我们在与人交谈时，为什么很难保持眼神接触？_公共英语阅读理解

我们在与人交谈时，为什么很难保持眼神接触？

你是否在与人交谈时，很难看着对方的眼睛把话说下去？人们通常认为，讲话时避免眼神接触是怕尴尬或不自信的表现。然而，日本京都大学的科学家们给出了另一种科学解释。

It turns out we're not just awkward, our brains actually can't handle the tasks of thinking of the right words and focusing on a face at the same time.

事实上，我们并不只是尴尬，而是大脑无法同时兼顾“思考恰当词汇”和“眼神接触”的任务。

The effect becomes more noticeable when someone is trying to come up with less familiar words, which is thought to use the same mental resources as sustaining eye contact.

当人们努力搜索不太熟悉的词汇时，这个效应会更加明显。科学家认为，这两项任务占用同样的心理资源。

我们在与人交谈时，为什么很难保持眼神接触？1

Scientists from Kyoto University in Japan put this to the test in 2016 by having 26 volunteers play word association games while staring at computer-generated faces.

2016年，日本京都大学的科学家们为此进行了一项实验。他们让26名志愿者在玩词汇联想游戏的同时，盯着由计算机生成的脸庞。

When making eye contact, the participants found it harder to come up with links between words.

在进行眼神接触时，受试者更难想出词汇之间的关联。

"Although eye contact and verbal processing appear independent, people frequently avert their eyes from interlocutors during conversation," wrote the researchers.