實驗證實 喝咖啡可以讓人更誠實

As if you needed another reason to run out for another cappuccino, along comes a new study by three university professors suggesting that caffeine may help make the sleep-deprived more honest.

一項由來自三所大學的教授合作的研究表明，咖啡因或許可以讓睡眠不足的人更爲誠實。這樣看來，大家又多了一個理由再來一杯卡布奇諾。

"Our research shows that sleep deprivation contributes to unethical behavior at work by making you more susceptible to social influences, such as a boss who tells you to do something deceptive," says Michael Christian, a co-author of the study who teaches organizational behavior at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School. "Caffeine can help you resist by strengthening your self-control and willpower when you're exhausted."

“我們的研究顯示，缺少睡眠會導致人們對社交影響的敏感程度提高，因此就會更容易做出一些有違道德的行爲，比如老闆讓你去實施某種欺騙行爲的時候，”研究的合作者邁克•克里斯蒂安說道，他是北卡羅萊納大學肯南弗拉格勒商學院（Kenan-Flagler Business School）組織行爲學教師。他補充說：“但咖啡因卻可在你疲倦不堪的時候，增強你的自控能力和意志力，以抵消這些影響。”

The findings are important for managers, he adds: "We tend to think of people who work nonstop as the best employees. But they are often the ones making the worst ethical choices. It's the people working the longest hours, and getting the least sleep, that managers need to keep their eye on."

這項結論對管理者來說非常重要，克里斯蒂安說：“我們傾向於認爲，不眠不休、努力工作的員工纔是好員工，但是這些人同樣也容易幹出有違道德的事情。管理者們要特別注意那些長時間工作而又睡眠不足的員工。”

The research, published in the March issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, built on a 2011 study of 171 hospital nurses who showed "increases in hostility and dishonesty, including theft, and decreases in self-control" after working long shifts without sleep, Christian said.

這項發表在《應用心理學雜誌》（Journal of Applied Psychology）三月號上的研究於2011年調查了171位醫院護士。研究人員發現，在長時間工作卻不睡覺的情況下，這些護士都表現出了更多的“敵意以及包括偷竊在內的欺詐行爲，她們的自制力也出現下降”，克里斯蒂安說。

For this study -- which, by the way, wasn't sponsored by Starbucks -- volunteers who had been kept awake all night were divided into two groups. All were asked to chew gum in the morning, but one group got a plain wintergreen placebo, while the other chomped on gum laced with 200 milligrams of caffeine, or about the same amount that's in two cups of black coffee.

在這項研究（順便說一下，這項研究並不是星巴克贊助的）中，志願者們一夜沒睡，隨後被分成兩組。實驗人員要求他們早上嚼口香糖，但其中一組的口香糖中含有冬青草安慰劑，而另一組的口香糖中則含有200克咖啡因，相當於兩杯黑咖啡中咖啡因的含量。

The participants were then put in situations where researchers "encouraged them to go along with a lie in order to earn some extra money," Christian says. "We tried to replicate a situation where a boss or a peer was pressuring them to cut ethical corners at work."

隨後，實驗參與者們被安排在一個場景中，研究人員“鼓勵他們用謊言來贏取更多的錢，”克里斯蒂安說。“我們嘗試模擬這樣一種場景，也就是，老闆或者同事給他們施壓，要求他們在工作中違背道德，撈取好處。”

The results: Those who got the extra boost of caffeine consistently balked when researchers urged them to cheat, while those who were just exhausted -- and had chewed the non-caffeinated gum -- showed a marked willingness to cast conscience aside and go along with the deception.

實驗結果顯示，在研究人員不斷催促他們欺詐的壓力下，那些額外攝入了咖啡因的被試驗者一致表示拒絕；而那些筋疲力盡、只是嚼了無咖啡因口香糖的實驗者們卻表現出放棄道德感，願意實施欺騙的傾向性。

Employers who want to reduce the likelihood of misbehavior should make sure people aren't putting in too many long hours without a break and "avoid scheduling tasks that require a great deal of self-control when looming deadlines make long hours unavoidable," the study concludes. Two other suggestions: Put in nap rooms at the office and don't skimp on the free coffee.

對於那些力圖減少工作中品行不端現象的僱主們來說，應該確保員工不用長時間工作而得不到休息。研究認爲，要“避免在截止期限臨近、長時間工作不可避免的時候，安排需要極大自制力的工作。另外，研究人員還提出了兩個建議：在辦公室中設置午休室，也不要不捨得提供免費的咖啡。

"Our experiment doesn't explain all of people's decisions to do unethical things, but it is significant," says Christian. He points to statistics from the National Sleep Foundation that show that most Americans say they sleep, on average, only about five-and-a-half hours per night. The clinical definition of sleep deprivation is anything under seven.

克里斯蒂安說：“我們的實驗無法解釋人們做出有悖道德之舉的全部原因，但是結論的意義十分重大”。他指出，全國睡眠基金會（National Sleep Foundation）的數據顯示，大部分美國人每晚平均睡眠時間只有5.5個小時，而低於7小時的睡眠時間都會被臨牀診斷爲“睡眠不足”。

So are we less ethical than back in 1999, when most of us claimed to get at least seven hours of shuteye? Maybe not: Caffeine consumption is up, too. The National Coffee Association, a trade group of java producers and purveyors, said in its annual report last month that we're gulping 18% more cappuccinos, lattes, and other espresso-based (read: strong) coffee drinks than we did in 2013.

那麼，比起1999年來，如今的我們是否更加“不道德”呢？畢竟在當時，大部分美國人聲稱自己每晚至少會睡7個小時。答案或許是否定的，因爲我們的咖啡因攝入量也在提高。美國咖啡協會（The National Coffee Association）是一個爪哇咖啡生產商和經銷商的貿易團體。這個協會上個月發佈的年度報告指出，我們消費的卡布奇諾、拿鐵以及其他濃縮咖啡的總量比2013年上漲了18%。