Name: 哈佛大學不為人知的幸福研究！沒有人想聽的真相｜羅伯特·沃爾丁格 (The Harvard happiness finding no one wants to hear | Robert Waldinger)
Uploaded: 2025-12-25T18:19:31.000Z
Duration: 16 min 56 s

I started out as an intern in pediatrics and I would see one ear infection after another and the kids were adorable.

我一開始在小兒科實習，看到一個又一個的耳部感染，孩子們都很可愛。

程度副詞

But one ear infection is pretty much the same as every other, whereas when you talk to people about their lives, it's never the same.

但一個耳部感染跟另一個差不多，而當你跟人們談論他們的生活時，卻從來不盡相同。

And I knew that that would keep me interested for my whole career, which it has the secret to happiness.

我知道這會讓我整個職業生涯都保持興趣，這也是幸福的祕訣。

I became interested in psychiatry unexpectedly.

我是意外地對精神病學產生興趣的。

I had never known a psychiatrist growing up, but

我從小到大從未認識過精神科醫生，但

when I was in medical school, I found that the way people's minds worked was the most fascinating thing I could possibly study.

在醫學院時，我發現人們心智運作的方式是我可能研究過最迷人的東西。

So I eventually found that there was really nothing else for me in medicine but doing psychiatry.

所以我最終發現，在醫學領域，除了精神病學之外，沒有別的東西適合我了。

I am the fourth director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development.

我是哈佛成人發展研究的第四任主任。

And it is the longest study of adult life that's ever been done.

這是史上最長的一項成人生活研究。

It started in 1938 as two studies that weren't even aware of each other.

這項研究始於 1938 年，當時有兩項研究，彼此之間甚至沒有意識到對方。

One study started at Harvard Student health service with 19 year old sophomores who were thought by their deans to be fine, upstanding young men.

其中一項研究始於哈佛大學學生健康服務中心，對象是 19 歲的大二學生，他們的系主任認為他們是優秀、正直的年輕人。

And the other study was a study of juvenile delinquency in and it selected boys, middle school age from Boston's poorest families, but

另一項研究則是關於青少年犯罪的研究，對象是來自波士頓最貧困家庭、處於國中階段的男孩，但

also the most troubled families, families beset by problems like domestic violence and parental mental illness and physical illness.

這些家庭也最為困擾，飽受家庭暴力、父母精神疾病和身體疾病等問題的折磨。

This study set out to understand what makes people thrive as they grow and develop.

這項研究旨在瞭解是什麼讓人在成長和發展過程中蓬勃發展。

And that was unusual because most research that's been done is done on what goes wrong in human development so that we can help people.

這很不尋常，因為大多數已進行的研究都是關於人類發展中出現的問題，以便我們能幫助人們。

但這是一項關於「正確」發展的研究。

So it was how do kids from disadvantaged families stay on good paths and develop well?

也就是說，來自不利家庭的孩子如何保持正軌並良好發展？

And then of course, the very privileged Harvard group was meant to be a study of normal young adult development.

然後當然，非常特權的哈佛那群人，則是為了研究正常的年輕成人發展。

We now know that if you want to study normal young adult development, you don't just study white men from Harvard.

我們現在知道，如果你想研究正常的年輕成人發展，不能只研究來自哈佛的白人男性。

We study well being as people go through life.

我們研究人們在人生旅途中如何保持福祉。

And our big question is if you could make one choice today to make it likely that you would stay happy and stay healthy throughout your life, what single choice would you make?

而我們的大哉問是，如果你今天能做出一項選擇，讓你在往後的人生都能保持快樂和健康，你會做出什麼選擇？

And most of us think it's something to do with getting rich or achieving a lot.

而我們大多數人都認為這跟致富或成就很多事有關。

And some people even think they need to become famous to have a happy, healthy life.

有些人甚至認為他們需要成名才能擁有快樂、健康的人生。

But our study and many other studies show that the single choice we can make that's most likely to keep us on a good path of well being is to invest in our relationships with other people.

但我們的研究和其他許多研究都顯示，最有可能讓我們保持良好福祉的單一選擇，就是投資在我們與他人的關係上。

The people in our study who had the happiest, warmest relationships were the people who stayed healthy longest and who lived the longest.

在我們研究中，擁有最快樂、最溫暖關係的人，也是最健康、壽命最長的人。

it has followed the same people throughout their entire lives, from the time they were teenagers all the way into old age.

並且一路追蹤同一群人，從他們還是青少年時期一直到年老。

這項研究最初有724名年輕男性，

then we brought in most of their wives and eventually most of their children.

後來我們也納入了大部分他們的妻子，以及最後他們的大部分孩子。

So that now There are over 2,000 people in these 724 families who we have followed through their entire adult lives.

所以現在，這724個家庭裡有超過2,000人，我們一路追蹤了他們整個成人生活。

We started collecting information by giving these young men elaborate psychological examinations, also medical examinations.

我們一開始收集資訊的方式，是給這些年輕人做詳細的心理檢查，還有身體檢查。

Then we went to their homes, we talked to their parents, and sometimes even their grandparents.

然後我們到他們家裡，跟他們的父母談話，有時候甚至跟他們的祖父母。

And the workers made elaborate notes about what was being served for dinner and what the discipline style was in the family, and

工作人員還會仔細記錄晚餐吃了什麼、家裡的管教方式，

And then eventually, as new methods of studying human life came on board, we adopted those methods.

後來，隨著研究人類發展的新方法出現，我們也採用了那些方法。

So, audiotaping, videotaping, we now draw blood for DNA.

像是錄音、錄影，現在我們還會抽血做 DNA 分析。

And DNA wasn't even imagined in 1938 when the study began.

DNA 在1938年研究剛開始時，根本還沒被想像出來。

We've put many of our people into an MRI scanner and watched how their brains light up as we show them different visuals, images.

我們讓許多研究對象進入 MRI 掃描器，觀察他們看到不同視覺、影像時，大腦會如何活化。

We bring them into our laboratory and we deliberately stress them out.

我們把他們帶進實驗室，刻意讓他們承受壓力。

And then we watch how they recover from stress as one more way of understanding well being.

然後我們觀察他們如何從壓力中恢復，作為理解福祉的另一種方式。

One of the things that is more common now, but

was unusual when we started, it was combining biological measures and psychological measures and seeing how our biology is influenced by our mental states and vice versa.

在我們剛開始研究時很不尋常，那就是結合生理測量和心理測量，看看我們的生理狀態如何受到心理狀態的影響，反之亦然。

So it's this combining of mind and body measurement that was relatively new in the last 20 years.

所以這種結合身心測量的方式，在過去二十年裡相對新穎。

The question comes up, how much of our happiness is under our control?

問題來了，我們的快樂有多少是我們可以掌控的？

And they've actually done some scientific analyses of this.

他們其實也做了一些科學分析。

Psychologist named Sonia Lyubomirsky did an analysis in which she estimates that about 50% of our happiness is, is a kind of biological set point, probably determined by our genes, that has to do with inborn temperament.

一位名叫 Sonia Lyubomirsky 的心理學家做了一項分析，她估計大約 50% 的快樂是某種生理設定點，可能由我們的基因決定，與天生的性情有關。

We all know people who are kind of naturally gloomy and other people who are naturally chipper no matter what's going on.

我們都知道有些人天生就比較憂鬱，而有些人不管發生什麼事都天生就很開朗。

So about half of our happiness is that inborn temperament.

所以大約一半的快樂是這種天生的性情。

Then about 10%, she finds, is based on our current life circumstances.

然後大約 10%，她發現，是基於我們目前的生活狀況。

And then the last 40% is under our control.

然後最後的 40% 是我們可以掌控的。

We can make ourselves more likely to be happy by building a life that includes the conditions that make for happiness.

我們可以透過建立包含幸福條件的生活，來讓自己更有可能感到快樂。

The questions that we might ask ourselves about our relationships are kind of simple.

我們可能會問自己關於人際關係的問題，其實很簡單。

One is, do I have enough connection in my life, or do I even have too much connection?

一個是，我的生活中是否有足夠的連結，或者我是否連結太多了？

If I'm a shyer person and don't need as many people in My life?

如果我比較害羞，不需要那麼多人陪伴我的人生呢？

所以，我擁有的符合我的需求嗎？

And each person can check in with themselves about that, Then the question is, do I have relationships that are warm and supportive?

每個人都可以自己檢視一下，然後問題是，我擁有的關係是溫暖且支持性的嗎？

And there again, each of us needs to ask that question.

在這裡，我們每個人都需要問自己這個問題。

Do I have people who have my back, who I feel I could call and would be there in an emergency because hard times are always coming our way?

我身邊有沒有支持我的人，讓我覺得需要時可以打電話給他們，他們就會出現，因為人生總會有困難的時候？

And then the question is also, what am I getting from relationships?

那接著還有一個問題是，我從關係中得到了什麼？

Do I have enough people to have fun with?

我有足夠的人可以一起玩樂嗎？

Do I have enough people who will loan me their tools when I need to fix something in my house?

我有足夠的人在我需要修理家裡的東西時，願意借我工具嗎？

Or who will drive me to the doctor when I need a ride?

或者在我需要搭便車去看醫生時，會開車載我的人？

One of the things we know about life is that we all have worries.

我們對人生所知道的一件事是，我們都會有煩惱。

Worries about children, worries about health, worries about finances.

關於孩子的煩惱、關於健康的擔憂、關於財務的考量。

And one of the best teachings I got in my training as a psychiatrist was from one of my mentors who said, never worry alone.

而在我身為精神科醫生訓練期間，我學到最好的教誨之一，是來自我的導師之一，他說，永遠不要獨自煩惱。

And this teacher meant that about being worried about a patient who I was treating.

而這位老師的意思是，關於我正在治療的病患，我會感到擔心。

But what I've come to understand, that it's really good advice for just about everything in life.

但後來我體會到，這真的是對人生中幾乎所有事情都非常好的建議。

That if I'm really worried about something and I share it with somebody I trust, it makes all the difference in how much better I feel and how much less alone I feel with my worry.

那就是，如果我真的很擔心某件事，然後跟一個我信任的人分享，這會大大影響我感覺有多好，以及我感覺有多不孤單。

There are so many different things we get from relationships, and

我們從關係中獲得了這麼多不同的東西，

so each of us can check in with ourselves about what we have and what we would like a little more of.

所以我們每個人都可以檢視自己，看看我們擁有哪些，以及我們希望多一點什麼。

So we've learned several big lessons about relationships, about good relationships.

所以我們學到了關於關係、關於良好關係的幾項重要功課。

And one of them is that childhood experience really does matter.

其中一項是，童年經驗真的很重要。

What happens to us in childhood sets the stage for what we come to expect from the world.

我們童年時的經歷，為我們期望從世界上獲得什麼奠定了基礎。

And that's often a good thing if we're raised by people who are warm and caring and reliable.

如果我們是由溫暖、關懷且可靠的人撫養長大，這通常是件好事。

Some people don't have that luck and are raised in environments where they feel like the people who are supposed to take care of them aren't trustworthy, can't be relied upon.

有些人沒有那麼幸運，在一個他們覺得應該照顧他們的人不值得信任、無法依靠的環境中長大。

And so many of those people come into adulthood with the expectation that the world is not a safe place and that people can't be relied on.

所以很多人成年後，就會認為世界不是個安全的地方，而且無法信任別人。

The other thing we've learned is that adult experience can correct for some of those unfortunate lessons that people learn in childhood.

我們學到的另一件事是，成年的經驗可以修正一些童年時學到的不幸教訓。

Becoming connected with a good partner, with good friends who you can count on, can go a long way to change those gloomy expectations about the world and about relationships and allow us to realize that, yes, we can find people who are good, reliable partners in our relational world.

找到一位好伴侶、幾個可以依靠的好朋友，對於改變我們對世界和人際關係的悲觀預期很有幫助，讓我們意識到，是的，我們能在人際關係中找到好且可靠的伴侶。

So another lesson that we learn is that all relationships that are important have some disagreements or some difficulties.

所以我們學到的另一課是，所有重要的人際關係都會有一些爭執或困難。

And that actually facing those difficulties goes a long way to strengthen relationships much of the time.

事實上，面對這些困難，往往能大大加強我們的關係。

So that if we can work on relationships, that turns out to have great payoff in terms of keeping our connections stronger.

所以，如果我們能努力經營關係，這能為維持更緊密的連結帶來豐厚的回報。

What that means is that it's normal to have disagreements, it's normal to have difficulties, and

這表示有爭執、有困難是很正常的，

that the more skill we can develop in working through difficulties, the better our social worlds are.

而我們越能發展出處理困難的技巧，我們的人際世界就會越好。

One of the biggest lessons we learned from our study is that our connections with other people help us weather the hard times of life.

我們研究中學到的最大教訓之一是，我們與他人的連結能幫助我們度過人生的艱難時刻。

而艱難時刻，在每個人的生命中都會出現。

So our original participants were born during the Great Depression.

所以我們最初的研究對象出生於大蕭條時期。

And many of the Harvard undergraduates were of an age to go and serve in World War II.

而許多哈佛大學的大學生，正值可以去參加第二次世界大戰的年紀。

And when we asked them, how did you get through these really difficult times?

當我們問他們，你們是怎麼度過這些非常艱難的時刻的？

All of them, to a person, talked about their relationships.

他們無一例外，都談到了他們的人際關係。

Our neighbors shared what little we had during the Depression.

在大蕭條時期，我們的鄰居們分享了我們僅有的一點點東西。

My fellow soldiers in the trenches were the people who kept me going.

戰壕裡的戰友們，是支撐我走下去的人。

The letters that came to me from back home while I was overseas in the war were what sustained me.

我在海外戰爭期間，來自家鄉的信件，是我的精神支柱。

And so what we find is that these connections turn out to be the best protection against the difficult times, the that are always coming our way.

所以我們發現，這些連結最終是抵禦艱難時刻的最佳保護，而艱難時刻總會到來。

We are pretty sure that we human beings evolved to be social animals, that in fact, staying together in groups made it more likely that we would survive the dangers that are out there in the world and pass on our genes, which is the goal of evolution.

我們很確定，我們人類是演化成群居動物的，事實上，群體生活讓我們更有可能在世界上的危險中生存下來，並傳承我們的基因，這就是演化的目標。

So we evolved to find being together secure and safe and to find being alone a stressor.

所以我們演化出，覺得在一起是安全、穩定的，而獨處則是一種壓力源。