有时，你抑制不住，就是无法改变对某个人的换印象。那么，当你做出苛刻的初次(但通常持续很久)判断时，大脑里发生了什么呢?Peter Mende-Siedlecki 讲了印象的社会心理学原理，告诉我们为何这种印象表明人类大体上都很善良。

　　中英对照翻译

　　Imagine you're at a football game when this obnoxious guy sits next to you.

　　想象你在一场足球赛中，这个讨厌鬼坐在你的旁边。

　　He's loud, he spills his drink on you, and he makes fun of your team.

　　他大吵大叫，把饮料溅到你身上，并且还嘲笑你支持的足球队。

　　Days later, you're walking in the park when suddenly it starts to pour rain.

　　几天之后，当你正在公园散步，突然下起大雨。

　　Who should show up at your side to offer you an umbrella?

　　此时谁会出现在你身边为你遮雨?

　　The same guy from the football game.

　　恰巧就是足球赛上你旁边的那个人。

　　Do you change your mind about him based on this second encounter, or do you go with your first impression and write him off?

　　此时你对他的看法会因为第二次相遇而改变，还是会坚持对他的印象继续讨厌他?

　　Research in social psychology suggests that we're quick to form lasting impressions of others based on their behaviors.

　　社会心理学导师认为我们会基于别人的行为作出的印象评价。

　　We manage to do this with little effort, inferring stable character traits from a single behavior, like a harsh word or a clumsy step.

　　我们为此无需付出太多努力，就能通过单一的行为对他人稳定性格作出判断。比如一句伤人的话，或者笨拙的步伐。

　　Using our impressions as guides, we can accurately predict how people are going to behave in the future.

　　凭借主观印象，我们能准确预测他人将会作出的举动。

　　Armed with the knowledge the guy from the football game was a jerk the first time you met him,

　　由于把足球赛中次遇见的那个人定义为混蛋，

　　you might expect more of the same down the road.

　　你可能会预想他会做出更多混事。

　　If so, you might choose to avoid him the next time you see him.

　　如果是这样，下次遇见的时候你可能会选择躲着他。

　　That said, we can change our impressions in light of new information.

　　基于这样的理论，通过新的信息我们可以改变自己的刻板印象。

　　Behavioral researchers have identified consistent patterns that seem to guide this process of impression updating.

　　行为研究者发现了引导印象更新过程的固定模式。

　　On one hand, learning very negative, highly immoral information about someone

　　一方面，对一个人的负面评价所带来的影响

　　typically has a stronger impact than learning very positive, highly moral information.

　　要高于对一个人的正面评价所带来的影响。

　　So, unfortunately for our new friend from the football game, his bad

　　behavior at the game might outweigh his good behavior at the park.

　　所以，很不幸对在足球赛中认识的那位新朋友来说，他在观众席上不道德的行为带来的影响会大于他在公园里的友善行为。

　　Research suggests that this bias occurs because immoral behaviors are more diagnostic,

　　研究表明，这种偏见产生的原因在于负面行为更容易识别，

　　or revealing, of a person's true character.

　　或者说让一个人的真实性格更有呈现力。

　　Okay, so by this logic, bad is always stronger than good when it comes to updating.

　　根据这种思维逻辑，在涉及到信息更新时，坏行为的影响力要大于好行为。

　　Well, not necessarily.

　　这一理论不一定完全适用。

　　Certain types of learning don't seem to lead to this sort of negativity bias.

　　某些认知方式不会导致这种负面的偏见。

　　When learning about another person's abilities and competencies, for instance, this bias flips.

　　当了解到某人的能力时，这种偏见就跳开了。

　　It's actually the positive information that gets weighted more heavily.

　　实际上，积极信息的影响力变得更大了。

　　Let's go back to that football game.

　　让我们再谈回足球赛的事。

　　If a player scores a goal, it ultimately has a stronger impact on your impression of their skills than if they miss the net.

　　一个球员踢进球在你对他技术的印象上比他们丢了球影响力更大。

　　The two sides of the updating story are ultimately quite consistent.

　　两方面的信息更新最终相当一致。

　　Overall, behaviors that are perceived as being less frequent are also the ones that people tend to weigh more heavily when forming and updating impressions, highly immoral actions and highly competent actions.

　　总的来说，在人们建立或更新印象时越是少见的行为人们越容易看得更重，比如，非常不道德的行为和能体现能力的行为。

　　So, what's happening at the level of the brain when we're updating our impressions?

　　所以，在我们刷新印象时大脑里发生了什么呢?

　　Using fMRI, or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, researchers have identified an extended network of brain regions

　　利用fMRI--功能性磁共振成像，研究者发现，

　　that respond to new information that's inconsistent with initial impressions.

　　回应新信息的新扩展出的脑区网络同最初的印象并无关联。

　　These include areas typically associated with social cognition, attention, and cognitive control.

　　这些区域尤其同社会认知、注意力以及认知控制相关。