Neil: And I'm Neil. Here's your coffee, Sophie.

尼爾：我是尼爾。蘇菲，這是你的咖啡

Sophie: Neil, remember that staff meeting we had yesterday?

蘇菲：尼爾，還記得我們昨天開的員工會議嗎？

Why did you agree to having decaf coffee in the kitchen when I know you don't like it... and neither do I!

我知道你不喜歡無咖啡因咖啡，那為什麼你還贊成廚房供應？我也不喜歡耶！

Neil: I know. It's just that the boss said that decaffeinated coffee

尼爾：我知道。因為老闆說無咖啡因咖啡

that's coffee with the caffeine removed – was a good idea, healthier, you know.

也就是沒有咖啡因的咖啡 ─ 很不錯，比較健康嘛。

And then everyone else agreed.

然後其他人也都同意了

And I... I don't know... I just felt uncomfortable disagreeing with everyone.

我不曉得...我只是覺得反對大家的話會讓我很不自在

Sophie: Well, it's interesting you should say that, Neil.

蘇菲：你講到很有趣的一點了，尼爾

Groupthink is the subject of today's show.

今天的節目主題是團體迷思

Groupthink refers to the type of bad decisions we make when we are in a group.

團體迷思指的是在團體中做出壞決策的現象

Decisions that are contrary to – or against – what we really think.

那些決定和我們的真正想法背道而馳

A psychology experiment conducted in the 1950s showed that a lot of people do exactly that

一項在1950年代做的心理實驗指出，很多人真的就像這樣

they submit to the will of the group.

屈服於團體的意志下

Neil: But before we hear more about this, now would be a good time for today's quiz question.

尼爾：但在我們更深入探討之前，現在正適合丟出今日的問題

And I get to ask you, Sophie!

而這次換我考你囉，蘇菲！

Sophie: OK. What is it?

蘇菲：好的。是什麼問題呢？

Neil: In which story by Hans Christian Andersen does a young boy dare to tell the truth

尼爾：漢斯˙安徒生的哪個童話，講述了一個年輕小男孩在大家指鹿為馬時

when everyone else goes along with an obvious lie?

勇於說出真相？

Is it... a) The Red Shoes b) The Snow Queen

是... a) 紅鞋 b) 冰雪女王

Or c) The Emperor's New Clothes

還是 c) 國王的新衣

Sophie: OK... I think it's c) The Emperor's New Clothes.

蘇菲：我想是 c) 國王的新衣

Neil: Well, we'll find out later on in the show if that's right or not.

尼爾：好，我們晚點會在節目中看看你答對了沒

Now, the psychologist Solomon Asch is well known for his conformity experiments from the 1950s.

心理學家所羅門·阿希在1950年代時進行的從眾實驗廣為人知

Can you tell us what "conformity" means please, Sophie?

你能告訴我們什麼叫做「從眾」嗎，蘇菲？

Sophie: Conformity means behaviour that is the same as the way most other people behave.

蘇菲：從眾指的是與他人做出相同行為

Asch's main finding was that group pressure can change a person's opinion, of even obvious facts.

阿希在實驗中主要發現團體壓力可以扭轉個人想法，甚至是顯而易見的事實

Neil: And what did this Asch test involve?

尼爾：這場阿希實驗的主要內容為何？

Sophie: 123 male participants were shown a card with a line on it, followed by another card with three lines on it.

蘇菲：他們向123位男性受試者秀出畫有直線的卡片，以及另一張有著三條直線的卡片

The participants were then asked to say which line matched the line on the first card in length.

受試者接著被要求說出哪條線與第一張卡片上的直線等長

The right answer was plain to see, but the participants felt pressurized into saying the wrong answer.

正確答案顯而易見，但受試者卻在倍感壓力之下選了錯誤答案

Neil: Why would they do that?

尼爾：為什麼？

Sophie: Because the majority of people taking part in the experiment had been told to give the wrong answer.

蘇菲：因為他們安排多數人要講出錯誤答案

Let's hear Professor Nick Chater's explanation.

我們來聽聽尼克·切特教授如何解釋

He works at the Warwick Business School here in the UK.

他任教於英國華威商學院

Nick Chater: By the time it comes to you a whole list of people have said something plainly wrong

尼克·切特：當你知道大多數人都說了明顯錯誤的答案時

and you are either going to have to fold and say,

你要不就是屈服並說

"well, I just agree with them" or you're going to rather uncomfortably say, "well, I think it's one actually".

「嗯，我只是同意他們說的」，要不就是難受的說出「嗯，其實我覺得第一個才是對的」

And most people, most of the time, tend to fold.

而大多數人，大部分時間，會傾向屈服

Neil: Professor Nick Chater. He uses the word fold, which means you give up.

尼爾：尼克·切特教授用了一個字 fold，意思就是放棄

But, Sophie, if people are uncomfortable about supporting the wrong answer,

但蘇菲，如果人們認為贊同錯誤答案，或是一些他們不予置信的事物

or something they don't believe in, why do they do it?

令他們感到難受，那他們又何苦這麼做？

Sophie: Because even though we feel uncomfortable going along with

蘇菲：因為即使我們覺得附和或

or agreeing with – something we don't believe,

同意一些我們不相信的事物會使我們感到難受

we're even more uncomfortable about disagreeing with the group.

反對整個團體反而會讓我們更加不自在

Neil: Well, I didn't realize that people were such sheep. I have a will of steel, Sophie.

尼爾：我無法理解為何人們這麼懦弱。像我可是有鋼鐵般的意志呢，蘇菲

Sophie: Is that right? So, your will of steel – or strong determination

蘇菲：是這樣嗎？所以，我想你鋼鐵般強大的決心

somehow melted away in the staff meeting yesterday, I suppose?

在昨天的員工會議上是不是完全熔解啦？

Neil: Oh well... of course... yes...

尼爾：嗯... 是啦... 這個...

Sophie: Let's move on and consider briefly how social media encourages groupthink.

蘇菲：換個話題，我們來大致想想社群媒體是如何助長團體迷思的

Neil: Yes, there's a real danger with something like, for example, the Twitter – the social networking service.

尼爾：像是推特這類的社群服務網站真的是個危機

Because when an opinion on Twitter starts to "trend", it can take on a momentum of its own,

因為當推特上的一項個人意見成為趨勢時，勢頭便會如雪球般越滾越大

and people adopt it simply because it's popular, not because they really believe it.

人們會因為流行而輕易接受它，並不是因為他們真的相信

Sophie: And momentum means a force that keeps something going once it has started.

蘇菲：而 momentum 的意思是當某事／物開始後讓它持續進行的力量

Let's hear from journalist and author, Jon Ronson. He has an interesting opinion about this.

現在讓我們來聽喬恩·朗森的說明。他對今天的主題有很有趣的見解

Jon Ronson: One of the ironies here is that on social media we all like to see ourselves as nonconformists

喬恩·朗森：「在這裡，諷刺的是，我們在社群媒體上總以非盲從者自居，

but when we all get together in a group

但當我們處在團體中

what we're doing is using our individual nonconformity to create a more conformist world.

我們會用個人的不盲從打造出一個更加盲從的世界

So if somebody steps out of line, all us nonconformists, in this frightened conformist way, tear them apart.

所以當有人越界時，所有非盲從者，會轉向可怕的盲從模式，抨擊他們

It's like we're defining the boundaries of normality by tearing apart the people on the outside.

這就像是我們藉由屏除外人來定義正常的界線。」

Sophie: Jon Ronson. Are you a nonconformist then, Neil

蘇菲：感謝喬恩·朗森。尼爾，那你是個不盲從

someone who thinks and behaves differently from other people?

想法和行為都與眾不同的人嗎？

Neil: I'm not the type that Jon Ronson is describing

尼爾：我不是喬恩·朗森說的那種

one who joins up with other so-called nonconformists to bully people with different views.

會和其他所謂的非盲從者一起霸凌持不同意見者的人

Now remember I asked you earlier: In which story by Hans Christian Andersen

現在，還記得我先前問的問題嗎？漢斯·安徒生的哪個童話

does a young boy dare to tell the truth when everyone else goes along with an obvious lie?

講述了一個年輕小男孩在大家指鹿為馬時勇於說出真相？

Is it... a) The Red Shoes, b) The Snow Queen

是... a) 紅鞋 b)冰雪女王

Or c) The Emperor's New Clothes?

還是 c) 國王的新衣？

Sophie: I guessed c) The Emperor's New Clothes.

蘇菲：我猜 c) 國王的新衣

Neil: And you were right, Sophie!

尼爾：答對了，蘇菲！

The Emperor's New Clothes is a story by Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers

國王的新衣是漢斯·安徒生筆下的故事，講述的是兩位裁縫師

who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to those who are stupid or incompetent.

答應國王要做給他一件傻子和不稱職的人都看不到的新衣服

No one dares to say that he doesn't see any suit of clothes until a child cries out,

沒人敢說他們看的到衣服，直到一名小孩大叫

"But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

「他明明什麼都沒穿啊！」

Sophie: It's a great story – and a lesson to us all. Now can we hear the words we learned today please?

蘇菲：這真是個好故事 ─ 對人們而言也是一堂教訓。現在我們可以來聽今天學到什麼單字了嗎？

Neil: They are:

尼爾：它們是：

decaffeinated

無咖啡因的

groupthink

團體迷思

contrary to

與... 相反

conformity

從眾；順從

fold

屈服；放棄

going along with

服從；贊同

will of steel

鋼鐵般的意志

momentum

動力；勢頭

nonconformist

非墨守成規者；非盲從者

Sophie: Well, that's the end of today's 6 Minute English. Don't forget to join us again soon!

蘇菲：今天的6分鐘英文到此結束。別忘了再次收看哦！

Both: Bye.

一起：掰掰！