親愛的的《科學一刻》欄目組,
I hate going to the dentist. In fact, I openly fear it.
我很討厭看牙醫(yī)。真的,我對此感到很恐懼。
Yet I've never actually had a really bad orpainfulexperience with a dentist.
可是我實際上并沒有看牙醫(yī)的糟糕經(jīng)歷。
So why do I fear it so much?
那我為什么會對此感到如此恐懼呢?
You're certainly not alone.
有此感受的不僅僅是你一個人。
Quaking in your boots at the mere thought of a dental check up-letalone having a cavity takencare of-is a time honored tradition.
一想到要檢查牙齒,腿腳就哆嗦,更別說補牙洞了。這種感受由來已久。
And it doesn't necessarily derive from a bad dental experience.
對牙醫(yī)的害怕不一定來自您糟糕的看病經(jīng)歷。New research shows that fear ofthedentist is often passed down from parents to their children.
如今有研究表明,對牙醫(yī)的恐懼感常??梢酝ㄟ^父母傳遞給子女。
Fathers are especially involved.
父親們的因素很關(guān)鍵。
Previous studies found a link between parents'attitudes toward thedentist and kids' fear.
過去的研究表明,父母對牙醫(yī)的態(tài)度和子女對看牙醫(yī)的恐懼感有關(guān)聯(lián)。
But the new study reveals that kids pay even closer attention to how theirfathers react whenthe dentist is involved.
不過現(xiàn)在有研究發(fā)現(xiàn)子女們會密切關(guān)注父親看牙醫(yī)的反應(yīng)。
Apparently, when fathers display fear and anxiety, kidsare most likely to pick up those cuesand see dental visits as something to fear.
明顯的例子是,當父親表現(xiàn)出恐懼和焦慮的時候,子女很可能受到這些心理暗示,把看牙醫(yī)當作恐怖的事情對待。
Why fathers carry so much weight in influencing how their kids think about the dentist is notclear.
父親們?yōu)楹螘绱舜蟪潭鹊赜绊懽优畬ρ泪t(yī)的看法,原因尚不可知。
At least the study doesn't really offer an explanation.
至少這項研究沒有給出合理解釋。
But it does suggest that fathers can play animportant role in what psychologists called positiveemotional contagion.
不過研究指出,父親在被心理學家稱為積極情緒傳導的過程中舉足輕重。
If fathers' fear of the dentist can contaminate their kids, the opposite might also be true.
如果父親們對牙醫(yī)的恐懼會傳染給他們的子女,那么反之亦然。
In otherwords, dads behaving positively and not displaying fear could orient their kids towardsnot fearingthe dentist.
換句話說,父親們正面的言行,不帶恐懼的表現(xiàn)可以引導他們的子女不再害怕牙醫(yī)。
So the researchers call for parents, and fathers in particular, to beinvolved in dentistfearprevention campaigns.
因此研究人員呼吁父母們,尤其是父親們,行動起來,幫助子女防治牙醫(yī)恐懼癥。