为什么剁手的感觉这么爽？丨夜听双语

2018.11.11·周日

剁●手

宜

欢喜

悲伤

忌

有种心理疗法叫做retail therapy，说的是购物可以调节人的心情。

也不知道昨晚有多少人的心情被“调节”了。是调好了，还是调坏了？

现实可能没有“好与坏”这么二元对立。

囤购物车的时候有些小期待，下单的时候发现网速很捉急。

好不容易付款成功了可以长舒一口气，发现快递过来要两周。

这种过山车一样的情绪流就是阻止不了有些人，觉得，我不管，买买买就是很爽！

We buy because it makes us happy, albeit only temporarily. Knowing what motivates us starts with the understanding that when it comes to making that purchase decision, your brain has a lot to say about it.

哪怕购物的快乐是短暂的，我们也还是会买买买，因为真的让人很高兴。做购物决定的时候，脑子里的活动可是很丰富的，认识到这一点，你就可以明白为什么我们喜欢购物。

❶

It takes your mind off things

购物可以让你换换脑筋

Shopping takes time and concentration whether it is being done online or in your favorite store. You have to think about what you want or need and then find the most appropriate item to meet your requirements. You are focused on what you desire and not on the stressors in your life.

不论是在线还是去你最喜欢的实体店，购物都是很花时间和精力的。你得思考自己想买什么或者需要买什么，再去买最符合你要求的商品。你的精力都集中在购物欲上了，没空管生活里的糟心事儿。

❷

You are in control

你感觉一切尽在掌握中

Scott Rick, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan in the US has found that the concept of retail therapy is a real thing.

斯科特·瑞克是美国密歇根大学的市场营销学助理教授，他的研究发现“零售疗法”这个概念的确是真的。

For some people, if they’re feeling sad, shopping will make them happier because it restores some control in their lives. It’s making the choice to buy or not to buy that helps people feel more in control.

有些人状态不好的时候，去购物就会开心起来，因为购物让他们重获对生活的掌控感。买还是不买，做这种决定的时候人们感觉尽在掌握之中。

❸

It gives us pleasure

购物带来快感

Doing something we find rewarding lights up the brain's pleasure centre, which when activated leads to a surge in the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes us feel good, and motivates us to repeat the behaviour. It’s why we can even get addicted to the pleasure of buying.

做有正向反馈的事情可以激活大脑中的愉悦中心，这个部位被激活的时候会促使多巴胺大量分泌，多巴胺是一种神经递质，可以让人感到愉悦，也可以激励我们重复自己的行为。这也就是为什么我们甚至买东西也会上瘾。

❹

It's the anticipation of reward

购物行为也包含着对回报的期待

It's not what we buy that makes us happy it's the shopping experience and the anticipation of the reward to come. That’s why it feels so great to buy that new handbag you’ve hankered after for ages, or that special gift to show someone how much you care. 

其实并不仅仅是买回来的东西让人开心，购物体验和对未来回报的期待也让人感觉不错。这也是为什么买下你渴望已久的手提包会那么爽；同理，买到一个特殊的礼物送给对方，让TA知道你很在乎TA也是一样。

Wanting is far more motivating than needing. You might need more toothpaste or a flea bomb because the cat’s got fleas again, but it’s much harder to get as excited about those kinds of purchases.

对物品的渴望远比对商品的需要来得有驱动力得多。你可能需要买牙膏了，或者家里的猫长虱子了你得买“跳蚤炸弹”，但是这些个根据需求而产生的消费很难让人觉得振奋。

Pleasure is not the only reason why we buy things we don’t need at all.

单单是购物的愉悦感并不能完全解释我们为什么买自己压根儿就不需要的东西。

Ryan Howell, an associate professor of psychology at San Francisco State University in California in the US, said the impulse to buy, in part, is a survival instinct. Back in our hunter and gatherer days, when people saw something they wanted, they’d grab it, even if they didn’t need it, because it was likely they wouldn’t come across that item again.

莱恩·豪威尔是美国加利福尼亚州旧金山州立大学的心理学副教授，他表示，购物冲动在某种程度上是生存本能。在狩猎采集的时代里，人类如果看到想要的东西，就会抓到手，哪怕根本就不需要。因为如果不拿在手里，下次可能就碰不到了。

“If you see something that seems to be running in short supply, you’re going to get it,” Howell said.

豪威尔副教授说：“要是某样东西的供给貌似不太够了，碰巧你看到了，你肯定会搞到手。”

These days, such scarcity isn’t an issue — we can buy nearly anything we want if we have the means — but we often still approach life like our ancestors did, especially when it comes to a sale. When we see a 50% off clearance price tag, that scarcity impulse kicks into gear, Howell said. The feeling is, if we don’t buy that item now, it’s going to be gone forever — or at least at that good price.

如今已经不存在这样的资源缺乏了——只要我们有钱，几乎就可以买到任何想买的东西——不过我们和祖先们的生活态度还是一样的，特别是在碰到打折促销的时候。要是我们看到五折清仓大甩卖，那种缺乏感带来的冲动就开始起作用了。豪威尔副教授表示，这种感觉就是，如果现在不买下来，那就过了这村没这店了——至少碰不到这么低的价格了。

Technically, shopping should be painful; we're parting with resources (our money), after all.

严格说来，购物应该是不爽的；毕竟我们是在和资源告别（也就是我们的钱）。

The Stanford study found that when people were contemplating whether or not they wanted a product (experiencing desire for it), blood flow in a part of the medial forebrain called the nucleus accumbens increased; but when they contemplated the price, another part of the brain related to decision-making came into play. The pleasure of buying, in other words, is a mediation between the rational and pleasure-seeking parts of the brain. 

斯坦福大学的一项研究发现，人们思考到底想不想要买某个商品的时候（也就是经历购物欲望的时候），流向前脑中央伏隔核的血液会增加；但是人们思考价格时候，大脑里与决策相关的区域就会活跃起来。换句话说，购物快感其实是大脑中理性区域和获取愉悦的区域之间调停之后的结果。

Researchers also found that when people chose not to buy, they saw greater activity in the insula, which deals with feelings of loss.

研究者们还发现，人们决定不买的时候，大脑岛叶的活动增加，它管的是“失去感”。

Experiments with the brain's dopamine releases in pleasurable situations have found that anticipation also kicks them off; we experience pleasure, in other words, when we're looking forward to a fun event as well as during and after it. A trip to the mall is enjoyable in the abstract, in our diaries for the weekend, and also while we're in the shops themselves.

与愉悦场景下大脑释放多巴胺相关的实验发现，期待也会启动这种愉悦场景。换句话说就是，我们期待着一件有趣的事儿的时候，和在事件中和事件后一样，都会感觉到愉悦。去逛商场这件事，想着的时候是开心的，周末写的日记里也是开心的，逛的时候当然还是开心的。

Various studies have shown that people often shop after a setback, in order to mentally "repair" their damaged experience with something more pleasurable (though it may create a backlash, as having a product that reminds you of your failure may not please you very much in the end).

多种研究结果显示，人们常常在遭受挫折后购物，做点开心的事儿就为了弥补精神上的创伤，不过可能会有反作用，因为买回来的东西会让你想起那次挫折，最后估计也不会让你开心。

Advertisers are more than aware about how the pleasure we derive from shopping governs our buying. A lot of work over the centuries has been put into inspiring the brain's pleasure centers and kicking off memories or sensations that might induce purchasing.

广告商们精明得很，它们知道这种购物快感是如何支配我们的购物行为的。它们花了几个世纪的功夫就为了激活大脑中的愉悦中枢，开启回忆和感觉，进而引诱你购买。

The Economist, in 2008, noted that a company had the scent of coconut put into its travel agencies, because many suntan oils contain the smell and it reminds people of vacations.

2008年的一期《经济学人》就提到说，有一家旅游公司在自家旅行社里搞出了椰子味儿，因为很多防晒油就是这个味道，可以让人想起度假的感觉。

Memory, action, competition, freedom, health: the aspects in which shopping gives us pleasure are pretty myriad, even if we buy nothing more expensive than a lip balm.

记忆、行动、竞争、自由、健康，购物能带给我们的各方面的愉悦感太多了，哪怕只是买一个便宜的润唇膏也是这样。

双语君之前就有一次，傍晚去机场接机没接到，一气之下从机场大巴公交站走到了购物中心。

在漫不经心的“请随意挑选”声中，豪掷六百，喜提三套摇粒绒。走路时，购物袋撞着小腿，勒手的感觉非常踏实。

如果世界上有一套摇粒绒解决不了的烦恼，那就买三套。

今天节目就到这儿，早些睡，晚安。

本栏目由中国日报双语新闻与奥德赛阅读联合出品。

Notes

therapy ['θerəpɪ]: n 疗法

albeit [ɔːl'biːɪt] : conj 尽管；虽然

restore: v 恢复

dopamine ['dəʊpəmiːn] : n 多巴胺

hanker after: 渴望；渴求 

pleasurable: adj 愉悦的

myriad ['mɪrɪəd]: adj 无数的

主播：拉面

编辑：左卓

推 荐 阅 读

中国日报双语新闻

↑长按关注中国最大的双语资讯公众号↑