The psychology of money
金钱心理学

Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.
你是购物狂吗？或者你是否会尽可能的抓住你的钱不放？你是杀价高手吗？你是否宁愿赊账也不给现金？你对这些问题的回答将反映你的性格。根据心理学家的说法，我们个人的金钱习惯不仅展示了我们的信仰以及价值观，也可以影射过去的问题。

Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amount of money because they are angry at their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.
心理学方面的专家认为对于大部分人，金钱是力量和影响力的重要象征。丈夫们抱怨他们妻子的花钱习惯，害怕他们会在婚姻中丧失权力。另一方面，妻子们浪费大量金钱是因为她们对他们的丈夫不满。此外，很多人认为金钱象征着爱情。他们在家人和朋友身上花钱以表示他们的爱，或者给他们买贵重礼物因为他们需要爱。

People can be addicted to different things – e.g., alcohol, drugs, certain food, or even television. They are compulsive in their addictions – i.e. they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists, compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting than money: in other words, they feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure at spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy.
人们能对不同的事物上瘾 – 例如酒精、毒品、某种食物、甚至是电视机。这些瘾他们难以抑制 – 例如，他们要在满足他们这些需求之后才会感到舒心。同样的，根据心理学家的说法，购物狂必须要花钱。而且，对于买东西刷信用卡的人，赊账比金钱刺激多了：换而言之，他们认为拿着信用卡，什么事都能干。花巨额金钱所获得的愉悦感比他们从买的东西中获得的愉悦感好太多了。

There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prizes, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.
这里还有杀价这一特殊的心理学。为了存钱，当然很多人会看哪有促销、低价以及打折。然而砍价强迫症的人会时常买一些他们不需要的东西，买也仅仅是因为他们很便宜而已。他们相信这有助于他们的预算，但是他们在玩一个很刺激的游戏：当他们买东西花的钱比别人少，他们就赢了。专家声明，大多数人对于他们的行为有两种原因：所做事情的充分理由以及所做事情的真实理由。

It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of people’s spending habits, but also businesspeople. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, etc. in their advertising and sales methods.
当然不只是科学家们知道人们消费习惯的心理学，商人亦如此。商店、公司和刊登广告者运用心理学去提高业务：他们的广告以及营销手法考虑到人们对于爱、权力、影响力、基本价值观、信仰和见解等需求。

Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them “assignments.” If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.
心理学家常常使用一种名叫“行为疗法”的方法，去帮助个人解决他们的性格问题。同样的，他们能够帮助那些在金钱方面有问题的人：他们给他们任务。例如，如果一个人进每一个商店都要买东西，治疗学家会教他们学会自制：治疗的第一天，被治疗者必须走进商店，待5分钟然后离开。第二天，他要在商店里面待10分钟，试着做点什么。第三天，他要待上十五分钟，问售货员一个问题，然而不买东西。很快他就会知道即使他什么都不买其实也没事，他能够解决他强行购买的问题。

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