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Wear red to win, say psychologists 心理學家：運動員穿紅色有助獲勝

Players from Manchester United, one of England’s most successful soccer teams and wearers of red uniforms, celebrate after a goal against Barcelona during a match in Manchester, England, on April 29, 2008. 四月二十九日，曼聯隊在英國曼徹斯特出戰巴塞隆納隊，曼聯踢進一球獲勝後，球員相擁互賀；曼聯隊是英國最傑出的足球隊之一，他們的制服就是紅色的。 照片：美聯社 PHOTO: AP

According to a team of German psychologists, sports referees have a distinct bias for competitors in red uniforms.

In research on referees of taekwondo matches, the psychologists found evidence that the color of a uniform can affect the decisions a referee has to make and lead to possible bias in scoring.

They tested referees on videos of taekwondo matches which showed one competitor in red against another in blue.

For 42 matches the referees assigned points to the competitors, and then the psychologists showed the referees a second set of matches. In fact they were the same matches, but with the colors of the competitors digitally reversed.

They discovered that the competitors in red earned an average 13 percent more points than those in blue —- even though each athlete appeared in both red and blue at different times.

“What’s more, points awarded seemed to increase after the blue athlete was digitally transformed into a red athlete and decrease when the red competitor changed to blue,” the researchers said.

“Referees decisions will tip the scales when athletes are relatively well-matched but have relatively small influence when one is clearly superior,” they said.

The psychologists said more research is needed to test other colors. They added that their conclusions suggest a need to change competition rules or use more electronic decision-making aids in some sports where the color bias could be a problem.

(AFP)

德國一個心理研究團隊發現，在運動比賽中，裁判會明顯偏坦穿紅色制服的運動員。

這些心理學家針對跆拳賽的裁判進行研究，發現運動服的顏色的確會影響裁判判決，導致偏袒給分。

他們請這些裁判觀看跆拳道比賽的錄影帶，比賽中兩造選手分別身穿藍色及紅色的運動服。

裁判看完四十二場比賽並為選手評分後，心理學家再播放第二組比賽。事實上，錄影帶中播放的比賽完全一樣，只不過選手的服裝顏色經數位處理相互調換了。

他們發現，紅衣選手的得分平均比藍衣選手高一成三──儘管每位運動員都輪流以紅色和藍色運動服出賽。

研究人員說：「除此之外，選手的藍色制服經數位處理調換成紅色後，得分似乎隨之增加；紅色制服被調換成藍色的運動員得分則相對減少。」

他們表示：「只有在選手表現旗鼓相當時，裁判的判定才會起決定性作用，但在雙方實力懸殊的情況下，影響則不大。」

心理學家表示，他們還需要做更多研究來測試其他顏色的影響力。他們也說，這些結果顯示，某些可能因顏色造成成績偏頗的運動項目，可能需要修改比賽規則，或透過更多電子儀器輔助裁判作出判決。

（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字 1. psychologist n. 心理學家 (xin1 li3 xue2 jia1) 例: Mark visited a psychologist several times when he was younger. (馬克年輕時曾去看過幾次心理醫師。) 2. taekwondo n. 跆拳道 (tai2 quan2 dao4) 例: Who do you think will win a medal in the taekwondo tournament? (你認為在這場跆拳道錦標賽中誰會贏得獎牌？) 3. digitally adv. 數位地 (shu4 wei4 de5) 例: It was obvious the picture had been digitally enhanced. (這張照片明顯有透過數位技術增強解析度。) 4. bias n. 偏袒 (pian1 tan3) 例: Although he said he didn't care, we all thought Dave had a bias in favor of going to the beach instead of church. (雖然戴夫嘴上說不在意，但我們都覺得他比較想去海邊而非教會。)

READING COMPREHENSION 閱讀測驗 1. What kind of sport was the subject of the study? a. A ball game. b. A martial art. c. The article doesn’t say. 2. How did the researchers change the color of the uniforms? a. They asked the competitors to change uniforms. b. They manipulated the computer image. c. The article doesn’t say. 3. What kind of effect does color have on judges’ decisions? a. A small affect. b. A large affect. c. The research didn’t show. 4. What other colors can affect a judge’s decision? a. Green. b. Brown. c. The article doesn’t say.

SAY WHAT? 說說看 tip the scales 起決定作用 Something tips the scales when it influences an otherwise undecided outcome. For example: “Norman’s parents were unsure about whether or not to buy him a car for his seventeenth birthday, but he aced his exams, and that tipped the scales in favor of getting it.” It can also have a more literal meaning, referring to how much somebody weighs. For example, “Toby tips the scales at just under 90kg.” 若說某事「tip the scales」，表示這件事對原本未定的結果產生影響。 例如：「諾曼的父母本來不確定要不要買車給他當十七歲的生日禮物，但他考試得了高分，這個決定性因素讓他得到那輛車」。 這個片語還有個更貼近字面的意義，就是指一個人 的體重，例如：「托比的體重逼近九十公斤」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Rowan: Why the long face, Lillian? Lillian: I’ve just got back from a taekwondo tournament at the municipal gym. It was a nightmare. Rowan: So I’m guessing you didn’t win. Lillian: You could say that! The adminstrators made an error so I got entered into the wrong weight group. I was fighting people 15kg heavier than me. The worst thing is, I didn’t realize until the third fight. Rowan: Ouch! That really sucks. 羅溫：莉莉安，幹嘛拉長個臉啊？ 莉莉安：我剛剛從市立體育館比完一場跆拳道錦標賽回來，那簡直就是場惡夢。 羅溫：所以你比輸囉。 莉莉安：可以這麼說！行政人員把我分錯了量級，所以我是和比我重十五公斤的對手比賽；最慘的是，我打到第三場才發現。 羅溫：噢！真慘。 Why the long face?　為什麼不開心？ ”Why the long face?” is asked of people who look upset. The expression comes from the appearance of unhappy people, whose faces may appear longer than usual. 看到某人面露不悅，就可以問「Why the long face?」；這個說法源自於不開心的人會拉長臉的模樣。

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