Even if you don't live in Hollywood, you've probably wondered how some people manage to stay married for decades on end. When asked how he remained faithful to his wife, the late, legendary¹ actor/god/salad dressing² entrepreneur Paul Newman is said to have quipped something of, "Why go out for hamburger when you could have a steak at home."

即使你不是生活在像好莱坞电影里中那样的生活，你仍然会好奇为什么有的人可以数十年如一日地经营婚姻。当被问到如何对妻子保持忠诚的时候，作为传奇人物兼演员兼创业者的保罗·纽曼表示：“当你可以在家吃牛排的时候，为什么非要出去吃汉堡呢？”

But seriously -- with all the potential significant others out there, why are some people never tempted³ to hook up with, say, their shirtless lawn-mowing neighbor? I mean, what is their secret?

但是认真来说，外面有那么多的潜在威胁，比如隔壁穿着暴露的邻居，为什么还是有人能不为所动呢？我是说，他们的秘诀是什么？Well, researchers from Rutgers University have a theory: When you're in a happy relationship, you subconsciously⁴ think that people who pose a threat to your bond are less attractive than they really are.

好吧，罗格斯大学的研究员有一个理论：当你婚姻关系融洽时，你会下意识地将那些可能会威胁你婚姻关系的人看得不如原来那样吸引人。

In a new study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology⁵ Bulletin, researchers told 131 undergrads that they would each be working with a new lab partner of the opposite sex. (Cue the excitement!) Next, the students were shown a picture of said mystery partner, and then asked to examine a series of 11 images and select the one that most resembled the new lab mate.

在发布在《人格与社会心理学公报》的一项新调查研究中，研究员们告诉131名本科生，他们每个人都将要和一个新的异性实验室搭档合作。（想想还有点小激动！）接下来，他们给学生们展示了一组据说是神秘搭档的照片，然后再让学生从这11张中选出一张他们自己觉得最像新搭档的照片。

But here's what the students didn't know: One of the 11 photos was an accurate picture of the new lab partner. The other 10 had been digitally altered -- five were tweaked to make the person look less attractive, and five were manipulated to make the person look more attractive.

但是学生们不知道的是：这11张照片里只有一张是新搭档，剩下10张都是经过电脑修图之后的，其中5张经过调整看起来没那么好看了，另外5张则修美了一些。

The findings? When the students who had a boyfriend or girlfriend learned that the new lab partner was single (and thus, a threat to their relationship), they consistently chose the images that represented a less attractive likeness⁶.

结果是什么呢？当有男女朋友的学生知道这个新搭档是单身的时候（就是对他们的恋爱关系有威胁了），他们都会不约而同地选择一张不那么好看的照片。

A second experiment found that students in relationships also tended to view the future lab partner as less attractive when they were told the person was interested in dating. This was especially true if the students were happily coupled up.

第二个实验发现，当他们知道这个新搭档可能想要跟他们约会时，恋爱中的学生也会更倾向于把他们的搭档想的不那么吸引人，特别是那些恋爱关系非常好的学生。

Cole and her fellow researchers weren't totally surprised by their findings. The students were probably exerting a type of defense⁷ mechanism⁸ that's known, in science-speak, as "devaluing temptation" -- or, in other words, thinking that something isn't nearly as appealing as it might actually be.

科尔和她的研究员同事们对于这个结果都没有表示出惊讶。学生们或许都会利用一种已知的防卫机制，在专业领域来说，叫做“贬值诱惑”，或者换句话说，就是把事物想得不如本来那么吸引人。

"There are many, many ways that people can effectively resist temptations," says Cole. "But devaluing temptations seems like a particularly good one. It basically makes it so that the temptation is no longer as strong a temptation. If people don't experience a strong attraction to another person—or to a piece of chocolate cake, or cigarette, or new pair of shoes -- they won't be tempted to give in to it."

科尔说道：“有许多方法可以让人们有效地抗拒诱惑。但是贬值诱惑应该是最好的一个。它能让诱惑从本质上就不那么诱惑了。如果没有经历过对另一个人，或者对一块巧克力蛋糕，对香烟，或者一双新鞋的强烈倾慕，人们可能根本不会对诱惑投降。”

Cole also conceded that there could be another factor at play. It's possible these undergrads were just really into their SOs: "It could be that happy couples come to value the attributes their own partners have," she said.

不过，科尔也承认这一结果可能也和另一因素有关，那就是这些本科生有可能刻意注重他们的良心，“可能关系融洽的伴侣更倾向于重视另一半的付出。”

We think that's the explanation Paul Newman would like.

因此，我们想，这可能就是对保罗·纽曼的话的解释。