电梯“关门”按钮竟是假的？假按钮背后的心理慰藉

文章指出美国电梯的“关门”按钮多为假按钮，旨在保障残疾人通行时间。心理学家认为这类假按钮虽无实际功能，却能给人掌控感、缓解压力。类似设计还存在于温控器和交通灯按钮中。即便知道是“善意的谎言”，人们仍乐于按压，因为等待时此举能带来心理安慰，只要最终达到目的便觉得值得。

When taking an elevator, do you often push the “Close” button? You hope by pushing it, the elevator door will close faster. But what if the button is actually fake(假的)?
坐电梯时，你经常按“关门”按钮吗？你希望按下它能让电梯门更快关闭。但如果这个按钮其实是假的呢？

Karen Penafiel is the executive director(执行董事) of the US’ National Elevator Industry. She said that elevators’ “close” buttons are a complete trick, at least in the US, and that doors will not close any faster despite how hard you push.
凯伦·佩纳菲尔是美国国家电梯行业的执行董事。她说，电梯的“关门”按钮完全是个骗局——至少在美国是这样——无论你多么用力按，门都不会关得更快。

In the 1990s the Americans with Disabilities Act (《美国残疾人法案》) was passed in the US. It means all elevators have to stay open long enough to allow disabled people to enter. Only US firefighters and elevator workers can really use the buttons with special keys.
20世纪90年代，美国通过了《美国残疾人法案》。这意味着所有电梯必须保持开启足够长的时间，以便残疾人进入。只有美国消防员和电梯工作人员才能用特殊钥匙真正使用这些按钮。

But the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists(心、理学家), fake buttons can make you feel better. They give you a sense of control that can help reduce stress. That’s why some other buttons in our lives are fake, too,
但这些按钮并非完全无用。根据心理学家的说法，假按钮能让你感觉更好。它们赋予你一种掌控感，有助于减轻压力。这就是为什么我们生活中其他一些按钮也是假的。

■For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats(温控器). People may feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.
■例如，美国许多办公室装有假温控器。当人们认为自己能控制工作空间的温度时，可能会感觉更好。

You were told that traffic light buttons could help make the traffic signals change faster. But they may not really work either.
有人告诉你，交通信号灯按钮可以帮助让信号灯更快切换。但它们可能也并不真正起作用。

However, even when people know these little “white lies”, they still push fake buttons. As long as the doors finally close, it seems worthy.
然而，即使人们知道这些小小的“善意的谎言”，他们仍然会去按那些假按钮。只要门最终关上了，似乎就值得了。

John Kounios is a psychology professor at Drexel University in the US. He told The New York Times that he always pushes the traffic light buttons. “After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not push the button on the off chance that this one will work?”
约翰·库尼奥斯是美国德雷塞尔大学的心理学教授。他告诉《纽约时报》，他总是按交通信号灯按钮。“毕竟，等待的时候我无事可做。那为什么不按一下按钮，万一这次真的有用呢？”