(单词翻译:单击)
If you're anything like me, you've turned on Netflix at the end of the day to relax,
如果你和我一样，在一天结束时打开网飞放松一下，
only to find yourself completely overwhelmed by the thousands of options of things to watch.
却发现自己面对着无数可选的内容。
Or maybe you've found yourself totally stuck in a cereal aisle
或是你发现自己完全困在谷类食品的货架上，
because you just can't decide what will make you happier—the granola with pecans and maple, or the one with cashews and honey.
因为你无法决定哪种能让你更快乐：含有山核桃和枫糖的格兰诺拉麦片，还是带有腰果和蜂蜜的那种。
Situations like this are becoming more and more common as all kinds of products target people's specific tastes.
这种情况越来越普遍，因为各种产品都针对人们的特定口味。
And while having lots of choices might sound like a great thing, research has found that,
虽然有很多选择听起来是件好事，但研究发现，
actually, having lots of choices won't always make you as happy as you'd think.
事实上，有很多选择并不总能让你像想象的那样快乐。
There really can be too much choice!
真是有太多的选择了！
Take your cereal-aisle situation.
看看谷类食品货架这种情况。
That's an example of what's called choice overload, also known as the paradox of choice.
这就是所谓的选择过载的一个例子，也可以称为选择悖论。
It's what happens when you have so many options that having to choose puts a damper on your experience.
有太多选择时，必须进行选择会妨碍你的体验。
And psychology research has shown that choice overload isn't just frustrating—it can really influence how you act.
心理学研究表明，选择过载不仅会让人沮丧，还会影响你的行为。
For example, in one study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2000,
例如，2000年发表在《个性与社会心理学期刊》上的一项研究中，
researchers from Columbia and Stanford set up a table of jam samples in a grocery store in California.
哥伦比亚大学和斯坦福大学的研究人员在加利福尼亚州的一家杂货店设立了一个放置果酱的台子。
They were trying to see what setup would entice the most customers to make a purchase.
他们想知道怎么进行设置能吸引大多数顾客购买。
On one Sunday, they offered only six samples.
一个周日，他们只提供六种样品。
On another Sunday, they offered 24.
在另一个周日，他们出售24种。
On both days, people who dropped by typically sampled just one or two jars of jam.
在这两天，来的人通常只品尝一两罐果酱。
But the larger display—on the second Sunday—drew more visitors.
但在第二个周日，因为展品更多，吸引了更多的人。
Except, there was one thing.
但是，有一件事。
Only three percent of those customers actually bought jam after sampling it.
只有3%的顾客，品尝后购买了果酱。
On the other hand, almost a third of customers who visited the smaller display—the one on the first Sunday—bought something afterward.
另一方面，在展品少的第一个周日，近三分之一的顾客后来购买了一些东西。
The researchers concluded that, although customers were more attracted to the larger display,
研究者得出结论，虽然展品多会吸引更多的顾客，
the overwhelming amount of choice actually discouraged them from picking one jam to buy.
但大量的选择实际上使他们不愿意购买一种果酱。
Of course, it's not like people don't want to make choices at all.
当然，这并不是说人们根本不想做选择。
Another study reported in the same paper looked at what amount of choice gave people the most satisfaction.
同一篇论文中报道的另一项研究，关注的是能让人们最满意的选择数量。
In this case, psychologists offered chocolate to groups of university students.
在这项研究中，心理学家向一群大学生提供巧克力。
In one group, students got to choose one chocolate out of six.
在一个小组里，学生们要从六种巧克力中选一个。
In a second group, students could choose one out of 30.
在第二组中，学生可以从30种中选择一个。
And in a third group, the students had no choice at all—the researchers just handed them a chocolate.
在第三组中，学生们没有选择，研究人员只是递给他们一块巧克力。
In each case, the students were asked to eat and rate the chocolate.
在每一组中，研究者要求学生们吃巧克力，然后给巧克力评分。
According to what they reported, the students who were asked to choose one chocolate from six enjoyed their choice the most.
根据他们的报告，要求从六种巧克力中选择一种的学生，最喜欢他们的选择。
Those who chose out of 30 chocolates were less satisfied.
那些从30种巧克力中做选择的人不太满意。
But the group that had no choice at all reported the least satisfaction with what they were given.
但是，没有选择的小组报告说，他们对获得巧克力最不满意。
Both of these studies showed that people want choice,
这两项研究都表明人们想要选择，
but those with too much choice are generally less satisfied than those with a more limited choice.
但选择太多的人通常比选择更有限的人更不满意。
And researchers think that comes down to two main issues:
研究者认为，这可以归结为两个主要问题：
The first is that when we have more choices, we have higher expectations.
第一，当我们有更多选择时，我们会有更高的期望。
We tend to think that with more choices, we can get closer to the thing we really want.
我们倾向于认为，拥有更多的选择，就能更接近真正想要的东西。
Which means it's easier to be disappointed.
也就是说更容易失望。
The second is that when we have more things to choose from, we also end up with more regret,
第二，当我们有更多选择时，我们最终也会有更多的遗憾，
because we're more likely to look back and wonder if one of the other choices would have been better.
因为我们更有可能回想，其他的选择也许会更好。
But even though having more choice won't actually improve our lives,
尽管拥有更多的选择并不能真正改善我们的生活，
studies have found that some people will go out of their way to have more options, because they assume it'll make them happier.
但研究发现有些人会不遗余力地想要更多的选择，因为他们认为这样他们会更快乐。
For example, a 2009 article in the journal Personality and Individual Differences described a study
例如，2009年《个性与个体差异》期刊上的一篇文章描述了一项研究，
in which psychologists surveyed people at two ice cream parlors in Vancouver.
心理学家对温哥华两家冰淇淋店的顾客进行调查。
One was in a downtown area that was easy to walk to but had fewer selections.
一家店在市中心，步行很方便，但选择的种类较少。
Another was a car ride away, but offered more flavors.
另一家店要开车才能到，但口味更多。
The researchers found that many people who wanted to make the best possible choice went to the place with the bigger menu,
研究人员发现，许多想做出最佳选择的人都会去口味更多的地方。
but they reported less satisfaction with their choices than similar customers at the simpler, local parlor.
但他们报告说，与在选择更少的本地那家店的顾客相比，他们对自己的选择不太满意。
Unfortunately, these days, it's hard to completely avoid choice overload, especially if you live somewhere with a high focus on consumerism.
遗憾的是，如今，很难完全避免选择过载，尤其是如果你生活在一个高度关注消费主义的地方。
You're bombarded with choices all of the time—like when you buy groceries, or pick out your clothes, or look for a 401k plan.
你总是面对各种各样的选择，比如购买食品杂货、挑选服装，或者找一项退休计划。
And since the decisions you make in an instant can affect the rest of your life,
因为你瞬间做出的决定会影响你的余生，
it's worth knowing that you may not make your best decisions when you're overwhelmed with options.
所以我们有必要知道，当你面对各种选择时，可能无法做出最好的决定。
Because you can't change that, but you can make other changes in your life.
因为你不能改变这一点，但却可以在生活中做出其他改变。
At the very least, you can remember that going out of your way to have more choices won't always make you happier.
至少，你能记住，拥有更多的选择并不总会让你更快乐。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow!
感谢收看本期《科学秀》！
And thanks especially to our patrons on Patreon, who make it possible for us to keep putting out videos like this.
尤其感谢我们在Patreon上的赞助人，是他们让我们能够继续发布这样的视频。
It takes a lot of people to make a SciShow video, and we couldn't do it without your help!
制作一个《科学秀》视频需要很多人的参与，没有你们的帮助，我们是做不到的！
If you're interested in learning how you can support SciShow, head to patreon.comSciShow.
如果您有兴趣了解如何支持《科学秀》，请登陆patreon.comSciShow。
