This Is Your Brain at the Mall: Why Shopping Makes You Feel So Good
When Wazhma Samizay and her friends have a bad day, they go shopping, a ritual dubbed "retail therapy."
"When you are shopping to buy a gift or get something for yourself, either way it's kind of a treat," says Ms. Samizay, who three years ago opened a Seattle boutique named Retail Therapy. "The concept of the store was about finding things that made people feel good."
Science is now discovering what Ms. Samizay and many consumers have known all along: Shopping makes you feel good. A growing body of brain research shows how shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting our mood and making us feel better -- at least for a little while. Peering into a decorated holiday window or finding a hard-to-find toy appears to tap into the brain's reward center, triggering the release of brain chemicals that give you a "shopping high." Understanding the way your brain responds to shopping can help you make sense of the highs and lows of holiday shopping, avoid buyer's remorse and lower your risk for overspending.
HEALTH MAILBOX
Read Tara Parker-Pope's Health Mailbox where she answers readers' questions about medical studies, ailments and treatments.Much of the joy of holiday shopping can be traced to the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health. The brains of people with Parkinson's disease, for instance, contain almost no dopamine. Dopamine also plays a role in drug use and other addictive behaviors. Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, and it's released when we experience something new, exciting or challenging. And for many people, shopping is all those things.
"You're seeing things you haven't seen; you're trying on clothes you haven't tried on before," says Gregory Berns, an Emory University neuroscientist and author of "Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment."
University of Kentucky researchers in 1995 studied rats exploring unfamiliar compartments in their cages -- the laboratory equivalent of discovering a new store at the mall. When a rat explored a new place, dopamine surged in its brain's reward center. The study offers a warning about shopping in new stores or while out of town. People tend to make more extraneous purchases when they shop outside their own communities, says Indiana University professor Ruth Engs, who studies shopping addiction.
But MRI studies of brain activity suggest that surges in dopamine levels are linked much more with anticipation of an experience rather than the actual experience -- which may explain why people get so much pleasure out of window-shopping or hunting for bargains.
Dopamine can cause someone to get caught up in the shopping moment and make bad decisions. Dr. Berns of Emory says dopamine may help explain why someone buys shoes they never wear. "You see the shoes and get this burst of dopamine," says Dr. Berns. Dopamine, he says, "motivates you to seal the deal and buy them. It's like a fuel injector for action, but once they're bought it's almost a let down."
Dr. Berns and his colleagues have devised studies to simulate novel experiences to better understand when and why the brain releases dopamine. In one set of studies volunteers reclined in an MRI scanner while a tube trickled drops of water or sweet Kool-Aid into their mouths. Sometimes the Kool-Aid drops were a predictable pattern, while other studies used random drops. Notably, when the Kool-Aid was predictable the brain showed little increased activity. But the scans showed a high level of activity when the Kool-Aid was given at random. This indicates that the anticipation of the reward -- whether it's Kool-Aid or a new dress -- is what gets our dopamine pumping.
Because the shopping experience can't be replicated inside an MRI scanner, other researchers are using electroencephalogram, or EEG, monitors that measure electrical activity in the brain to better understand consumer-shopping habits. Britain's Neuroco, a London consulting firm, uses portable monitors, strapped on to shoppers, to produce "brain maps" as a way to understand consumer buying habits. The brain maps show a marked difference in the brain patterns of someone just browsing compared with a consumer about to make a purchase.
"Shopping is enormously rewarding to us," says David Lewis, a neuroscientist and director of research and development. But Dr. Lewis also notes that stressful holiday crowds, poor service or the realization that you've spent too much can quickly eliminate the feel-good effects of shopping.
Knowing that shopping triggers real changes in our brain can help you make better shopping decisions and not overspend while in a dopamine-induced high. For instance, walking away from a purchase you want and returning the next day will eliminate the novelty of the situation and help you make a more clear-headed decision.
Dr. Engs of Indiana has compiled a list of dos and don'ts to help people make better shopping decisions. Although the steps are aimed at people with compulsive shopping problems, they are useful for anyone caught up in the holiday shopping frenzy.
Buy only the items on your shopping list to avoid impulse purchases.
Use cash or debit cards. Financial limits keep you from buying things you can't afford in the midst of shopping excitement.
Window-shop after stores have closed or when you've left your wallet at home. You'll get the pleasure of shopping without the risk of overspending.
Don't shop when you're visiting friends or relatives. The added novelty of shopping in a new place puts you at higher risk of buying something you don't need.
购物为何让人心情愉悦？
当萨米扎(Wazhma Samizay)和她的朋友心情不好时，她们就会去购物，还把它戏称为“零售疗法”。
萨米扎说，当你逛商店，给自己买件礼物或其他什么东西的时候，这都相当于是一种治疗。三年前，她在西雅图开了一家叫做Retail Therapy的专卖店。她说，这个商店的理念就是发现让人们感觉良好的事物。
现在，科学证实了萨米扎和许多消费者早就清楚的道理：购物可使人心情愉悦。越来越多的大脑研究结果显示，购物能够刺激大脑的主要区域，改善情绪，让我们心旷神怡──至少暂时如此。浏览装饰一新的假日橱窗或找到一件心仪已久的玩具似乎会开启大脑的奖励中心，刺激大脑化学物质的释放，使你达到购物兴奋状态。了解你的大脑对购物做出反应的方式有助于你认识假日购物的高峰和低谷，避免买家的后悔和减少支出过度的风险。
假日购物的许多乐趣都同大脑中的化学物质多巴胺有关。多巴胺对我们的身心健康发挥著至关重要的作用。比如，帕金森病患者的大脑内就几乎没有多巴胺。多巴胺还在吸毒和其他成瘾性行为中发挥著作用。多巴胺还同愉悦和满足感有关，当我们经历新鲜、刺激或具有挑战性的事情时，大脑中就会分泌多巴胺。对许多人而言，购物就属于此列。
埃默里大学(Emory University)神经学家、《满意：寻找真正满足的科学》(Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment)一书的作者伯恩斯(Gregory Berns)说，你看到的是你以前没有看到过的事情；你试的衣服是你以前没有试过的。
肯塔基大学(University of Kentucky)的研究人员在1995年研究了白鼠对放于笼子中的陌生小隔间的反应，这同人们在购物中心发现一家新店铺的情况类似。当白鼠发现新场所时，大脑奖励中心的多巴胺分泌急剧增加。这项研究可以提醒在新商店或陌生地区购物的人。印第安纳大学(Indiana University)教授、研究购物成瘾行为的恩格斯(Ruth Engs)说，人们在所居住社区之外的其他地区购物时会更加挥霍无度。
但对大脑活动的核磁共振研究显示，多巴胺浓度的上升与对经历预期的关系要比实际经历更大，这可以解释为什么人们在逛商店或寻找廉价商品时会感到很有乐趣。
多巴胺能让一个人痴迷于购物，做出错误的决策。埃默里大学的伯恩斯说，多巴胺可以解释为何一个人购买鞋子后却从来不穿。他说，看到这双鞋后，这个人的多巴胺就大量分泌。他说，多巴胺会刺激你的购买欲望。它就象是行动的助推剂一样，但一旦购买行为完成后，其浓度就会下降。
伯恩斯和他的同事设计了一套研究方法，模拟这种新奇的体验，以了解大脑何时分泌多巴胺，以及分泌的原因是什么。在一组研究中，志愿者被接上了核磁共振扫描仪，同时一个试管将水或Kool-Aid甜饮料滴入他们的口中。在一些研究中，按照预知的方式滴入Kool-Aid饮料，其它一些研究则采用随机方式。值得注意的是，当预先知道将滴入Kool-Aid饮料时，大脑的活动几乎没有增加。但扫描仪显示，当随机滴入Kool-Aid饮料时，大脑的活动会增加。这显示出奖励预期──无论是Kool-Aid饮料还是新衣服──是促进我们多巴胺分泌的原因。
由于购物体验不能在核磁共振扫描仪中复制，其他研究人员使用了脑电图测量大脑中的电流活动，以更好地了解消费者的购物习惯。英国咨询机构Neuroco使用系在购物者身上的便携式监视仪通过脑电图了解消费者的购买习惯。脑电图显示，在只是进行浏览的某人和将要进行购物的消费者之间的脑电图存在很大不同。
神经学家、研发主管刘易斯(David Lewis)说，购物是对我们的极大奖赏。但他也指出，假日期间拥挤的顾客、恶劣的服务和你已经支出过多金钱的现实会迅速打消购物的良好感觉。
了解购物在我们大脑中引发的实际变化有助于做出更好的购物决策，避免在多巴胺带来购买冲动时过度支出。比如，从想购买的物品前走开，第二天再来选择将会消除购物冲动，有助于做出更加清醒的决策。
印第安纳大学的恩格斯整理了一份注意事项，帮助人们更好地做出购物决策。尽管这些步骤旨在帮助具有强迫性购物问题的人们，但对充满假日购物狂热心情的任何人都适用。
-- 只购买购物清单上的商品，避免购物冲动。
-- 使用现金或借计卡。财力限制能够使你在产生购物冲动时放弃负担不起的商品。
-- 在商店关门或把钱包落在家里时浏览橱窗中的商品。你可以享受到购物的乐趣，同时没有支出过度的风险。
-- 在拜访亲友时不要购物。在陌生场所的购物新鲜感很可能会让你购买不需要的商品。
