巧克力實驗:找別人幫忙也沒那麼難爲情
Asking someone to help you out can be ridiculously stressful.
向別人尋求幫助時可能壓力山大.
What if they feel like you're bothering them? Or using them? What if they say no, or worse, don't even bother responding?
我是不是很煩人?會不會覺得我在利用他的好意?會不會被拒,甚至連鳥都不鳥我?
Those are all real possibilities (sorry). But you can increase the likelihood of getting the help you need and having the other person feel good about it by deploying what psychologists call the "rule for reciprocation."
這種擔心也不是多餘的(抱歉哈)。但總有兩全其美的做法，讓你更有可能得到幫助，幫你的人也樂在其中：心理學家稱其爲“交互作用法”。
In his new book "Pre-Suasion," the psychologist Robert Cialdini defines the rule: "People say yes to those they owe." In other words, if you want someone's assistance, do something useful for them first.
心理學家Robert Cialdini在新書《提前的“說服”》中爲此原理下了定義“因爲拿人手短，所以無法拒絕。”換句話說就是，若要人幫你，你要先幫人。
Cialdini is careful to note that the rule doesn't always work — after all, you could catch someone on a particularly bad day. But generally, it does.
Cialdini特別提醒到這條原理並不是對誰都好用——畢竟事事有萬一。但是總體而言，這法則還是極好用的。
A classic example of the rule for reciprocation is a 2002 study of Waiters at a restaurant in Ithaca, New York, which Cialdini cites in "Pre-Suasion."
2002年紐約伊薩卡島某餐廳的侍者研究作爲交互作用法的經典案例被Cialdini收錄於新書中。
In the first of two experiments, some waiters handed customers the check and offered each one the opportunity to select a chocolate from a basket; others delivered the check alone. Waiters who handed out chocolate saw their tips go up by about 3%.
第一個實驗中，餐廳裏的一些服務員在遞給顧客賬單的同時請他們各自從籃子裏挑一塊巧克力作爲禮物；其他服務員只遞賬單給自己服務的顧客。結果是前者獲得的小費均增加了約3%。
In a second experiment, some waiters invited customers to take two pieces of chocolate. Their tips went up by about 14%. Other waiters invited customers to take one piece of chocolate, turned to leave, then stopped and offered customers the chance to take a second piece of chocolate. In that case, their tips went up about 21%.
第二個實驗的內容是安排一些服務生讓顧客挑兩塊巧克力帶走，隨之而來的是小費增長14%；而其他服務生套路更深，他們讓顧客先挑一塊巧克力，然後自己離開，之後又折返回來，告訴顧客他們還能再挑一塊兒。這樣一來這些服務生的小費竟增長了21%。
The researchers say the reciprocity rule explains their findings — people felt obligated to return the act of generosity. In "Pre-Suasion," Cialdini explains that customers gave higher tips in the last condition because the second piece of chocolate was meaningful and unexpected.
實驗者稱交互作用法使這項研究的最好解釋——人們在接受他人慷慨後感覺自己有義務作出回報。書中，Cialdini解釋說最後一種情況小費增長最多的原因是，人們認爲那第二塊兒巧克力是有所含義的，是意料之外的。
Here's an example of how you could put the rule into action: Let's say you want a coworker to proofread a project report before you submit it to management. A few days before, consider asking that coworker if you can pick up dinner for her when you're both staying late at the office.
所以這就告訴你怎麼活學活用：假設你想讓同事幫你把項目報告校讀一遍再交給上頭，那麼你應早有預謀：提前幾天的時間，找一個你們倆人都加晚班的時候，主動提出負責她的晚餐。
The key part is reminding your coworker that she can return the favor, Cialdini told The Harvard Business Review in 2013. Instead of saying, "no big deal" when she thanks you for grabbing an extra sandwich, Cialdini recommends saying something like, "Of course; it's what partners do for each other."
“關鍵一點在於提示你的同事回報自己的好意並不難”Robert Cialdini在2013年的一期哈佛商業評論中說到，在幫同事 “順手”帶個三明治後，與其說“沒啥大不了的”不如說“這是我應該做的，誰讓咱倆是同事呢。”
This strategy takes a lot of the pressure out of asking for favors. Presumably, once you help someone out, you'll feel like you deserve their help and won't worry so much about annoying them. Meanwhile, they'll probably feel like they owe you one and won't think twice about giving you what you need.
這個策略肯定能在尋求幫助時幫你減輕不少負擔。可以預見的是，只要幫助了他人，你自己都覺得別人幫回來也是情理之中。同時，他們可能因爲受到幫助之後感覺有欠於你，而想都不想就響應你的需要呢。
