Peekaboo is a game played over the world, crossing language and cultural barriers. Why is it so universal? Perhaps because it’s such a powerful learning tool。

全世界的嬰兒都在玩躲貓貓，這種游戲已經跨越了語言和文化的邊界。為什么這種游戲如此風靡全球?或許是因為它是一種強大的學習工具。

Babies don't read books, and they don't know that many people, so thesurprising durability and cultural universality of peekaboo is perhaps a clue that it taps into something fundamental in their minds. No mere habit or fashion, the game can help show us the foundations on which adult human thought is built。

嬰兒不閱讀書籍，認識的人也不多，既然我們已經知道躲貓貓這種游戲的生命力持久性和文化普遍性，或許我們可以以它為線索，探索嬰兒認知過程的基本要素。這是一種超越了人類習性和潮流的游戲，它能夠告訴我們，成人認知過程的構建基礎。

Surprise element

驚喜的元素

Peekaboo uses the fundamental structure of all good jokes - surprise, balanced with expectation. Researchers showed this in tests involving a group of six-, seven- and eight-month-olds which sound like more fun than a psychology experiment should be. Most of the time the peekaboo game proceeded normally, however on occasion the adult hid and reappeared as a different adult, or hid and reappeared in a different location. Videos of the infants were rated by independent observers for how much the babies smiled and laughed。

在躲貓貓這個游戲中蘊含著所有優(yōu)質笑話的基本結構——驚喜，與之協(xié)調的期待�？茖W家們對一組包括6周、7周、8周大的嬰兒進行了研究，孩子們的笑聲使這場心理實驗顯得格外有趣，通過實驗，科學家們應征了上述結論。大多數(shù)情況下，躲貓貓的游戲都進展的很順利，即使一個大人躲起來后，出現(xiàn)的是另一個大人，或者大人躲起來后，出現(xiàn)在另一個地方。科學家們請一些與研究無關的成人來觀察嬰兒反應的錄像，對每次嬰兒微笑或大笑的程度出不同等級。

On these “trick trials” the babies smiled and laughed less, even though the outcome was more surprising. What's more, the difference between their enjoyment of normal peekaboo and trick-peekaboo increased with age (with the eight-month-olds enjoying the trick trials least). The researchers' interpretation for this is that the game relies on being able to predict the outcome. As the babies get older their prediction gets stronger, so the discrepancy with what actually happens gets larger - they find it less and less funny。

在“非常規(guī)”的躲貓貓游戲中，雖然游戲最后出現(xiàn)的結果更令人吃驚，嬰兒微笑或大笑的程度卻相對較淺。不僅如此，隨著長大，嬰兒對常規(guī)的躲貓貓游戲的滿意程度和對非常規(guī)的躲貓貓游戲之間的滿意程度二者之間的差異會越來越明顯(8個月大的嬰兒對非常規(guī)的躲貓貓的滿意程度最低)。研究者們解釋說，著是因為，這個游戲之所以好玩，正是因為嬰兒可以預期游戲的結果。隨著嬰兒長大，他們對結果的預期也越來越強，因而他們的預期和實際結果之間的不協(xié)調性也就越來越明顯——他們對游戲也就越來越不滿意。

The secret to the enduring popularity of peekaboo is that it isn't actually a single game. As the baby gets older their carer lets the game adapt to the babies' new abilities, allowing both adult and infant to enjoy a similar game but done in different ways. The earliest version of peekaboo is simple looming, where the carer announces they are coming with their voice before bringing their face into close focus for the baby. As the baby gets older they can enjoy the adult hiding and reappearing, but after a year or so they can graduate to take control by hiding and reappearing themselves。

躲貓貓這個游戲經久不衰，全球風靡的秘密在于，它不僅僅只是一個游戲。隨著嬰兒長大，他們的監(jiān)護人會根據嬰兒的新本領調節(jié)游戲規(guī)則，從而使大人和嬰兒都能在新的、大致相似而略有不同的游戲中獲得樂趣。躲貓貓最開始只是一種隱而再現(xiàn)，監(jiān)護人告訴嬰兒他們要出來了，然后讓嬰兒能夠近距離的看到自己的臉。隨著嬰兒長大一些，他們看到大人躲起來然后又出現(xiàn)就會很開心。但是一年之后，他們逐漸的可以掌控游戲了，他們就會自己躲起來，然后再出現(xiàn)。

In this way peekaboo can keep giving, allowing a perfect balance of what a developing baby knows about the world, what they are able to control and what they are still surprised by. Thankfully we adults enjoy their laughter so much that the repetition does nothing to stop us enjoying endless rounds of the game ourselves。

通過這種方式，躲貓貓的游戲規(guī)則能夠與不斷成長的嬰兒眼中的世界達成并保持非常好的一致性，與他們掌控世界的能力，他們的興奮點保持一致。謝天謝地，我們這些成年人是如此喜愛這些嬰兒的笑聲，以至于這種游戲的重復性一點也不妨礙我們一次次饒有興致的聊以自娛。