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This probably won't come as much of a surprise, but breaking up with someone is hard.
这可能不会让你大吃一惊，但分手是很棘手的事。
There's the rejection, the tears, the possible shouting, and if nothing else, it's just really awkward!
拒绝、眼泪，可能还有叫喊，真的很尴尬！
Maybe that's why, for better or worse, some people decide a proper break-up isn't worth it.
也许这就是为什么，无论好坏，有些人认为适当的分手是件不值得做的事。
Instead, they choose to just, disappear.
他们会选择就此消失。
In other words, they ghost.
换句话说，他们是鬼魂。
Ghosting is when someone terminates a relationship by ending communications abruptly and without explanation.
鬼影是指某人突然终止交流，也没有做出任何解释就结束了亲密关系。
It's something people have probably been doing forever, but the word has only started to pick up steam within the last few years.
这可能是人们一直在做的事情，但这个词在过去几年里才开始流行起来。
In fact, it's picked up so much steam that psychologists have started to study it.
事实上，这个词慢慢活跃起来，心理学家开始对它进行研究。
Recently, they've begun investigating why people do this, and their results suggest that at least some of it might have to do with how people view relationships in general.
最近，他们开始调查人们为什么这样做，研究结果表明，其中至少有一部分可能与人们总体上如何看待亲密关系有关。
If it's never happened to you, ghosting might seem like some weird, worst-case-scenario Internet thing, but it actually happens all the time.
如果你从未经历过这种事，鬼影可能看起来有些奇怪，是最糟糕的网络情境，但事实上它一直都在发生。
For example, in a 2018 study that polled almost 750 people, 23% of participants reported being ghosted by a romantic partner.
例如，在一项2018年的研究中，近750人接受了调查，其中23%的受访者报告说爱人对自己施用了鬼影术。
And almost 40% reported being ghosted by a friend.
近40%的人说自己被朋友施用了鬼影术。
Studies have even found that people ghost employers or potential employers by not responding to offers, or by not showing up for work or interviews.
研究甚至发现，人们对雇主或潜在雇主也施用鬼影术，要么是不回复雇主的入职通知，要么是上班或面试时未出现。
This isn't a Millennial or Gen Z thing, either, because ghosting isn't new.
这也不是千禧一代或Z一代的专利，因为它不是什么新鲜事。
The term may have started getting traction recently, but this behavior has probably been around forever.
这个词最近已经开始备受追捧，但这种行为一直都存在。
It's just that, for your grandparents, "ghosting" might have looked like not sending letters or skipping phone calls.
只是对你的祖父母来说，“鬼影”可能是不写信或不接电话。
This phenomenon has likely become such a capital-T Thing because technology has changed the way many people communicate.
由于科技改变了人们交流的许多方式，这种现象很可能成为与科技有关的现象。
Texting and social media have made communication easier and more instantaneous, and many relationships or jobs are now started through apps and e-mails instead of in-person meetups.
短信和社交媒体使交流变得更容易、更即时，现在许多关系或工作都是通过应用和电子邮件进行的，都不用亲自会面。
Among other things, that makes it really easy to avoid someone if you think things aren't going to work out.
除此之外，如果你认为事情无法解决的话，避而不见某人真是件容易事。
When it comes to why people do this, though, there likely isn't just one answer.
然而，当说到人们为什么要这样做时，可能没有唯一的答案。
Like, in a 2019 study published in Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, participants reported that they ghosted someone because of everything from attractiveness to convenience to safety.
比如，2019年发表在《想象、认知与性格》期刊上的一项研究中，参与者们报告说，他们对某人施用鬼影术，是因为从魅力，到便捷再到安全等各种原因。
Which is quite a range of explanations.
包括一系列的解释。
Other researchers, though, have suggested that how you feel about ghosting could be based on something more fundamental: how you think about relationships more broadly.
不过，其他研究人员也提出，你对鬼影的感觉可能基于一些更基本的东西，即你如何从广义上看待人际关系。
Research on relationship theories covers two types of beliefs: destiny and growth.
关系理论研究包括两种类型的信念：命运型和成长型。
If you're a stronger believer in destiny, it means you think that the outcome of a relationship is more set in stone:
如果你更相信命运，这就意味着你认为一段关系的结果更是固定不变的：
It's either going to work out, or it's not.
要么在一起，要么分手。
This is associated with a fixed mindset, and if you think like this, you might believe that you have a soulmate, someone who is fundamentally a perfect match.
这与固定心态有关，如果你这样想，可能就会认为自己拥有一位与自己完美搭配的灵魂伴侣。
On the other hand, if you're a stronger believer in growth, it means you think relationships can grow over time.
另一方面，如果你更相信成长，这意味着你认为关系可以随着时间的推移而增进。
If you think like this, you probably believe that all relationship hurdles can eventually be overcome.
如果你这样想，你可能会相信所有阻碍关系的各种障碍最终都能克服。
In that 2018 study I mentioned earlier, the researchers didn't just look at how frequently people ghosted.
在我之前提到的那项2018年的研究中，研究人员不仅考察了人们施用鬼影术的频率。
They also asked participants about their relationship beliefs, and they found that stronger destiny beliefs led to more positive views toward ghosting.
他们还询问参与者对于他们关系的看法，他们发现更强烈的命运信念导致对鬼影现象更积极的看法。
More specifically, when compared to people with weaker destiny beliefs, this group was about 63% more likely to say that ghosting was an acceptable way to end a long-term relationship.
更具体地说，与命运信念较弱的人相比，信念强的群体中约有63%的人更可能表示，鬼影是结束长期情感关系的一种可接受的方式。
Those with stronger growth beliefs tended to say the opposite.
那些拥有较强成长信念的人往往给出相反的回答。
This may have happened because people with stronger destiny beliefs are often quicker to end a relationship when they don't think it's a good fit.
这可能是因为拥有更加坚定的命运信念的人，往往在他们认为不合适的时候会更快地结束关系。
Alternatively, these results could be related to whether participants thought they could be friends with someone after a breakup.
或者，这些结果可能与参与者是否认为他们可以在分手后成为朋友有关。
If they didn't, they might not have cared as much about how that person responded to being ghosted.
如果不再是朋友了，可能就不会那么在意对方对鬼影术的反应。
Now, we're not here to make sweeping claims about how you personally should end your relationships; we're just here to talk about what psychologists have observed.
现在，我们在这不是要对你个人应该如何结束情感关系做一个彻底地声明；我们只是讨论一下心理学家观察到的现象。
Because, really, it's super fascinating that this is even something researchers have studied.
因为，研究人员竟然研究过这个问题，真是超吸引人啊。
Ultimately, while all kinds of survey participants have different opinions on whether ghosting is okay, the overarching theme seems to be that there are better ways to end relationships.
尽管所有类型的参与者对是否应该施用鬼影术有不同的看法，但首要的问题似乎是有更好的方法来结束亲密关系。
If nothing else, ghosting doesn't allow someone closure, and if there is something they could have done better, it doesn't give them a chance to learn.
鬼影不会让人感到宽慰，也无法给使用者学习的机会。
In the long run, this may also make it harder for the ghoster to communicate disinterest or what isn't going well for them.
从长远来看，这也可能让使用鬼影术的人更难与人沟通，或者让他们不高兴。
And in a professional setting, well, the employer suddenly has an unexpected vacancy, which isn't great.
在专业的工作环境中，雇主突然面临意外的职位空缺，这并不是件好事。
Every relationship is different, though, so whether you want to ghost because of safety or a destiny mindset, we'll leave those decisions up to you.
但是，每种关系都是不同的，所以无论你是因为安全或命运心态等原因做鬼影，这都是你自己的决定。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感谢收看这一集的心理科学秀！
Besides ghosting, psychologists have also studied a bunch of other phenomena that happen in relationships, from codependency to why we sometimes date people who look related to us.
除了鬼影之外，心理学家还研究了亲密关系中出现的一系列其他现象，从相互依赖到我们为什么有时会与和自己长得相似的人约会。
To learn more, you can check out our Relationships playlist!
要了解更多信息，可以查看亲密关系视频的播放列表！
