New Bookshelf | “The Heart of the Red Chamber”: Jia Baoyu’s beating and the “recency effect”

Original title: New Bookshelf | “The Heart of the Red Chamber”: Jia Baoyu’s beating and the “recency effect”

Photo courtesy of China Workers Publishing House

Jia Baoyu is the young master, but he has a better temper than the girls and maids, and never hits anyone. The only person who was beaten by Baoyu was Xiren. The relationship between the two is close, and the attack is so gentle and pleasant, why did Jia Baoyu beat her? In fact, there is an important driving force behind Jia Baoyu’s attack.

Psychological research has done such an experiment. It is clinically found that most people who have undergone colonoscopy are reluctant to accept a second examination. The reason is that the experience of the first inspection was so bad that it was not a last resort, and I really didn’t want to suffer again. The researchers tweaked the experimental procedure slightly. One group of experimenters was allowed to accept the normal inspection procedure; the other group of experimenters did not take out the colonoscope immediately after receiving the normal inspection procedure, but retreated to the anus, and then exited after two or three minutes. Feel no pain. One hour later, the two groups of experimenters were asked how they felt about the pain caused by the examination. The pain experienced by the testers in the former group was significantly higher than that in the latter group. After another period of time, the subjects were asked if they would like to be tested again. Among those who expressed their willingness, the second group was significantly higher than the first group. In fact, they experience exactly the same discomfort, so why not feel the same? The reason is that the subjects in the latter group did not feel discomfort within a few minutes of the colonoscopy being withdrawn after completing the examination procedure. The subjects remembered mainly how they felt during this time. Studies have shown that after a series of events occur in succession, the last part is the most impressive to the experiencer. Psychology calls this the “recency effect”.

The driving force behind Jia Baoyu’s attack is the “recency effect”. That day, Jia Baoyu experienced a lot of unhappy things, and finally met the girl who drew the word “Rang” on the ground. She was soaked in the rain, and she was also cold from the heavy rain. She ran back out of breath and hurried to enter. The house was sheltered from the rain, and I was still thinking about the girl who had nowhere to shelter from the rain, but when she got to the door, she couldn’t open the door.

The little maid in the house is playing with water. Jia Baoyu slammed the door loudly, and the people inside heard it, but estimated that Jia Baoyu would not come back. Xiren laughed and said, “Whoever called the door at this time, no one will open it.” Jia Baoyu said, “It’s me.” She Yue said, “It’s Miss Bao’s voice.” Qingwen said, “Nonsense! Miss Bao this time. What are you doing?” Xiren said, “Let me take a look through the crack of the door, if you can open it, you can open it, or if you can’t open it, ask him to shower.” After saying that, he came to the door, looked out, and saw Jia Baoyu was drenched in the rain, like a chicken, and hurriedly opened the door. She smiled and bent over and clapped her hands: “What are you running in this rainy field? Where do you know that Master is back.”

Jia Baoyu was so angry that he wanted to kick someone, and opened the door in time. “Aiyo” sounded. Jia Baoyu scolded: “Bastards! I’ve always taken care of you, and I’m not afraid at all. I’m making fun of me more and more.” As he said that, when he lowered his head and saw that he was crying, Fang knew that he was wrong. Hastily smiled and said, “Aiyo, it’s you who came! Where did you kick it?” The attacker had to endure and said, “No kicking. Don’t change your clothes.”

Before that, Jia Baoyu had never beaten anyone or scolded anyone like that; Jia Baoyu didn’t usually treat the maids as human beings; they were playing in the rain, and they didn’t think there was anything wrong with the rain. The combination of these factors made Jia Baoyu look like a chicken in the rain, so he smiled and bowed. Jia Baoyu was uncharacteristically, not because he was in the rain, but because he couldn’t let go of the fact that he just saw a girl in the rain, so he was anxious and annoyed. If Jia Baoyu hadn’t just seen the girl getting wet in the rain, he would definitely play with the maids.

Many people have encountered a similar situation. A family member, a good friend, and a colleague suddenly became uncharacteristically. Just because of a word that he didn’t care about in the past, or a thing that he didn’t care about on weekdays, his face suddenly turned blue and his words hurt people. Generally speaking, there is a “recency effect” at play.

The “recency effect” isn’t just about secretly teaching people to do bad things. You value it, use it, and it will quietly provide you with low-cost and high-quality services. For example, after one thing is done, timely affirmations, praises, rewards, etc., or appropriate celebrations are held, the participants will forget the hardships and pains they have paid, and only remember the joy of harvesting.

When you know your boss, friend, or coworker has just gone through something unpleasant, it’s best not to bother them for a while. At this time, your kindness will most likely be regarded as “donkey liver and lungs”. Conversely, what if he has just encountered an unexpected happy event?

(This article is published with the permission of the publisher and excerpted from “The Heart of the Red Chamber》）Return to Sohu, see more