简介：
Three-Year-Olds Know Better
三岁小孩智慧多
A study finds that three-year-old children know a lot more than we might give them credit for.
一项研究发现，三岁小孩可能比我们想象中更懂事。
撰文/播音 克里斯蒂•尼科尔森（Christie Nicholson）
翻译 吴兰
Next time a three-year-old tells you what to do you might want to listen. Because three-year-olds can recognize when we adults are doing something counterproductive and are keen to help us find a better way. That’s according to new research in the journal Developmental Psychology. [Alia Martin and Kristina R. Olson, When Kids Know Better: Paternalistic Helping in 3-Year-Old Children]
三岁小孩儿发表的意见，大概还是可以听一听。根据《发育心理学》杂志上一篇新的报道，三岁的孩子能够意识到成年人行为中的矛盾，并乐于替他们想办法。
Scientists had 58 three-year-olds examine several functional and nonfunctional objects. Like a real phone and a toy phone, or a working marker and a dried-up marker.
科学家首先让58个三岁的儿童辨认了一些物件，其中有些能用，有些不能用，比如玩具电话和真电话、有墨的水笔和没墨的水笔。
（题图来源：cyh.com）
Then the researcher would say something like, “I need to make a phone call, can you get me the phone.” Sometimes they’d point to the real phone and other times point to the toy phone. The children would consistently bring over the functional item, regardless of whether the researcher pointed to it or asked specifically for it. In contrast, when they were told the item would just be thrown out, they’d bring either the nonfunctional or functional object. And in the case when any object would do, such as something that could act as a paperweight, the children brought either the fake one or the real one.
接着，研究人员对孩子们说：“能帮我把电话拿过来吗？我想打个电话。”他们一边说话，一边用手指着真电话或者玩具电话。无论哪种情况，所有孩子都会无视大人做出的动作或特定要求，把能打出去的真电话拿过来。相反，若大人们表示只想扔掉一个电话，孩子们便不会在“能用”和“不能用”之间做出区分。并且，当研究人员要的不是一个指定的物件，而只是——打个比方——“一个能压纸的东西”时，孩子们也不会考虑真假。
Ultimately the children focused on the end goal and deliberately choose the best item, as opposed to what was instructed of them. A good reminder for us adults.
孩童只关心终极目的，他们不会听从与目的相违的指令，一心只选择最合适的物品——对于成年人，这是个多么好的提醒。
