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So you're with your friends, trying to decide where to go for dinner.
你和朋友在一起，正在决定去哪里吃晚饭。
One says they want Chinese food, the other suggests Indian,
一个说想吃中国菜，另一个说想吃印度菜，
and then they both offer to go to the other's chosen restaurant and it's been ten minutes and nobody's making a decision.
然后他们都主动提出去对方选择的餐厅，已经10分钟了，没人做决定。
You finally jump in and say, "OK, let's just get Chinese," and then one of them responds with, "Ugh, you're such a Type 8!"
你最后说，“好吧，我们吃中国菜吧，”然后他们中的一个人回应道，“啊，你是8型!”
They're referring to one of the 9 personality types in what's known as the Enneagram system—specifically, the type that describes a challenger or protector.
他们指的是九种人格类型，即我们熟知的九型人格系统中的一种——具体来说，就是描述挑战者或保护者的人格类型。
If they were trying to say you're controlling, that probably wasn't very nice.
如果他们想说你在控制，那可能不是很好。
But it was also probably wrong, because despite its popularity,
虽然它很受欢迎，但也不一定完全对，
the Enneagram is one of those classification systems that doesn't have solid science to support it and isn't actually a good measure of personality.
九型人格是一种分类系统，它没有科学依据，实际上也不是一种很好的人格测量方法。
You can learn a lot about psychology from how popular it is, though.
不过，你可以从它的受欢迎程度学习很多心理学知识。
The current form of the Enneagram, which started to become more well-known about 50 years ago, puts everyone in one of 9 categories.
现在的九型人格形式，大约是从50年前开始被渐渐了解，它把每个人都归为九类。
For example, you could be a Type 1, called either the Reformer or the Perfectionist depending on whom you ask.
例如，你可能是1型，你要么是改革者，要么是完美主义者，具体取决于你问的人
Supposedly, Type 1s are committed to idealistic principles and tend toward perfectionism.
据说，1型人格的人信奉理想主义原则，倾向于完美主义。
Or you might be a Type 5, the Investigator or Observer—someone who's perceptive and intellectual.
或者你可能是5型，调查者或观察者——一个有洞察力和智慧的人。
Or maybe you're a Type 8, the Challenger or Protector your friend mentioned, who takes charge and follows their instincts.
或者你是8型，你的朋友提到的挑战者或保护者，这种人掌控局面，跟随自己的直觉。
In the Enneagram, the 9 personality types are arranged into a circle.
在九重人格中，九种人格类型被排列成一个圆圈。
Each type is a point on the outside of the circle,
每种类型都是圆外的一个点，
and the points are connected by lines that represent how someone with a given personality type might act under different circumstances.
这些点之间用直线连接，这些直线代表了具有特定人格类型的人在不同情况下的行为。
For example, when you're stressed, you might be expected to take on some of the features of one of the types that's connected to yours.
例如，当你紧张时，你可能期望呈现一些与你相关的类型的特征。
The idea is that each person will have one type that fits them best.
每个人都会有一种最适合自己的类型。
Supposedly they all have their own strengths and weaknesses.
他们应该都有自己的优点和缺点。
There's no best or worst type to have, and people are encouraged to try to become the best version of their personality type.
这些类型不分好坏，人们被鼓励尝试成为他们性格类型的最好版本。
But you might have noticed that you can have a lot of these characteristics at the same time, even just among the three types I've mentioned so far.
但是您可能已经注意到，您可以同时具有许多这些特征，甚至到目前为止提到的三种类型你都具有。
Like, I don't know about you, but I try to stick to my principles, and I also like thinking about things in an intellectual way,
我不知道你是怎么想的，但我会坚持自己的原则，我也喜欢用理智的方式思考问题，
and when someone needs to take charge I have no problem filling that role as well.
当需要某人掌控时，我也能胜任这个角色。
So there's a pretty fundamental flaw in the system—but we'll get to that.
所以这个系统有一个根本缺陷，我们会讲到的。
First, the research:
首先，是研究上的缺陷:
There's not a ton of it, but the studies that have been done haven't found much evidence to support characterizing personalities this way, especially compared to other types of personality tests.
这方面的研究不多，但是已经做过的研究并没有许多证据来支持这样的性格特征，尤其是与其他类型的人格测试相比。
One major drawback is that it's inconsistent.
一个主要缺点是结果的不一致。
You can end up with totally different results depending on the test you take.
测试不同，结果可能会完全不同。
A few studies have found some links between Enneagram types and scores on the Big Five, the main measure of personality that's used in research because it's been shown to be both reliable and fairly accurate.
一些研究发现，九型人格类型和五大人格的得分之间存在一些联系，五大人格用于研究人格的主要衡量标准，因为它被证明是可靠的和相当准确的。
But even those studies acknowledged that it's not the best way to go.
但甚至这些研究也承认这不是最好的方法。
Either way, it might seem pretty weird that the Enneagram is so popular given how little research there is to support it.
不管怎样，鉴于很少有研究支持九型人格，九型人格还能如此受欢迎似乎很奇怪。
But its popularity actually makes sense from a psychological perspective.
但从心理学的角度来看，它受欢迎是有道理的。
In fact, one of the reasons the Enneagram is so popular may also be its main flaw:
事实上，九型人格如此受欢迎的一个原因可能也是它的主要缺陷:
Many of the personality types are relatable for almost everyone.
许多人格类型几乎对每个人都是相关的。
Psychologists have found that we tend to agree with vague, general personality statements—
心理学家发现，我们倾向于认同模糊、笼统的性格陈述——
for example, "You like being around others, but you value having personal time as well."
例如，“你喜欢和别人在一起，但你也珍惜私人时间。”
It's called the Barnum effect.
这叫做巴纳姆效应。
We've known about it since at least 1949, and it's been the focus of lots of studies since.
我们至少从1949年就知道这一效应，自那以后一直是众多研究的焦点。
Basically, the participants take a personality test, and you give everyone the same result regardless of how they answered.
基本上来说，参与者参加一个性格测试，不管他们如何回答，你给每个人相同的结果。
People tend to say that their result describes them well, even though it wasn't actually personalized based on how they answered the test questions.
人们倾向于说他们的结果很好地描述了他们，即使它实际上不是基于他们回答测试问题的个性结果。
That's the problem with personality tests that rely on vague statements, like the Enneagram:
这就是依赖模糊陈述的人格测试的问题，比如九型人格：
the results may technically be true, but they aren't very informative because they're true for lots of people.
严格意义上讲，结果可能是正确的，但它们提供的信息并不多，因为它们适用于很多人。
There's also a larger phenomenon that might be going on here: subjective validation,
这里还有一个更大的现象：主观验证，
where something feels more true because it's personally meaningful to you.
有些结果感觉更真实，因为它对你个人有意义。
It's part of our basic human need to find meaning in things:
这是我们人类寻找事物意义的基本需求的一部分：
Sometimes, people can be so motivated to find meaning that they choose to believe something even when there's not really much data to support it.
有时候，人们会很有动力去寻找意义，即使没有足够的数据支持，他们也会选择相信。
Psychologists think subjective validation could be a big part of why people believe in pseudoscientific ideas in general.
心理学家认为，主观验证可能是人们普遍相信伪科学观点的一个重要原因。
But in this case, at least, there's an easy alternative that does have real science to back it up: the Big Five.
但至少在这种情况下，真正有科学依据的有一种简单的替代方案：五类人格特征，
Its name comes from the fact that it characterizes your personality based on five different traits:
之所以叫五类人格特征，是因为它根据五个不同的特征来描述你的性格：
extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.
外向性、亲和性、尽责性、情绪不稳定性和开放性。
So maybe that's something to explore with your friend the next time they point out your Type 8 tendencies.
所以，也许下次你的朋友指出你的8型性格时，你可以和他们一起探讨一下。
There's no guarantee they won't find other ways to insult you, but hey, at least the jibes will be more accurate.
不能保证他们不会找到其他侮辱你的方式，但是，嘿，至少嘲笑会更准确。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感谢收看本期心理科学秀
If you're interested in learning about other popular-but-not-very-scientific personality tests and what the Big Five does differently,
如果你有兴趣了解其他流行但不太科学的人格测试以及五大人格测试的不同之处，
you might want to check out our video about whether personality tests can mean anything at all.
你可能想看看我们的视频，看看性格测试是否有任何意义。
And don't forget to go to youtube.com/scishowpsych and subscribe!
别忘了去youtube.com/scishowpsych订阅我们的节目哦！
