In a recent study, shoppers were asked to taste a chocolate-chip cookie. When given a cookie from a full jar, they said it tasted all right; but when they were offered one from a nearly empty jar, they said it tasted better. This shows an interesting aspect of human nature. The scarcer something is, the more highly people tend to value it.

    在最近的一項研究中，購物者被要求品嘗一塊巧克力曲奇餅干。當從一個滿滿的罐子里拿曲奇餅干給他們吃時，他們說這餅干味道不錯；當從一個塊空了的罐子里拿曲奇餅干給他們吃時，他們說這餅干味道更棒。這項研究說明了人類天性中極為有趣的一面：人們往往認為越稀罕的東西價值就越高。

    D.H.Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's lover brought the author the most fame not when it was first published, but when it was banned--and when many thousands of black-market copies of the book were sold before it was finally made legal.

    D.H.勞倫斯的小說《查特萊夫人的情人》令他聲名大震，但這可不是在小說剛出版的時候，而是在它被禁的時候：在小說終于成為合法出版物前，黑市上的盜版書賣出了好幾千冊呢。

    People rush to see a controversial film, and music that is banned from the radio immediately becomes popular. In 1977, the BBC banned "God Save the Queen", a song by the punk rock band The Sex Pistols. Within weeks, the song was nearly at the top of the British pop charts. "God Save the Queen" was brought on the market by the A&M recordings are now some of the most valuable records in Britain, with resale values going as high as £13,000 a copy.

    人們對有爭議的電影趨之若鶩；被電臺禁播的音樂總是立馬一炮而紅。1977年，英國廣播公司封殺了《天佑吾后》，這是一首由朋克搖滾樂隊“性手槍”演繹的歌曲。幾周之內，這首歌幾乎一路飆升到了英國流行音樂排行榜的首位。《天佑吾后》由A&M發(fā)行的稀有唱片現(xiàn)在在英國可是最有價值的唱片，轉手價格高達每張13,000英鎊。

    According to social psychologists like Robert Cialdini, our instinctive interest in acquiring things that are rare reflects our evolutionary history. In the past, when food or raw materials were scarce, real value increased, because possession gave the owner an advantage for suivival.

    根據(jù)像羅伯特·恰爾蒂尼這樣的社會心理學家的說法，我們對稀罕貨的本能占有欲直接反映了人類的進化史。在過去，當食物和原料都緊缺的時候，它們的真正價值就提升了，因為這些東西賦予了擁有者生存下去的有利條件。

    Salespeople love pressing the "scarce, therefore valuable" button, with warnings like "Buy now while stocks last!" and "Quick! Limited-Time Offer!" Clever advertisers know that it's much more effective to focus on the fear of loss than on the benefit of gain. A portrait photography studio pushes its customers to buy as many different photos as possible, because "Stock problems force us to burn unsold pictures of your child after 24 hours". Experts at the University of California found that homeowners are 300 percent more likely to buy an energy-saving plan if the message is "Stop losing 50 cents a day" instead of "Start saving 50 cents a day". Do you want to make a proposal to your management for a €100,000 savings plan? You're more likely to get it through if you present your message in terms of a €100,000 loss, should your plan not be accepted.

    銷售人員最愛亮出“物以稀為貴”這塊招牌，老說什么“存貨不多，趕快買進吧！”、“抓緊！限時特供！”之類的話。聰明的廣告商都明白，強調對損失的恐懼比強調收益更能見效。某個肖像影樓會力勸顧客盡量買下各種照片，因為“24小時之后，庫存問題就會逼著我們燒掉令公子那些沒賣掉的照片”。加利福尼亞大學的專家們發(fā)現(xiàn)：如果一個節(jié)省能源的產品計劃傳達的信息是“每天少損失五毛錢”，而不是“每天節(jié)省五毛錢”，那么一家之主們百分之三百地愿意接受它。你要給公司管理層報一個10萬歐元的成本節(jié)省計劃嗎？如果你表達的含義是避免“10萬歐元的損失”，你的計劃肯定更容易通過。

    We fight to protect what we have. The "Romeo and Juliet effect" describes this principle in terms of relationships. Young couples whose parents try to influence their choice of a mate are more likely to fall deeply in love than those whose parents don't interfere. In Cialdini's book Influence, a young woman from Blacksbuig, Virginia, writes, " Lat Chiristmas, I met a 27-year-old man. I was 19. Although he wasn't my type, I went out with him...I really didn't become interested in him until my parents expressed their concern about his age. The more they got on my case about it, the more in love I became. It only lasted five months, but this was about four months longer than it would have lasted if my parents hadn't said anything."

    為保全已擁有的東西，我們不惜干上一架。在情感關系方面，“羅密歐-朱麗葉效應”就很好地詮釋了這個原則。父母要在選擇伴侶方面給年輕的一對施加壓力，反而更易使這對小鴛鴦如膠似漆，還不如不干涉。在恰爾蒂尼的《影響力》一書中，一位來自弗吉尼亞州布萊克斯堡的年輕姑娘這么寫道：“去年圣誕節(jié)，我遇上了一個27歲的男生，我19歲。盡管他不是我喜歡的那種類型，我還是跟他約會了......我其實對他沒什么意思，直到我父母開始關注他的年齡。他們越對我提這回事，我就越愛他。這段感情只持續(xù)了五個月，但要是正常的話也就應該一個來月，誰讓我父母老是瞎摻合呢？”

    Before you go, think carefully! Do I love him, or should I leave him? A certain gain, or a sure loss? How full is the cookie jar? Maybe it's all about less really being more.

    走下一步之前，你可要想清楚！我是真的愛他，還是應該離開他？這是得還是失？曲奇餅干的罐子有多滿？可能這全是因為“物以稀為貴”吧。