What Hoffman called the good prank, which humorously 23)satirizes human fears or failings, is found in a wide variety of 24)initiation rites and coming-of-age rituals. The Daribi of 25)New Guinea, for example, have children make a small box and bury it in the ground, telling them that after a while a treasure will appear inside but they must not peek, according to Edie Turner, a professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia. Invariably the youngsters 26)succumb to curiosity—only to find a sample of human 27)feces.
那些被霍夫曼称之为“好”的恶作剧，则是以一种幽默的方式去讽刺人们的恐惧和失误，这样的恶作剧往往发生在各式各样的入会仪式和成人礼上。来自（美国）弗吉尼亚州立大学的人类学教授艾迪·特纳给我们举了这样一个例子：新几内亚岛的达日比人会让孩子们做一个小盒子，并把它埋到地下，告诉他们过一会盒子里就会出现宝藏，但前提是他们一定不能偷看。小孩子哪里抵抗得住好奇诱惑，无不例外都会偷看，结果发现盒子里只有人的大便。
The Ndembu of Zambia have an adult in a monstrous mask sneak and scare the wits out of boys camping outside the village as part of a coming-of-age ritual in which they are showing their bravery. “These kind of tricks are very common,” Dr. Turner said, “and they are really a way to put a person down before raising them up. You're being reminded of your failings even as you're being honored.”
（非洲）赞比亚的恩登布人会派一个大人戴着可怕的面具，偷偷潜入去吓唬那些在村庄外露营的男孩们，以此作为男孩们成人礼的一部分，测试他们的勇气。“类似这样的恶作剧很常见，”特纳博士说，“而且这确实是在把一个人捧上天之前，让他狠狠摔了一跤。就算他受人敬仰地位很高，也会因此想起自己犯过的愚蠢错误。”
Jonathan Wynn, a cultural sociologist at Smith College, said pranks served to maintain social boundaries in groups as various as police departments and 28)sororities. “And you gain status by being picked on in some ways,” he said. “It can be a kind of 29)flattery, if you're being brought in.”
乔纳森·韦恩是（美国）史密斯学院的一位文化社会学家，他称恶作剧的作用还包括维持从警察局至妇女组织等各色社会团体之间的界限。“你要是被人以某些方式找岔捉弄，地位会因而提升。”他说，“能被带进那个圈子，是一种给你面子的表现。”
In a paper published last year, three psychologists argued that the sensation of being duped—anger, self-blame, bitterness—was such a singular 30)cocktail that it forced an uncomfortable kind of self-awareness. How much of a dupe am I? Where are my blind spots?
在一篇去年发表的论文中，三位心理学家认为：被愚弄后的感觉混杂着愤怒、自责和怨恨，这种特殊复杂的情绪会迫使人形成一种不安的自我意识。我怎么这么笨呢？我的盲点在哪里？
“As humans, we develop this notion of fairness as a part of our self-concept, and of course it's extremely important in exchange relationships,” said Kathleen D. Vohs, a consumer psychologist at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Vohs and her co-authors, Roy F. Baumeister of Florida State University and Jason Chin of the University of British Columbia, propose that the fear of being had is a trait that varies from near-obliviousness in some people to 31)hypervigilance in others.
“我们人类，已经把‘公平'这一观念发展成为我们‘自我概念'中的一部分。而且毋庸置疑的是，‘公平'在交换关系中极为重要。” 凯瑟琳·D·佛贺斯说道，她是一名来自（美国）明尼苏达州立大学卡尔森管理学院的消费者心理学家。佛贺斯博士与她的合著者——（美国）佛罗里达州立大学的罗伊·F.·鲍迈斯特，以及不列颠哥伦比亚大学的贾森·陈，一起提出这样的观点：人们对于恶作剧引起的恐惧心理因人而异，有些人会觉得无关痛痒，而有些人则会过度警觉。