My first job in Manhattan was on Fifth Avenue. How lucky I was, I thought, to be in the center of this dream city. Most of all, though, I loved the clothing shops. All I had to do was wrap up the day’s work and step outside, and everything was there. J. Crew, Anthropologie, Loft, Banana Republic ...It’s hard to resist those glitzy displays showing off an array of drapery wool coats perfect for mid fall, dresses to match any personality you’re in the mood to show, and cute socks with fox faces printed on them — especially when the clothes are super affordable, as they are at so many hip retailers these days. I found myself buying too many clothes all at once, and I wasn’t the only one: Americans as a whole tend to overshop.
我的第一份工作地點是在曼哈頓的第五大道。我當時想，我是多么幸運，能夠在這個夢想城市的正中心工作。最重要的是，我喜歡服裝店。我只要搞定一天的工作然后走出辦公樓，就可以各種逛，到處都是J. Crew, Anthropologie, Loft, Banana Republic, 閃閃發(fā)亮的展品一排排地陳列在那，垂墜的毛衣對那深秋的季節(jié)可謂完美，任何個性、任何心情都能找到合適的衣服來搭配，還有印有狐貍臉圖案的可愛襪子，這一切都讓人難以抗拒??更何況他們的價格還那么親民，就像現(xiàn)在很多的服裝零售商里那樣。我發(fā)現(xiàn)我每次一下就會買很多，而且不僅僅只有我一個，整個美國都有這種“買太多”的傾向！
There are many reasons why we buy too much clothing, and affordable pricing is one. But new research also points to other factors that can sneakily influence our shopping behaviors — and we actually have more control over those causes.Neuroscience research shows that being mentally fatigued can make you an impulsive shopper. Just a day at work can burn out our limited resources of self-control, and nearly turn off the brain areas in charge of evaluating decisions. In other words, the person who walks out of the office and into the shops downstairs is simply not your best version of yourself, and probably shouldn’t be making decisions involving money and future planning.
為什么我們會買這么多衣服，有很多的原因，價格合理是其中一個。但是有新研究表明，有其他的因素潛移默化地影響我們的購買行為，而且事實上我們對這些因素有更多的控制權。神經(jīng)學研究表明，當我們的大腦疲勞的時候，我們更加容易變成一個沖動消費者。一天的工作就能消耗掉我們那有限的自我控制，管理決策的那部分大腦幾乎停止工作。換句話說，那個離開辦公室進入樓下商店逛街的人，并不是你最靠譜的一面，最好不要讓他做和錢有關的決策或是制定未來的計劃。
A team of researchers recently set up a situation in the lab resembling the everyday experience of consumers, in order to examine the effects of normal daily fatigue on making decisions that require some degree of self-control. The researchers wanted to see what fatigue does to the decision-evaluating part of the brain, that wise judge inside your head that says no to beer with friends so you can save money for a bike.
有一組研究人員最近在實驗室發(fā)起一個的實驗，情景模擬消費者的日常體驗，旨在研究每天工作后的疲勞對于你大腦的決策評估區(qū)塊有何影響；就是這個區(qū)塊負責讓你為了省錢買一輛自行車而拒絕和朋友一起出去喝啤酒。
“The neural bases of how we make the decision between consuming and saving are somewhat known,” said neuroscientist Bastien Blain, author of the study published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences in June. “For example, to make a decision between an immediate monetary reward, say, $10 now, and a bigger but delayed one, say, $100 in one year, requires the brain to attribute a value to each option. If we temporarily inhibit a particular brain area, people become more likely to choose the immediate reward option.”
“我們做出消費還是儲蓄的選擇時所仰賴的神經(jīng)基礎已經(jīng)部分被知曉了，”在今年六月，在美國國家科學院院刊上發(fā)表過著作的Bastien Blain說�！芭e個例子，是要一份立馬到手的10美元，還是要一份1年之后到手的100美元？若要做這個決定，你的大腦首先得為兩個選項給定一個價值。如果我們暫時抑制大腦的某個特定區(qū)域，人們則更傾向于選擇立刻拿到現(xiàn)金。
In Blain’s study, people didn’t show ego depletion after 15 minutes of heavy cognitive work, so the team decided to go beyond the usual short time frame used in similar studies and instead mimic a typical workday. The participants who performed the difficult version of the tasks became more impulsive by the end of the day. The group that performed easy versions of the tasks or enjoyed some breaks during the six-hour episode didn’t show increased impulsivity.
在Blain的研究中，人們在15分鐘的高強度認知工作以后，沒有出現(xiàn)自我意識耗損的現(xiàn)象。于是小組決定不限于短時間的框架，而是模擬一個典型的工作日時間。那些從事有難度工作的參與者，在一天結束的時候表現(xiàn)的更加沖動。那些從事簡單工作或是在6小時工作間隙有休息的參與者則沒有沖動表現(xiàn)。
“Our findings demonstrate a concept of focused neural fatigue that might be naturally induced in real-life situations and have important repercussions on economic decisions,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
“我們的研究表明，神經(jīng)的疲勞會自然而然影響我們實際生活中的情景，對我們經(jīng)濟決策有著重要的影響�！毖芯空邆冊谒麄兊恼撐闹袑懙馈�
Back at my first job, situated strategically in the center of a shoppers’ haven, I was exposed to the lure of beautiful pieces of clothing every single day. Even on a shoestring budget of an intern, I was always able to afford a cute top or a stylish pair of shoes ? and that was thanks to the glut of cheap, trendy clothes that retailers churn out at a breakneck pace.
再來講我的第一份工作，那么有戰(zhàn)略意識地正好就在那購物者港灣的中心，我每天赤裸裸的受到那些漂亮衣服的引誘。即使是實習生那么少的工資，也買得起一件心儀的上衣或是一雙款式應景的鞋子，這一切都要歸功于零售商以極快的速度生產(chǎn)這些又便宜又潮的衣服。
I asked Blain whether his findings have made him change his own behaviors. "Yes, definitely," he said. “Now I always wait for the morning or the weekend to make purchasing decisions. I also try to resist an impulse after a day of work, thinking that my desire is purely transient and will be different after a night of rest."There is some relief in learning that some of our regretful purchasing decisions may have been caused by unavoidable mental fatigue, and not a fundamental personality flaw.
我問Blain，他的這些研究結果對他自己的購買行為有沒有產(chǎn)生影響。他回答說：“當然啦，我現(xiàn)在總是等到早上或者周末的時候再做購買決定。我盡量克制工作一天之后的消費沖動，我會想：這些欲望純粹是暫時的，等睡一覺之后我的感覺就不一樣了�！蓖ㄟ^研究，我了解到很多讓我們感到后悔的消費決策，是因為不可避免的大腦疲勞，而不是本質上的人格缺陷。這多少讓我松了一口氣。
And the solution seems pretty simple. Take breaks during the workday to avoid the accumulation of fatigue. Or, like Blain, just don’t shop right after work and wait for the weekend or mornings instead. Always try to wait a few days to check whether the desire to buy something is fleeting — is your decision based on your particular state of mind or is it objectively a good idea? When feeling an impulse to buy something, remember that you — and your brain — really may need to sleep on it.
而且應對這種狀態(tài)的解決方案似乎也相當?shù)暮唵�。在工作的時候盡量多休息，以免疲勞累積。或者，就像Blain一樣，不要在工作后購物，等到周末或者早上。總是過幾天以后，看看自己想要某個東西愿望是不是沒有那么強烈了??來檢驗你的決策只到底是大腦在某個生理狀態(tài)下的反應還是一個貨真價實的好主意？當你感覺要沖動消費的時候，要讓你和你的大腦要好好休息，第二天早上再作決定。
[en]Mental fatigue is still only one factor behind a mindless shopping episode. Blain’s study showed that after a six-hour task, people became just 10 percent more impulsive. Obviously there are many more variables constantly influencing how we decide to buy. Mood is one. It’s been shown that listening to pleasant music increases the normal activity of the brain areas involved in valuation, and therefore makes the brain more likely to like what it subsequently sees./en]
精神疲勞只是造成盲目購物的因素之一。Blain的研究說明，在六小時的工作以后，人們沖動消費的概率僅僅上升10%。很顯然還有很多動因持續(xù)影響著我們怎樣決定去買。心情是其中一個。研究顯示聽令人愉悅的音樂能夠讓大腦的做評估的區(qū)域回復正�；顒樱虼俗尨竽X變得更容易喜歡你馬上看到的東西，（就可以做正確的評估）。
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