David Cameron and Nick Clegg enjoy happier times at the beginning of the coalition. |
The elusive secret of happiness could be as simple as remembering the good times and forgetting the regrets, a new university study reported yesterday. For people who look at the past through rose-tinted glasses are happier than those who focus on negative past experiences and regrets, according to a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. The study helps explain why personality has such a strong influence on a person's happiness and the findings suggest that people with certain personality traits are happier than others because of the way they think about their past, present and future. The study examined how peoples' ratings on the "Big Five" personality traits relates to their approach to time and life satisfaction. The "Big Five" model assesses how extroverted, neurotic, open, conscientious and agreeable a person is, and rates individuals as high or low on each personality trait rather than assigning them a personality type. "We found that highly extraverted people are happier with their lives because they tend to hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past and are less likely to have negative thoughts and regrets. People high on the neurotic scale essentially have the exact opposite view of the past and are less happy as a result," said Ryan Howell, assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, who authored the study with SF State graduating senior Jia Wei Zhang. "This is good news because although it may be difficult to change your personality, you may be able to alter your view of time and boost your happiness," Howell said. The authors suggest that savoring happy memories or reframing painful past experiences in a positive light could be effective ways for individuals to increase their life satisfaction. Numerous studies over the last 30 years have suggested that personality is a powerful predictor of a person's life satisfaction. These latest findings help explain the reason behind this relationship. "Personality traits influence how people look at the past, present and future and it is these different perspectives on time which drive a person's happiness," Howell said. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
快樂的秘訣難以捉摸,但也可以很簡(jiǎn)單。昨日發(fā)布的一項(xiàng)新的大學(xué)研究報(bào)告稱,快樂的秘訣就是:記住美好的時(shí)光,忘記遺憾的往事。 這篇發(fā)表在《個(gè)性與個(gè)體差異》雜志上的新研究報(bào)告稱,那些以極度樂觀的精神看待過去的人比那些專注于過往不愉快經(jīng)歷和遺憾往事的人更快樂。 研究解釋了人的個(gè)性為何會(huì)對(duì)個(gè)人的快樂感有強(qiáng)大的影響力。研究結(jié)果顯示,具有某些特定個(gè)性特征的人比其他人要快樂,因?yàn)樗麄兛创约旱倪^去、現(xiàn)在和未來的方式有所不同。 該研究按照“五大個(gè)性特征”給人們打分,并將個(gè)性特征和人們對(duì)光陰和生活的滿意度聯(lián)系起來。 “五大個(gè)性特征”模式對(duì)一個(gè)人的外向程度、神經(jīng)質(zhì)程度、開明程度、責(zé)任心和隨和與否做出評(píng)價(jià),標(biāo)出每個(gè)人每項(xiàng)個(gè)性特征的程度高低,而不是給他們指定一種個(gè)性類型。 舊金山州立大學(xué)的心理學(xué)助理教授萊恩?豪威爾說:“我們發(fā)現(xiàn),非常外向的人對(duì)自己的生活更滿意,因?yàn)樗麄円话銜?huì)用積極、懷舊的目光來看待過往,對(duì)過去不大會(huì)有消極的想法和遺憾。特別神經(jīng)質(zhì)的人看待過去的方式則正好相反,因而也就比較不快樂?!币煌珜懺撗芯繄?bào)告的還有舊金山州立大學(xué)即將畢業(yè)的大四學(xué)生張家瑋(音譯)。 豪威爾說:“這是好消息,因?yàn)楸M管你難以改變自己的個(gè)性,但是你可以改變自己看待過去的方式,從而提升你的幸福感?!?/p> 報(bào)告的作者指出,享受快樂的回憶,用積極的眼光看待傷痛的過往,會(huì)有效地增進(jìn)個(gè)人對(duì)生活的滿意度。 在過去三十年內(nèi)開展的多項(xiàng)研究都指出,個(gè)性可以有效地預(yù)示個(gè)人對(duì)生活的滿意度。這些最新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)有助于解釋這兩者關(guān)系背后的原因。 豪威爾說:“個(gè)性影響人們看待過去、現(xiàn)在和未來的方式,正是這些對(duì)于人生的不同視角影響著個(gè)人的幸福感?!?/p> 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮 編輯:馮明惠) |
Vocabulary: see through rose-tinted glasses: view in an excessively optimistic light (以極度樂觀的精神看待) elusive: difficult to find, define, or achieve(難找的;難以解釋的;難以達(dá)到的) extroverted: lively and confident; outgoing, overtly expressive(性格)外向的 neurotic: not behaving in a reasonable, calm way, because you are worried about something(神經(jīng)質(zhì)的;神經(jīng)過敏的) agreeable: pleasant and easy to like(愉悅的;討人喜歡的;宜人的) reframe: frame or express (words or a concept or plan) differently(再構(gòu)造) |