。

Toddler: Ooh. Thank you.

孩子：噢，谢谢你！

Researcher: But, you know, I don't see any more treats.

研究员：你知道嘛， 除了你没人有糖果了哦。

Will you give one to Monkey?

你愿意给猴子一个吗？

Toddler: Yeah. Researcher: Yeah?

孩子：我愿意。 研究员：确定吗？

Toddler: Yeah.

孩子：嗯啊。

Here.

给你。

Researcher: Ooh, yummy. Mmmm.

研究员：哇~真好吃~嗯~

Toddler: All gone, he ate it.

孩子：都没了，他吃光了。

Elizabeth Dunn: Now, we trained research assistants to watch these videos

伊丽莎白·邓恩： 接着，我们培训研究助理观看这些视频

and code toddlers' emotional reactions.

并记录儿童的情感反应。

Of course, we didn't tell them our hypotheses.

当然，我们并没有告诉他我们的假设。

The data revealed that toddlers were pretty happy

数据显示 这些蹒跚学步的孩子

when they got this pile of Goldfish for themselves,

在得到金鱼饼干时非常高兴，

but they were actually even happier

但当他们把一些金鱼饼干

when they got to give some of their Goldfish away.

分享给别人时，他们更高兴。

And this warm glow of giving persists into adulthood.

这种给予的热情会持续到成年。

When we analyzed surveys from more than 200,000 adults

当我们分析来自全球20万成年人的

across the globe,

问卷答案时，

we saw that nearly a third of the world's population

我们看到近1/3的全球人口表示

reported giving at least some money to charity in the past month.

至少在过去一个月有向慈善组织捐赠。

Remarkably, in every major region of the world,

值得注意的是， 在全球每一个主要地区都是如此：

people who gave money to charity were happier than those who did not,

那些向慈善组织捐赠的人 要比那些不捐赠的人更快乐，

even after taking into account their own personal financial situation.

即便考虑进了他们个人的经济情况。

And this correlation wasn't trivial.

这种相关性并非微不足道。

It looked like giving to charity

根据数据，给慈善机构捐款

made about the same difference for happiness

对幸福感的影响，相当于

as having twice as much income.

你的收入增加了一倍。

Now, as a researcher,

作为一个研究员，

if you're lucky enough to stumble on an effect

如果你足够幸运，偶尔发现

that replicates around the world in children and adults alike,

这种在全球各地的儿童和 成人身上都能复制的效应，

you start to wonder:

你会开始好奇：

Could this be part of human nature?

这是人类本质的一部分吗？

We know that pleasure reinforces adaptive behaviors

我们知道快乐能增强适应性行为，

like eating and sex

诸如吃饭和性爱

that help perpetuate our species,

有助于物种延续，

and it looked to me like giving might be one of those behaviors.

看起来给予可能也属于这类行为。

I was really excited about these ideas,

我对这些想法非常激动，

and I wrote about them in the "New York Times."

还在《纽约时报》写了想法。

One of the people who read this article

其中一个看到这个文章的人

was my accountant.

是我的会计。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Yeah.

没错。

At tax time, I found myself seated across from him,

报税时，我坐在他对面，

watching as he slowly tapped his pen

看着他对着我的纳税申报单

on the charitable giving line of my tax return

慈善捐赠栏的地方慢慢地敲打着笔，

with this look of, like,

带着一种

poorly concealed disapproval.

毫不掩饰的反对表情。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Despite building my career by showing how great giving can feel,

尽管我的工作很多都是在揭示 给予的感觉是多么棒，

I actually wasn't doing very much of it.

我其实很少这么去做。

So I resolved to give more.

所以我决定付出更多。

Around that time,

那段时间，

devastating stories about the Syrian refugee crisis

关于叙利亚难民危机的毁灭性报道

were everywhere.

无处不在。

I really wanted to help,

我真的很想给予帮助，

so I pulled out my credit card.

于是我掏出我的信用卡。

I knew my donations would probably make a difference for someone somewhere,

我知道我的捐赠或许可以让 某地方的某个人改变人生，

but going to the website of an effective charity

然而打开一个慈善机构的网站，

and entering my Visa number

输入我的信用卡信息

still just didn't feel like enough.

仍然感觉做得不够。

That's when I learned about the Group of Five.

就在那时，我了解到了“五人小组”。

The Canadian government allows any five Canadians

加拿大政府允许任意五名加拿大人

to privately sponsor a family of refugees.

联合起来资助一个难民家庭。

You have to raise enough money to support the family

你需要募集足够的钱来支持难民们

for their first year in Canada,

初到加拿大第一年的费用，

and then they literally get on a plane to your city.

然后他们就坐飞机到你们城市。

One of the things that I think is so cool about this program

我觉得这个项目很酷的一个原因是

is that no one is allowed to do it alone.

没有人可以单独行动。

And instead of a Group of Five,

我们没有选择“五人小组”，

we ended up partnering with a community organization

而是最终与一个社区组织合作，

and forming a group of 25.

组成了一个25人的小组。

After almost two years of paperwork and waiting,

在将近2年的手续办理和等待后，

we learned that our family would be arriving in Vancouver

我们得知我们资助的家庭 将在不到六周的时间内

in less than six weeks.

到达温哥华。

They had four sons and a daughter,

他们有4个男孩和1个女孩，

so we raced to find them a place to live.

所以我们赶紧给他们找地方住。

We were very lucky to find them a house,

我们很幸运给他们找到了房子，

but it needed quite a bit of work.

但需要花大量的时间来布置。

所以我的朋友们在晚上和周末

So my friends came out on evenings and weekends

and painted and cleaned and assembled furniture.

来粉刷、清洁和组装家具。

When the big day came,

当那一天终于到来时，

we filled their fridge with milk and fresh fruit

我们在他们的冰箱里装满了 牛奶和新鲜水果，

and headed to the airport to meet our family.

然后去机场迎接他们。

It was a little overwhelming for everyone,

这种场面让每个人都感觉有点紧张，

especially the four-year-old.

尤其是那个四岁的小家伙。

His mother was reunited with her sister

他的母亲和她的妹妹终于团聚了，

who had come to Canada earlier through the same program.

她的妹妹早些时候也通过 同样的项目来到加拿大。

They hadn't seen each other in 15 years.

她们已经有15年没见过彼此了。

When you hear that more than 5.6 million refugees have fled Syria,

当你听说有560多万 难民逃离叙利亚时，

you're faced with this tragedy

你所面临的惨状

that the human brain hasn't really evolved to comprehend.

已经超过了大脑所能够理解的范围。

It's so abstract.

它是如此抽象。

Before, if any of us had been asked to donate 15 hours a month

以前，如果有人被要求 每月捐出15个小时

to help out with the refugee crisis,

来帮助解决难民危机，

we probably would have said no.

我们很可能会拒绝。

But as soon as we took our family to their new home in Vancouver,

但是当我们带我们资助的家庭 去温哥华的新家时，

we all had the same realization:

我们都有同样的认识：

we were just going to do whatever it took to help them be happy.

我们只想尽一切可能让他们开心。

This experience made me think a little more deeply about my research.

这个经历让我对我的研究 思考得更深了一层。

Back in my lab,

回到我的实验室，

we'd seen the benefits of giving spike

当人们与他们所帮助的人 产生真正的联系，

when people felt a real sense of connection with those they were helping

以及可以很容易地想象到 这一切能给受助人的

and could easily envision the difference they were making

生活带来的改变时，

in those individuals' lives.

我们看到了给予帮助的好处。

For example, in one experiment,

举个例子，在一个实验中，

we gave participants an opportunity to donate a bit of money

我们为参与者提供一个捐钱

to either UNICEF or Spread the Net.

给联合国儿童基金会或 Spread the Net的机会。

We chose these charities intentionally,

我们有意选择了这些慈善机构，

because they were partners and shared the same critically important goal

因为他们是合作伙伴， 有着促进儿童健康的

of promoting children's health.

同样至关重要的目标。

But I think UNICEF is just such a big, broad charity

但我认为联合国儿童基金会 是一个大而广的慈善机构，

that it can be a little hard to envision

人们会很难想象

how your own small donation will make a difference.

你的小小捐赠会产生什么作用。

In contrast, Spread the Net offers donors a concrete promise:

相比之下，Spread the Net 给了捐赠者一个具体承诺：

for every 10 dollars donated,

每捐赠10美元，

they provide one bed net to protect a child from malaria.

他们会提供一个蚊帐来保护 儿童免受疟疾的侵害。

We saw that the more money people gave to Spread the Net,

我们看到给Spread the Net 捐赠越多钱的人，

the happier they reported feeling afterward.

他们事后报告的快乐也更多。

In contrast, this emotional return on investment

相比之下，当人们把钱 捐给联合国儿童基金会时，

was completely eliminated when people gave money to UNICEF.

这种情感上的投资回报就完全消失了。

So this suggests that just giving money to a worthwhile charity

所以这就意味着把钱捐给 一个有价值的慈善机构

isn't always enough.

并不足够。

You need to be able to envision

你必须得能够想象，

how, exactly, your dollars are going to make a difference.

确切地说，你的钱将如何发挥作用。

Of course, the Group of Five program takes this idea to a whole new level.

当然，“五人小组”的项目把这个 想法带到一个全新的高度。

When we first took on this project,

我们刚开始这个项目时，

we would talk about when the refugees would arrive.

我们会讨论难民何时到达。

Now, we just refer to them as our family.

现在，我们把他们称作我们的家人。

Recently, we took the kids ice skating,

最近，我们带孩子们去滑冰，

and later that day, my six-year-old, Oliver, asked me,

那天晚些时候， 我六岁的儿子奥利弗问我，

"Mommy, who is the oldest kid in our family?"

“妈妈，谁是我们家最大的孩子?”

I assumed he was talking about his plethora of cousins,

我猜想他指的是他那 一大堆堂兄弟姐妹，

and he was talking about them,

他谈的是他们，

but also about our Syrian family.

但也包括我们的叙利亚家人。

Since our family arrived,

自从我们的家人抵达后，

so many people and organizations have offered to help,

很多的个人和组织提供了帮助，

providing everything from free dental fillings

从提供免费的口腔牙龈保护

to summer camps.

到夏令营的一些东西。

It's made me see the goodness that exists in our community.

它让我看到了存在我们社区的善良。

Thanks to one donation,

多一份捐赠，

the kids got to go to bike camp,

让孩子能够参加单车夏令营，

and every day of the week,

每天都能去，

some member of our group tried to be there to cheer for them.

我们组的一些成员都 在那里为他们加油。

I happened to be there

我碰巧在

the day the training wheels were supposed to come off,

辅助轮（辅助学习骑车） 应该被取下的那天到那，

and let me tell you, the four-year-old did not think this was a good idea.

我不得不说，这个四岁的孩子 觉得这不是好主意。

So I went over and talked to him

所以我过去告诉他

about the long-term benefits of riding without training wheels.

关于不使用辅助轮的长期好处。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Then I remembered that he was four and barely spoke English.

然后我想起他才四岁， 几乎不会说英语。

So I reverted to two words he definitely knew:

于是我回到了他肯定知道的单词：

ice cream.

冰淇淋。

You try without training wheels, I'll buy you ice cream.

你试试不带训练轮，我给你买冰淇淋。

Here's what happened next.

这是接下来发生的事情。

(Video) ED: Yes. Yeah!

（视频）伊丽莎白：是的，对！

Kid: I'm gonna try.

孩子：我试试。

ED: Oh my God! Look at you go!

伊丽莎白：老天，看你骑得多好！

(Squealing) Look at you go! You're doing it all by yourself!

(尖叫)看你骑得多好！ 完全不需要辅助轮了！

(Audience) (Laughter)

（观众）（笑声）

(Video) ED: Good job!

（视频）伊丽莎白：好样的！

(Audience) (Laughter)

（观众）（笑声）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

ED: So this is the kind of helping that human beings evolved to enjoy,

伊丽莎白：享受这种帮助行为 是人类进化而来的能力，

but for 40 years,

但是40年来，

Canada was the only country in the world

加拿大是全球唯一一个

that allowed private citizens to sponsor refugees.

允许公民个人赞助难民的国家。

Now -- Canada!

如今——加拿大万岁！

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

It's pretty great.

好极了。

Now Australia and the UK are starting up similar programs.

现在澳大利亚和英国 也开始了类似的项目。

Just imagine how different the refugee crisis could look

试想一下，如果更多的国家 能够做到这一点，

if more countries made this possible.

难民危机将会变得多么不同。

Creating these kinds of meaningful connections between individuals

在个人之间建立这种有意义的联系

provides an opportunity to deal with challenges

提供了来应对那些让人难以承受的

that feel overwhelming.

挑战的机遇。

One of those challenges lies just blocks from where I'm standing right now,

其中一个挑战就在离我现在所站的 地方几个街区远的地方，

in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

在温哥华市中心的东侧。

从某些方面来看， 它是加拿大最穷的城市地区。

By some measures, it's the poorest urban postal code in Canada.

We actually debated whether to bring over a family of refugees,

我们实际上在讨论是否要 把一个难民家庭带来，

because there are so many people right here already struggling.

因为这里已经有很多人在挣扎。

My friend Evan told me that when he was a kid

我的朋友埃文告诉我在他小的时候，

and his parents drove through this neighborhood,

他的父母开车穿过这个街区，

he would duck down in the back seat.

他会在后座上蹲下身子。

But Evan's parents never would have guessed

但埃文的父母绝不会猜到

that when he grew up,

当他长大后，

he would open up the doors of a local restaurant

他会打开当地这家餐厅的门

邀请这个社区来享受三道菜的晚餐。

and invite this community inside to enjoy three-course dinners.

The program that Evan helped build is called "Plenty of Plates,"

埃文帮助建立的这个项目 叫做“很多的盘子”，

and the goal is not just to provide free meals

但其目标不仅是提供免费午餐，

but to create moments of connection

而是在那些从来不会 彼此有眼神接触的

between people who otherwise might never make eye contact.

人中创造连接的机会。

Each night, a local business sponsors the dinner

每个晚上都有一家本地企业赞助晚餐，

and sends a team of volunteers

并派出一队志愿者

who help make and serve the meal.

帮助制作和递送晚餐。

Afterward, the leftovers get distributed to people who are out on the street,

之后，剩饭剩菜会分发给街上的人们，

and importantly, there's enough money left

重要的是，还剩下了足够的钱

to provide a thousand free lunches for this community

在接下来的日子里为这个社区提供

in the days that follow.

一千份免费午餐。

But the benefits of this program extend beyond food.

但这个项目的益处超出食物本身。

For the volunteers, it provides an opportunity to engage with people,

对于志愿者，它提供了 一个与人互动的机会，

to sit down and hear their stories.

坐下来听听他们的故事。

After this experience, one volunteer changed his commute

在这次经历后，一个志愿者 改变了他的通勤路线，

so that instead of avoiding this neighborhood,

这样就不会避开这个邻区，

he walks through it,

而是让他能够穿过去，

smiling or making eye contact as he passes familiar faces.

当他经过熟悉的面孔时， 他们会对彼此微笑或通过眼神交流。

All of us are capable of finding joy in giving.

我们都能在给予中找到快乐。

But we shouldn't expect this to happen automatically.

但我们不能预期它会自动发生。

Spending money helping others doesn't necessarily promote happiness.

把钱花在别人身上未必带来幸福感，

Instead, it matters how we do it.

关键在于我们如何做。

And if we want people to give more,

如果我们想让人们给予更多，

we need to subvert the way we think about charitable giving.

就需要颠覆我们对慈善捐赠的看法。

We need to create opportunities to give

我们需要创造机会，

that enable us to appreciate our shared humanity.

使我们能够欣赏我们共同的人性。

If any of you work for a charity,

如果你们有谁在慈善组织工作，

don't reward your donors with pens or calendars.

不要用笔或日历奖励你的捐赠者。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Reward them with the opportunity

奖励他们看到

to see the specific impact that their generosity is having

他们的慷慨产生的特别作用，

and to connect with the individuals and communities they're helping.

还有提供他们与帮助的个人 和群体之间连接的机会。

We're used to thinking about giving as something we should do.

我们习惯于认为给予是 我们应该做的事情。

And it is.

的确是这样的。

But in thinking about it this way,

但这样想，

we're missing out on one of the best parts of being human:

我们就会错过人类最好的一面：

that we have evolved to find joy in helping others.

我们已经进化到在助人中体会快乐。

Let's stop thinking about giving as just this moral obligation

让我们停止把给予 仅仅看作是一种道德义务，

and start thinking of it as a source of pleasure.

开始把它视作快乐的源泉吧。

Thank you.

谢谢。

（鼓掌）

(Applause)