Why do the things we longed to grab on Double Eleven not seem so attractive after we get them?

Review expert: Li Xianhong, National Level 2 Psychological Counselor at the Psychological Counseling Center of the 371 Central Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army

Have you received the things you bought on "Double Eleven" early? I believe that many friends have more or less had this psychological state after receiving the goods: staying up late to grab the things, looking forward to the delivery, but after the things are in hand, they don't think they are so good, and even have the idea of ​​returning them.

Source | Internet

Is it really like what the song says, "What you can't get is always causing you trouble"? Today, let's discuss with you the secrets behind our "transfer of affection"!

1. The Zeigoni Effect

In fact, "what you can't get is the best" is not a phenomenon that has been discovered recently. In the field of social psychology, people have long studied it and named it the "Caigoni effect."

Source | Zhihu

The "Zeigarnik effect" originates from a famous psychological experiment designed and conducted by German psychologist Zeigarnik in the late 1920s.

First, he divided the subjects into two groups, A and B, and asked the two groups to solve the same math problems at the same time. The subjects in Group A completed the calculation smoothly, while the subjects in Group B were suddenly interrupted in the middle of the calculation.

Then, the subjects in Group A and Group B were asked to recall the problems they had just solved. Surprisingly, the subjects in Group B performed significantly better than those in Group A in recalling the problems.

Psychologists believe that the reason for this phenomenon is that the discomfort of not completing the task is deeply retained in the memory of Group B, and it is difficult to forget for a while, while the Group A members who successfully completed the task are more likely to forget the task they just performed because their "desire to complete" has been fully satisfied. This phenomenon is not uncommon in our daily lives. For example, before the exam, you worry about whether the knowledge points you have not reviewed will be tested, but you can't remember any of the knowledge points you have reviewed; when you don't receive the goods, you think that the things you have been thinking about are not so good after you get them...

In the movie "Heidi and Grandpa", the grandmother deliberately only told half of the story to inspire Heidi to read the rest on her own. Source | See watermark

Therefore, the Caigonni effect, also known as the "Caigonni memory effect", is often used to refer to the phenomenon that people have a deeper impression of things that have not been completed compared to things that have been completed.

Source | Sohu@Heai Psychology

2 "Red roses" or "mosquito blood"? Dopamine has the final say!

Now that we understand the psychological effects behind "transference", is it really true, as Zhang Ailing's novel "Red Rose and White Rose" says, that if you marry a "red rose", over time, she will become a smear of "mosquito blood" on the wall?

Source | 360doc @First Psychology

In fact, the reason is that the "reward circuit" mechanism in the human brain is "getting in the way."

First, let's take a simple example to understand what the reward circuit is. When we feel hungry, we will look for food, and at this time, we find chocolate in the refrigerator. After eating chocolate, while we feel full, the brain will also secrete a large amount of dopamine, which makes us feel happy.

Therefore, we can summarize the reward circuit into 3 main steps:

Source | Homemade

Although dopamine can make people feel happy, its effect is often very short-lived and disappears quickly as dopamine levels decrease. Therefore, when the "grass-planting" item arrives, the initial sense of freshness and accomplishment can only last for a short period of time. Even if we continue to have it, it is difficult for us to "reignite" our previous enthusiasm.

Moreover, the secretion of dopamine will gradually decrease with repeated stimulation of the same thing, and the satisfaction and pleasure generated will gradually decrease, and finally become boring. Whenever we have something new that we desire, our brain will think of such a "reward circuit", making us desire to have new things and hope to gain pleasure and satisfaction from it.

This is also why, on the one hand, we feel that the things we have already got are no longer “good enough”, but on the other hand, we keep wanting to buy more.

3 How should we consume rationally?

After Double Eleven every year, netizens will usher in a wave of "eating dirt" craze, and suggestions on how to consume rationally emerge in endlessly, but the result is still "I understand the truth, but I just can't do it."

So how can we stay away from "shopping sprees" and avoid "eating dirt"?

Understand your needs

Many "Internet celebrity" products may not be suitable for you. Before purchasing, you should first understand your own habits and preferences in depth, and purchase according to your own needs, so as to avoid a lot of unnecessary consumption.

Source | Weibo

Avoid duplicate purchases

Many things are no longer “interesting” after you get them, and you may even forget that you have ever purchased certain items. Therefore, before buying, sort out your previous orders. You may find treasures among the “neglected” items.

Reject vanity and keep calm

For things you want to buy, don’t rush to place an order. Wait for a while before deciding whether to pay. This way you can avoid many impulsive purchases.

In short, we must realize that excessive pursuit of "unobtained" things is not a good psychological state. Only by overcoming our desire for "rewards" to a certain extent and calmly and objectively examining our real needs can we truly achieve rational consumption.