你善于判断他人的性格吗？本文讨论如何判断一个人的性格，以及为什么很难衡量我们是否善于判断他人的性格。

词汇：first impressions 第一印象

Are you a good judge of character? Can you make an accurate judgement of someone's personality based only on your first impression of them? Ironically, the answer lies as much in them as it does in you.

你善于判断人的性格吗?你能仅仅根据你对一个人的第一印象就对他的性格做出准确的判断吗?讽刺的是，答案就在他们身上，就在你身上。

One of the first people to try to identify good judges of character was US psychologist Henry F Adams in 1927. His research led him to conclude that people fell into two groups – good judges of themselves and good judges of others. Adams's research has been widely criticised since then, but he wasn't entirely wrong about there being two distinct types.

1927年，美国心理学家亨利·F·亚当斯(Henry F Adams)是最早试图确定品格评判好坏的人之一。他的研究使他得出结论，人可以分为两类——好的自我评价者和好的他人评价者。从那时起，亚当斯的研究受到了广泛的批评，但他关于存在两种不同类型的观点并非完全错误。

More on that in a moment, but first we need to define what a good judge of character is. Is it someone who can read personality or someone who can read emotion? Those are two distinct skills. Emotions such as anger or joy or sadness can generate easily identifiable physical signs. Most of us would probably be able to accurately identify these signs, even in a stranger. As such, most of us are probably good judges of emotion.

稍后我们会进一步讨论，但首先我们需要定义什么是好的性格判断者。是一个能读懂性格的人还是一个能读懂情感的人?这是两种截然不同的技能。愤怒、喜悦或悲伤等情绪可以产生容易识别的身体信号。我们大多数人可能都能准确地识别这些信号，即使是陌生人。因此，我们大多数人可能都是很好地情感判断者。

In order to be a good judge of personality, however, there needs to be an interaction with the other person, and that person needs to be a 'good target'. 'Good targets' are people who reveal relevant and useful cues to their personality. So this means 'the good judge' will only manifest when reading 'good targets'. This is according to Rogers and Biesanz in their 2019 journal entitled 'Reassessing the good judge of personality'. "We found consistent, clear and strong evidence that the good judge does exist", Rogers and Biesanz concluded. But their key finding is that the good judge does not have magical gifts of perception – they are simply able to "detect and utilise information provided by the good target".

然而，要想很好地判断一个人的性格，就需要和另一个人有互动，而那个人需要是一个“好的目标”。“好目标”是那些能透露与其性格相关的有用信息的人。因此，这意味着只有在阅读“好目标”时，“优秀的判断者”才会表现出来。这是Rogers和Biesanz在2019年发表的题为《重新评估良好的性格判断》的期刊中提出的。罗杰斯和比桑兹总结说:“我们发现了一致、明确和有力的证据，证明好的判断者确实存在。”但他们的关键发现是，优秀的判断者并没有神奇的感知天赋——他们只是能够“探测和利用优秀目标提供的信息”。

So, are first impressions really accurate? Well, if you're a good judge talking to a 'good target', then it seems the answer is 'yes'. And now we know that good judges probably do exist, more research can be done into how they read personality, what kind of people they are – and whether their skills can be taught.

那么，第一印象真的准确吗?好吧，如果你是一个优秀判断者，与一个“好目标”交谈，那么答案似乎是“是的”。现在我们知道，优秀的判断者可能确实存在，我们可以做更多的研究，了解他们如何解读性格，他们是什么样的人，以及他们的技能是否可以教。

词汇表

good judge of character 善于判别性格的人
judgement 判断
ironically 具有讽刺意味地
lie in (the answer/solution) （答案、解决方法）在于
identify 识别
fall into 分为
distinct 截然不同的，差别明显的
read (personality) 读懂（个性）
generate 产生
identifiable 很容易识别的
accurately 准确地
interaction 互动
good target 可判读的 “好目标”
reveal 透露
relevant 相关的
cue 暗示，线索
manifest 显现出来
consistent 一致的
perception 感知能力
detect 发现
utilise 利用
provide 提供

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. Who was one of the first researchers to try and find out if good judges of character exist?

2. True or False? Reading personality and reading emotion are the same thing.

3. Why are most of us probably good judges of emotion?

4. True or False? It's possible to be a good judge of personality just by looking at the other person.

5. How does a 'good target' help make a good judge of character?

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. A dog can _______ its owner by their scent alone.

identify                         generate                         target                       manifest

2. It is _______ believed that adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.

ironically                      as such                           widely                       accurately

3. The new factory will _______ many new jobs.

identify                         fall into                           reveal                        generate

4. Stop talking about that! It's not _______ right now.

distinct                         identifiable                      relevant                    consistent             

5. The human ear cannot _______ certain sounds.  

manifest                       detect                             utilise                        provide     

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 

1. Who was one of the first researchers to try and find out if good judges of character exist?
It was Henry F Adams in 1927.

2. True or False? Reading personality and reading emotion are the same thing.
False. They are two distinct skills.

3. Why are most of us probably good judges of emotion?
Because emotions can generate easily identifiable physical signs that most of us are probably able to accurately identify.

4. True or False? It's possible to be a good judge of personality just by looking at the other person.
False. There needs to be an interaction with the other person, and that person needs to be a 'good target'.

5. How does a 'good target' help make a good judge of character?
The 'good target' will give useful cues and information about their personality, and the good judge will detect and utilise them. A good judge of character cannot be successful without a 'good target' to read.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. A dog can identify its owner by their scent alone.

2. It is widely believed that adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.

3. The new factory will generate many new jobs.

4. Stop talking about that! It's not relevant right now.

5. The human ear cannot detect certain sounds.  

文章来源BBC，侵权删。