行为偏见：第一即最好

这是你今天阅读的第一篇文章吗？如果是，您很可能会喜欢它。人们感受事物的顺序影响他们对于事物的看法：人们倾向于更喜欢第一个想法。

This is the result of a new study by Dana Carney of Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Mahzarin Banaji of Harvard University. To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a series of experiments. In one volunteers were shown pictures of two violent criminals and then asked which one deserved parole. Most felt more merciful towards the first mugshot they were shown (different volunteers saw different villains first).
这是来自加州大学伯克利分校哈斯商学院的 Dana Carney 与哈佛大学Mahzarin Banaji 的最新研究结果。为了测试他们的假设，研究人员进行了一系列的实验。在其中一个实验中，研究人员向志愿者展示了两位暴力罪犯的照片，然后询问他们哪一位可以得到假释。大多数人都对他们看到的第一位嫌疑犯更为仁慈（不同的志愿者首先看到的罪犯是不相同的）。

This bias affects commercial decisions, too. Asked which type of chewing gum they preferred, 68% of respondents at a railway station in Boston picked the first stick they were offered. In another experiment, volunteers more often wanted to buy a car from the first salesperson they met rather than the second.
这种偏见也影响商业决定。向波士顿一处火车站的人群询问他们喜欢哪一种口香糖，68%的回复者选择了他们得到的第一支口香糖。在另外一个实验中，志愿者更愿意从他们见到的第一位销售人员手中购买汽车，而不是第二位。

In their paper, entitled “First is Best”, the authors contend that the first option in a series will be “consistently preferred” if the chooser is under time pressure or slightly distracted. Thanks to mobiles, meetings and toddlers that pretty much describes modern life for many people.
在研究人员名为“第一即是最好”的论文中，作者主张在一系列的看法当中，如果选择者处于时间压力下或有轻微分神，那么第一条看法“始终是首选”。感谢手机、会议和家里蹒跚学步的小孩，他们非常准确地概括了许多人的现代生活。

Clever companies have noticed, and compete to bump whatever they are selling to the front of the queue. That is why the first slot in an advertisement break on television costs more than the second; it’s roughly 10-15% pricier, according to Jonathan Allan, sales director at Channel 4, a British broadcaster. It is also why an ad that introduces a rival’s product first, even in order to disparage it, may well backfire. Advertising firms themselves like to go first when pitching for an account. “It sets the benchmark for everybody else,” says Bridget Angear of AMV BBDO, an advertising agency.
聪明的公司已经发现了此规律，并且奋力竞争第一个向人群推销任何东西的位置。这也是为什么电视上广告时间插播的第一条广告比第二条贵得多。通常会贵10%到15%，据在英国广播任职第4频道销售总监的 Jonathan Allan 介绍。也还是为什么一条广告首先介绍竞争者的产品，即使是为了贬低它，造成的结果也是适得其反。广告公司在竞争客户时也希望第一个出场。来自广告代理公司 AMV BBDO 的 Bridget Angear 说：“这为所有人定下了一个基准“。

Being first matters even more online. People are lazy and few bother to scroll through dozens of pages of search results, says Kate Devine of mysinglefriend.com, a dating website. The site uses this observation to reward its most avid customers. When a belle enters search criteria for her beau, possible matches appear in an order determined by the last time these logged on to the site. This is good for traffic, but the keenest suitors may not prove the most suitable.
在网络上，成为第一位甚至更为重要。就职约会网站 mysinglefriend.com 的 Kate Devine 说，人们都很懒，极少人愿意翻下几十页浏览搜索结果。该网站利用了此项观察结果来奖励其最热心的客户。当一位美女输入搜索标准搜索她的理想伴侣时，可能适合的人选将按照上次登录网站的时间顺序排列出来。这对网站流量是好事，但最热心的追求者并不一定是最合适的那一位。

Badoo, another dating service, locates other users nearby so as to encourage spontaneous meetings. People can pay Badoo ￡8.49 ($13.46) per month for the privilege of appearing top in a list of users in the area, but rankings will drop as others pay too.
另一个约会服务网站 Badoo 定位附近的其他用户，鼓励即兴会面。人们可以向 Badoo 支付每月 8.49 英镑（13.46