Elevation in Buildings Can Affect the Decisions We Make 樓越高，膽越大？

周曉玲

People rely on financial managers， doctors and lawyers to be as objective as possible when making decisions about investments， health and legal issues， but findings from a new study suggest that an unexpected factor could be influencing these choices.人們期待財務(wù)經(jīng)理、醫(yī)生和律師在處理投資、醫(yī)療和法律事務(wù)時盡可能客觀，但最新研究表明，一個出乎意料的因素可能會影響他們做決策。

In a series of experiments， researchers found that people at higher elevations in an office building were more willing to take financial risks. The study is available online in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

“When you increase elevation， there is a subconscious effect on the sense of power，” says lead author Sina Esteky， PhD， an assistant professor of marketing in the business school at Miami University. “This heighted feeling of power results in more risk-seeking behavior.”

In a pilot study， the researchers analyzed data from more than 3，000 hedge funds1 throughout the world that accounted for assets over $500 billion. They correlated the level of volatility2 of the fund with the floor level of the firm—which ranged from the first3 to the 96th floor. The researchers found a slight but significant correlation between increased elevation and the volatility of the fund.

Estekys team also conducted experiments in which participants were asked to make a betting decision as they were either ascending or descending in the glass elevator of a tall building. The participants who were going up to the 72nd floor were more likely to opt for the risky lottery that could result in either a small or significant win. Those who were descending preferred the conservative lottery with either a moderate or slightly larger win.

In another experiment， participants were either on the ground floor or third floor of a university building， and they were asked to make 10 decisions with differing levels of risk and payoff. Again， the researchers found that participants on the third floor more frequently chose risky options than their ground floor counterparts. To better understand the reason for this behavior， participants completed a series of unfinished words， and people on the third floor were more likely to create words associated with power than the participants on the ground floor. The researchers believe that increased power-related thoughts might explain how elevation affects risk preferences.

Esteky suggests that elevation of an office building may be one reason certain hedge fund managers are willing to invest in risky assets such as Bitcoin， a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system that is highly volatile. Although this study was limited to financial decisions， further studies could show whether the subconscious effect of elevation influences other professionals like doctors who are choosing treatment plans for patients， Esteky says. In another experiment， he discovered that people were more open to taking a sensory risk by trying an unfamiliar fruit when they were at a higher elevation in a building.

Although the implications of these findings could be unsettling for consumers who are relying on themselves or paid experts to make rational choices， the elevation effect vanished when participants were informed that floor level influences behavior， Esteky explains. The effect also disappeared when people could not see that they were on a higher floor level， such as those in cubicles without a window view.

“The important lesson is that when people become aware of the potential impact of elevation， it doesnt happen anymore，” Esteky says. “The brain is very susceptive to subtle situational factors， but also really good at correcting for such effects， so awareness can help us be more rational in our decisions.”

研究者在一系列實驗中發(fā)現(xiàn)，位處同一辦公樓的樓層越高時，人們越愿意冒財務(wù)風(fēng)險。這項研究發(fā)表在《消費心理學(xué)報》上，可在線了解詳情。

“當(dāng)身處高度提升時，潛意識里權(quán)力感也會提升?！痹撗芯繄蟾嬷饕髡撸~阿密大學(xué)商學(xué)院市場學(xué)助理教授西拿·埃思特基博士說，“這種高權(quán)力感會導(dǎo)致更多追求風(fēng)險的行為?！?/p>

在一項初步研究中，研究者分析了采自全球3000多只對沖基金的數(shù)據(jù)，這些基金的資產(chǎn)總額超過5000億美元。他們將基金的波動性與該基金公司所在的辦公室樓層——有的位于2層，有的高至97層——進(jìn)行對照，發(fā)現(xiàn)兩者有著較弱卻有意義的關(guān)聯(lián)性。

埃思特基的團隊也做了另一類實驗。其要求參與者站在一棟高樓的玻璃觀光電梯中，在電梯上升或下降時選擇購買何種彩票。上73樓的參與者更愿意選擇風(fēng)險高的彩票，獎金金額要么很小，要么極大;而下行電梯中的參與者則更愿意購買保守些的彩票，獎金金額中等或略高。

在另一項實驗中，參與者分別位于一座大學(xué)建筑的底樓或4樓。他們被要求做出10個決策，每個決策的風(fēng)險和回報各不相同。研究者再次發(fā)現(xiàn)，相較于位于底樓的參與者，4樓的參與者更頻繁地做出高風(fēng)險選擇。為了更好理解這種行為產(chǎn)生的原因，參與者填寫了一系列補全單詞的練習(xí)，身處4樓的參與者比底樓的參與者更有可能寫出與權(quán)力相關(guān)的詞匯。研究者認(rèn)為，位于更高樓層時，與權(quán)力相關(guān)的想法更頻繁出現(xiàn)，或許能解釋為什么樓高會影響人們對風(fēng)險的偏好。

埃思特基認(rèn)為，辦公室所在的樓層高或許是某些對沖基金經(jīng)理“膽大”的原因之一。他們愿意投資高風(fēng)險資產(chǎn)，如比特幣，一種高波動性的虛擬貨幣和全球償付體系。他還認(rèn)為，盡管此項研究局限于金融投資決策，其后續(xù)研究或許能揭示樓高對其他職業(yè)人士做決策時的潛意識影響，如醫(yī)生為病人選擇治療方案等。在另一項實驗中，他還發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們身處更高樓層時，更愿意冒“感官風(fēng)險”，如品嘗一種不熟悉的水果。

以上研究發(fā)現(xiàn)可能會讓消費者感到不安，因為他們依賴自身或雇用專家以做出理性決策。不過，埃思特基解釋說，告知參與者樓層高度會影響他們的行為時，“樓升效應(yīng)”就消失了;而人們未意識到自己身處較高樓層時，如位于看不到窗戶的格子間，這種效應(yīng)也不存在。

埃思特基認(rèn)為，“人們意識到樓層高度的潛在影響時，該效應(yīng)就消失了，這是研究中最重要的發(fā)現(xiàn)。大腦對微妙的環(huán)境因素十分敏感，但它也善于修正由此帶來的偏差效應(yīng)。 因此，意識到這一點有助于我們更理性地做出決策?！?/p>

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)?單位：武漢商學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院）