樂，學中文、教中文。/Enjoy learning &Teaching Chinese

阿裡森·畢拉尼（Alison Birrane）

BBC 中文網

2017年 10月 17日

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170927-a-unique-way-to-get-work-done

承諾機制

很多人都認為鍛煉是一件枯燥乏味的事情——所以米爾科曼用它來測試誘惑捆綁的效果。

Commitment issues

Exercise is one activity routinely treated as a chore – so Milkman used it in an experiment to test the effectiveness of temptation bundling.

在她的實驗中，米爾科曼鼓勵學生一邊收聽像《饑餓遊戲》（The Hunger Games）一樣引人入勝的有聲讀物，一邊鍛煉身體。其中一組只能在健身房裡獲得有聲讀物，與可以隨時隨地收聽有聲圖書的對照組相比，他們的鍛煉意願高出51%。而另外一組雖然也被鼓勵把這兩種活動結合起來，但仍然可以隨時收聽有聲讀物，不受任何限制，他們前去鍛煉的概率也比對照組高出29%。

In her experiment, Milkman encouraged students to exercise while listening to addictive, page-turning audiobooks, such as The Hunger Games. One group, which could only access the audiobooks while at the gym, were 51% more likely to exercise than the control group, which were able to listen when they liked. Another group, whose access to the audiobooks was not restricted but who were merely encouraged to bundle the activities, were 29% more likely to exercise than the control group.

儘管實驗效果會隨著時間的推移而減弱，但在研究結束時，61%的參與者還是選擇花錢購買僅限於健身房使用的方案，在鍛煉過程中收聽引人入勝的有聲讀物。這說明誘惑捆綁發揮了充分的效果，使之願意繼續鍛煉。

Although the effects of the experiment declined over time, at the end of the study 61% of participants opted to pay for gym-only access while listening to tempting audiobooks. Temptation bundling worked well enough for them to want to continue the practice.

米爾科曼表示，對於那些事務繁忙的大忙人來說，這一招似乎很有用。

It seems to work for busier people, who have a lot get done, says Milkman.

這其實是一種承諾機制——通過正式的安排來達成目標。例如，針對任務的完成與否制定獎懲計畫。（試想：每次鍛煉之後可以獲得一個霜淇淋，或者每次說髒話後就要往髒話罐裡放一筆錢）。但米爾科曼表示，"誘惑捆綁與我們之前討論或研究的承諾機制都大不相同。"

It’s a type of commitment device – a formal arrangement to reach goals. For example, a reward or punishment for completing or failing to complete a task. (Think: an ice cream after a workout or money in a swear jar). But, Milkman says, temptation bundling is “very different from any commitment devices that have been written about or studied before.”

米爾科曼表示，好處在於同時發生，也就是說，需要同時做兩件很相配的事情。難點在於找到兩個能夠互補甚至相互促進的任務。

The benefit comes from simultaneity, that is, doing two things at once that go well together, says Milkman. The trick is to find tasks that complement each other, and perhaps even work better, when combined.

"把你不願做的事情變得易於接受，你就不太可能在忙碌的工作中漏掉它。"威廉姆斯說，"秘訣是把那些需要付出不同努力的工作捆綁起來。例如，一項工作需要專注，那麼另一項工作就不能太分心——想要在閱讀的同時收聽播客是很難實現的，而一邊做飯一邊收聽播客更為現實。"

By “taking the sting out of tasks that you don't want to do, you become less likely to drop them from your busy week,” Williams says. “The secret is to bundle tasks that require different effort. For instance, if one task requires focus or concentration, you want the other not to be too distracting – reading while listening to a podcast is very difficult, for example, while cooking and listening is more realistic.”