节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-04-05
难易度:High
关键字:regrettable, willpower, series, fatigued, pre-eminent
Welcome back, everybody.
We all make a lot of decisions each day.
Our PSYCHOLOGY feature this month claims that this affects our ability to make
good choices.
In other words, there's a limited amount of good decision-making power that we
have.
And once that daily allowance is used up, well, then our decisions become not so
good.
Let's call in an expert and see what he says as we pick up the reading on line
16.
Decision Fatigue.
After making numerous decisions, our willpower is then depleted, leading us to
make increasingly poor choices.
Roy Baumeister, social psychologist and pre-eminent researcher on the topic has
conducted a series of experiments.
These experiments demonstrated that willpower functions like a muscle and can
actually be fatigued with use.
As a result, when fewer decisions are involved, there is less decision fatigue.
But in a world with endless choices, everywhere from the coffee shop to the
classroom, how can we avoid decision fatigue and choose wisely?
Well, we are talking about making decisions.
And if we make too many decisions in one period of time, we can become very
tired of doing that.
And we're moving on with: After making numerous decisions, our willpower is then
depleted.
What does the word "depleted" mean, Kaylah?
"Depleted" means it has gone down.
So for example, if you have a bottle of water, and you drink some of it, you
have depleted the amount.
That means it has gone down.
So your willpower can be depleted.
That ability to have control over your decisions would be less.
And because of this, it leads us to make increasingly poor choices.
We just do not have any willpower left, so we make the choice, we make the
decision, but it's not always a good decision.
That's right.
Sometimes these decisions get increasingly poor.
It means they get worse and worse throughout the day as we make more decisions.
Well, Roy Baumeister, now he is a social psychologist.
And that means someone who studies psychology based around people's interactions
and decisions.
So he has done some research on this.
That's right.
And we see that he is a "pre-eminent" researcher.
That means he's a little more important than maybe some other researchers
because he has spent so much time in this area.
So he's a pre-eminent researcher on the topic, and he has conducted a series of
experiments.
"Series" here, just talking about many different experiments that he has
conducted.
That's right.
A series is a number of similarly related events or things.
So they are experiments that are different, but they're all related to each
other.
So he is continually researching this topic but in different ways.
And these experiments, well, they have demonstrated that willpower functions
like a muscle.
"Demonstrated" here, meaning that it just shows.
Someone... you demonstrate something, you show that.
That's right.
For example, your teacher may demonstrate a... something in science class, shows
you how it works, how it's done.
That is showing.
And that's exactly what this... these do.
They're showing us that it's like a muscle, decision fatigue is like a muscle.
You know, when you... when you work out, your muscles get really sore and tired.
And sometimes if you run too much, your legs shake or your arms get really sore.
That is what he's saying here.
That's how it's like a muscle.
And this is a very clear example.
We all know what it's like to be tired after working out.
And so we also know what it's like to be tired when we make a lot of decisions.
And so that means that it's like a muscle, and it can actually be "fatigued."
That means... again, has the idea of becoming tired, or the idea of becoming
weak.
"Fatigued with use," the more you use it, the less ability you have to... use it
well because you're so tired.
That's right. Just like your muscles get sore, so do your decisions abilities.
They get weak and tired, which is what "fatigued" means.
Well, as a result of this - meaning because of this - when fewer decisions are
involved, there is less decision fatigue.
So Brandon, just like muscles, if you don't work them out very often, they're
not going to be as tired.
Just like decision-making, if you don't make very many decisions, it would be
easier.
That is a very good point.
But in a world with endless choices, everywhere from the coffee shop to the
classroom, how can we avoid decision fatigue and choose wisely?
So what we see here, Kaylah, is we have so many decisions to make.
Even when we walk into a coffee shop, there are many choices there.
And it can be difficult to know what choice to make.
But it also means that we are doing a lot of things during the day and making
lots of choices.
Well, Brandon, I think about when you wake up in the morning, you have decisions
just from the very beginning.
One, are you going to turn your alarm off, or are you going to sleep a little
bit more?
Are you getting up on time?
And then one of the first decisions we make is what are we wearing this morning.
And that's one we cannot miss.
We have to make that decision every morning.
That's true.
And then we go to work, and then we have decisions that we need to make at work.
And we come home.
There are all sorts of decisions that we need to make.
And we see here that we need to choose wisely.
We need to think about the decisions that we are making and make sure that we're
not making too many decisions throughout the day.
That's right.
So we keep making better decisions as opposed to worse decisions.
That's what "choosing wisely" means.
You're thinking about it before you do it.
Well, that last sentence is our Grammar on the Go.
So we'll visit Liz and then watch today's skit.
How are you doing today, friends?
My name is Liz, and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
We're talking about Decision Fatigue in today's article, and we read:
But in a world with endless choices, everywhere from the coffee shop to the
classroom, how can we avoid decision fatigue and choose wisely?
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the phrase at the beginning of the sentence, in a world with endless
choices.
We're not really talking about the world as in Planet Earth and all the
countries around the globe.
Instead, what the writer is saying is our lives are filled with endless choices.
The word "world" is just a creative way of saying life or society or
environment.
And it is most often seen in formal situations like in speeches or in writing.
For example, if you want to give a speech on how society now expects things to
happen quickly, you can begin by saying:
In a world of fast foods, convenience stores and 3G cell phones that let people
go online anytime, it is no wonder that people don't like to wait.
Or, if you're writing a report on children living in the streets, you can say:
In a world where danger is always around the corner and one never knows where
the next meal will be,
one wonders how there can be so many children living in the streets.
If you'd like to see some more example sentences, then check out today's Grammar
Tip section in your Stuido Classroom magazine.
That's all the time we have for today.
Thanks for joining me here.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go siging off.
Bye-bye.
Decisions! Decisions!
Do you consider yourself a good or bad decision-maker?
Oh. I consider myself a good decision-maker.
No, wait.
Sometimes I'm a bad decision-maker.
So which is it, good or bad?
Oh, I'm not sure.
I can't decide.
If you can't decide, then you're a bad decision-maker.
No, wait.
I've decided I'm a good decision-maker.
Are you sure?
Yes. Except when I make an end-of-the-day decision, then I often regret it the
next day.
Why is that?
Researchers now have an explanation for your poor choices.
They do?
Oh, yes.
It's a newly identified phenomenon called decision fatigue.
Decision fatigue?
Yes. Each time you make a decision, it uses up some of your willpower.
Oh, willpower. That's my ability to control actions and say No.
Exactly.
So after making numerous decisions, your willpower is depleted.
Oh. And that leaves to poor choices.
Correct. A series of experiments demonstrated that willpower can become fatigued
with use.
But we live in a world of endless choices.
How can I avoid decision fatigue?
Conserve your willpower.
Adapt your habits and routines.
Well... OK. Yes, I will.
Well, maybe I will, or maybe I won't.
Maybe. I... can't decide.
(Chinese).
And time really flies. I'll see you, and take care.
OK. To help us understand this concept of decision fatigue, think of that part
of our brain that is responsible for decision-making as a muscle.
The more you use it, the more fatigued it becomes.
That makes sense, right?
But, does the analogy stop there?
I mean, can we exercise the decision-making muscle?
Can we nourish it and make it stronger?
We'll look at the answer to these questions and more tomorrow.
Until then, everybody, I hope you have a fantastic day.
Bye-bye.