我們知道什么能讓我們快樂，為什么還看電視呢种蘸？
本文來自英國(guó)心理學(xué)學(xué)會(huì)研究文摘（BPS Research Digest）
美味的食物墓赴，溫暖的房間竞膳，不錯(cuò)的工作，一切看起來都這么美好诫硕√贡伲可是這些并沒有讓你感覺很快樂。一些心理學(xué)家認(rèn)為章办，這是因?yàn)槲覀冎械暮芏嗳松罡蛔阒箫弊撸蜁?huì)花很多時(shí)間在“被動(dòng)的”事情上，比如沉迷在Netflix和推特上藕届，而不是把時(shí)間花在“主動(dòng)的”事情上挪蹭。“主動(dòng)的”事情就是：在心理上需要付出努力的活動(dòng)休偶，比如做飯梁厉，運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)或者玩音樂√ざ担“主動(dòng)的”事情會(huì)讓我們體驗(yàn)到Flow：一種能力和挑戰(zhàn)相結(jié)合的魔法词顾。一份來自Journal of Positive Psychology的報(bào)告認(rèn)為這是件兩難的事情，因?yàn)槲覀兤鋵?shí)已經(jīng)意識(shí)到了碱妆，追求具有挑戰(zhàn)性的“主動(dòng)”活動(dòng)會(huì)讓我們擁有長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的快樂肉盹。但是，如果事實(shí)是這樣的話疹尾，為什么我們還是會(huì)經(jīng)常及時(shí)行樂上忍？我們明知道這些事情根本不會(huì)帶來持久的成就感。
L. Parker Schiffer和Tomi-Ann Roberts分別調(diào)差了接近300人（基本是美國(guó)人航棱，平均年齡在33-34歲之間）的不同活動(dòng)：有一部分是被動(dòng)活動(dòng)比如聽音樂睡雇，還有一部分是主動(dòng)活動(dòng)比如藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作或冥想。受試者被要求評(píng)價(jià)自己的活動(dòng)饮醇，比如活動(dòng)的享受程度它抱，難易程度等。另外朴艰，還要求受試者報(bào)告每周活動(dòng)的頻率观蓄。最后，受試者還必須要識(shí)別哪個(gè)活動(dòng)最能產(chǎn)生持久的快樂祠墅。
調(diào)查的結(jié)果是：1.越是要付出努力的活動(dòng)越能給他們帶來持久的快樂侮穿。但是受試者表示，他們一周會(huì)花更多的時(shí)間在被動(dòng)活動(dòng)上毁嗦，比如看電視亲茅。2.越是需要付出努力的活動(dòng)人們?cè)诫y忍受。（但是，讓研究者吃驚的是克锣，雖然主動(dòng)活動(dòng)需要人們付出更多的努力茵肃，但卻不是一個(gè)威懾。）
Schiffer和Roberts認(rèn)為這是幸福的悖論：雖然我們都知道主動(dòng)活動(dòng)能給我們帶來長(zhǎng)久的快樂袭祟，但是主動(dòng)活動(dòng)需要付出更多的努力验残，所以我們會(huì)花更多的時(shí)間在被動(dòng)的活動(dòng)上（及時(shí)行樂）。Schiffer和Roberts的建議是巾乳，在做需要付出很大努力的事情之前您没，做好充足的準(zhǔn)備，這樣會(huì)讓我們感覺不會(huì)那么棘手胆绊。比如說氨鹏，當(dāng)你準(zhǔn)備去健身的時(shí)候，前一天就把健身需要的東西準(zhǔn)備好辑舷，最好找一家離你家近的健身房喻犁。
他們建議的另一件事是使用正念，正念或一些其他“受控意識(shí)”技術(shù)何缓，這樣可以降低我們的“過渡成本”肢础，例如提前感知需要付出的痛苦，并把它轉(zhuǎn)化成快樂碌廓，或者想著這件事可以給我?guī)黹L(zhǎng)期獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)传轰。
We know what will make us happy, why do we watch TV instead?
By Christian Jarrett
本文來自英國(guó)心理學(xué)學(xué)會(huì)研究文摘（BPS Research Digest）。
The luxury microwave meal was delicious, the house is warm, work’s going OK, but you’re just not feeling very happy. Some positive psychologists believe this is because many of us in rich, Western countries spend too much of our free time on passive activities, like bingeing on Netflix and browsing Twitter, rather than on active, psychologically demanding activities, like cooking, sports or playing music, that allow the opportunity to experience “flow” – that magic juncture where your abilities only just meet the demands of the challenge. A new paper in the Journal of Positive Psychology examines this dilemma. Do we realise that pursuing more active, challenging activities will make us happier in the long-run? If so, why then do we opt to spend so much more time lazing around engaged in activities that are pleasant in the moment, but unlikely to bring any lasting fulfilment?
Across two studies, L. Parker Schiffer and Tomi-Ann Roberts at the Claremont Graduate University and Colorado College, surveyed nearly 300 people (presumably US citizens, average age 33/34 years) via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website about what they thought of dozens of different activities: some passive like listening to music or watching movies, others more active and potentially flow-inducing, such as making art or meditating. Specifically, the participants rated how enjoyable, effortful, and daunting they considered the activities to be, as well as how often they engaged in each of them in a typical week. The participants also identified which activities they considered the most and least conducive to lasting happiness.
There was a clear pattern in the participants’ answers: they identified more effortful activities as being more associated with lasting happiness, yet they said they spent much more time on passive, relaxation-based activities, like watching TV. Looking at their other judgments, the key factor that seemed to deter participants from engaging in more active, flow-inducing activities is that they tended to be seen as particularly daunting and less enjoyable, even while being associated with lasting happiness. The more daunting an activity was deemed to be, the less frequently it was undertaken (by contrast, and to the researchers’ surprise, the perceived effort involved in the activity did not seem to be a deterrent).
Schiffer and Roberts consider this to be a paradox of happiness: we know which kind of activities will bring us lasting happiness, but because we see them as daunting and less enjoyable in the moment, we choose to spend much more of our time doing passive, more immediately pleasant things with our free time. Their advice is to plan ahead “to try to ease the physical transition into flow activities” to make them feel less daunting. For example, they suggest getting your gym clothes and bag ready the night before, and choosing a gym that’s close and convenient; or getting your journal and pen, or easel and paintbrushes, ready in advance.
The other thing they suggest is using mindfulness, meditation or some other “controlled consciousness” technique to help yourself to disregard the initial “transition costs” of a flow activity, such as the early pain of a run, and to focus instead on its pleasurable aspects and the long-term rewards.
“Future research is needed in order to empirically back our proposal that preplanning, prearranging, and, and controlled consciousness may aid overcoming the activation energy and transition costs that stand in the way of our true happiness,” the researchers said.
