时差N小时:人与名字之间的联系

Yael: Hey Don, see that guy over there? I'm alwaysforgetting his name!

雅艾尔：嘿，唐，看见那边那个人了吗?我总是忘记他叫什么!

Don: Oh, you mean Matt?

唐：欧，你是指马特吗?

Yael: Yeah, that's it! You know, it's really easy forme to remember some names, but others take a lotof work.

雅艾尔：对，他叫马特!有些人的名字我很容易就记住，但有些就得花点功夫了。

Don: Don't feel bad. It might be because Matt's face doesn't go with his name.

唐：不要难过。也许是因为马特的长相跟他的名字不相配吧。

Yael: What? How can Matt's face not go with his name? They're both his!

雅艾尔：什么?马特的长相和他的名字怎么不相配呢?他们都是马特的啊!

Don: Well, psychologists at Miami University of Ohio conducted experiments showing acorrelation between specific facial features and names. In one experiment, the researchersrandomly presented participants with a name like Bob, Joe, or Dan, and then asked them touse computer software to draw a picture of someone likely to have this name.

唐：好吧，俄亥俄州的迈阿密大学的心理学家进行了一项实验，实验显示特定的面部特征和名字之间有关联。在试验中，研究人员随机为参与者提供一个姓名，比如说鲍勃，乔伊或者丹，然后让他们用电脑软件画一幅他们心中叫这个名字的人的画像。

Yael: And?

雅艾尔：然后呢?

Don: The pictures had some striking similarities that depended on the name. For instance, thename "Bob" led most people to draw someone with a rounder face, while the name "Tim"triggered more sketches with longer, thinner features. The study only used common men'snames, though, so it's too early to tell how these findings might apply to women's names, orunusual ones.

唐：同一个名字的画像有惊人的相似之处。比如说，大多数人会给叫鲍勃这个人画一张圆脸，给提姆画的草图中，高瘦是最大特点。这项研究只运用了平常男性的名字，所以不能断定这个发现也适用于女性的名字，或者不寻常的名字。

Yael: Well, that's kind of interesting, but what does it have to do with remembering?

雅艾尔：嗯，这挺有趣的，但是这跟记忆有什么关系呢?

Don: In another experiment, the participants were shown a series of photos labeled with aname. They were able to learn—and retain—a name much more quickly when the names "fit"their expectations of what a "Bob" or a "Tim" should look like.

唐：在另一项试验中，向参与者展示一系列贴有名字标签的人物照片。他们能更快记住那些长相跟他们的期望一致的人。

Yael: So, it's easier to remember someone's name if it's a good match to their face?

雅艾尔：那么，如果名字与张相匹配度高的话，就能更容易地记住一个人的名字，是吗?

Don: Exactly. Some names just fit better.

唐：正是。有一些人的名字匹配度高。

Yael: So, how come you remembered Matt's name?

雅艾尔：那么你是怎么记住马特的呢?

Don: Oh him. He's my brother.

唐：欧，他呀，他是我哥哥。