Ah, fall. Crunchy leaves, warm sweaters, chilly weather.
啊,秋天到了!秋天會有松脆的樹葉、暖和的毛衣、寒冷的天氣。
And, of course, pumpkin spice. Sooo much pumpkin spice.
當然,還有南瓜味。這么多的南瓜味。
From candles, to yogurt, to Oreos, it's everywhere, especially in our lattes.
從南瓜蠟燭到酸奶,再到奧利奧,到處都有,尤其是拿鐵咖啡里也有南瓜味。
The craze might seem a little bit over the top,
這種狂熱似乎有點兒過頭了,
but it actually makes total sense psychologically.
但實際上,它在心理上完全有意義。
So far, there hasn't been any specific research on what makes pumpkin spice so compelling.
到目前為止,我們還沒有關于“什么使南瓜味引人注目”的具體研究。
But psychologists do have some ideas about what might be going on.
但是心理學家對這一現象有一些想法。
Turns out, pumpkin spice is basically the perfect brain puppeteer.
事實證明,南瓜味基本上是完美的大腦傀儡師。
First, there's the sugar. In case you missed it, sugar is super addictive.
首先,它含糖。如果你想念它,糖超級容易讓人上癮。
A review from 2013 found that in some ways it can be more rewarding and addictive than cocaine,
2013年的一項研究發現,在某些方面,糖比可卡因更有價值,更容易上癮。
and hoo boy, there is a lot of it in a pumpkin spice latte.
好家伙,南瓜味拿鐵里含多少糖啊。
Sugar, that is. Not cocaine. At least, that's what they tell us.
說的就是糖,不是可卡因,至少這是它們告訴我們的。
A medium-sized pumpkin spice latte can have about 48 grams of sugar,
一中杯南瓜味拿鐵大約含48克糖,
which is a quarter of a cup or about 37 gummy bears.
相當于四分之一杯拿鐵或37塊小熊軟糖。
So yeah… if you love your PSLs, you might not want to think too hard about that.
所以,如果你愛你的南瓜味拿鐵的話,就可能不想想太多。
And it's not just the lattes.
不僅是拿鐵,
Pairing that distinctive pumpkin spice flavor with sugar over and over in baked goods and drinks
在烘焙食品和飲料中,我們將這種獨特的南瓜味和糖反復混合,
teaches our brains that pumpkin spice equals reward.
會告訴我們的大腦南瓜味等于獎勵。
That's part of why you crave it.
這是你渴望它的原因之一。
Of course, that can't be the whole explanation,
當然,這不可能是全部的解釋,
peppermint mochas and caramel apple spice ciders have a ton of sugar, too.
薄荷咖啡與焦糖蘋果味果汁也含有大量的糖。
Psychologists think some of pumpkin spice's popularity may have to do with social conformity,
心理學家認為,某些南瓜味的流行可能與社會從眾性有關,
our tendency to change our beliefs or behaviors to match those around us or in our culture.
即我們想要改變自己的信仰或行為,以適應周圍的人或我們的文化。
While some of your friends might judge you if you don't buy a pumpkin spice latte the second they're available.
如果有現成的南瓜味拿鐵,而你卻不買第二次,那么你可能會遭到某些朋友的評判。
Social conformity goes way beyond direct peer pressure.
社會從眾性遠超直接的同輩壓力。
Simply seeing everyone else drink 'em and tweet about' em and take selfies with 'em
其他人都喝了這種拿鐵,然后發了關于它們的推特,并與它們自拍,
can be enough to convince us that we want one, too.
我們只是看到這些就足以說服自己也想要一杯。
It's a pretty well-documented phenomenon.
這是個證據充分的現象。
The most famous example is the Asch conformity study,
最著名的例子是阿希從眾心理研究,
where other people's responses convinced subjects that one line was longer than two others...
案例中,其他人的回答讓受試者相信一條線比另外兩條線長,
even when it very clearly wasn't.
即使事實明顯不是這樣。
And psychologists have found that social conformity can also affect our eating choices.
心理學家發現,社會從眾性也會影響我們的飲食選擇。
For example, in a study of 39 preschoolers in 1980,
例如,在1980年對39名學齡前兒童的研究中,
researchers found that the influence of peers could change a child's opinion about a vegetable they didn't like.
研究人員發現,同伴的影響可以改變孩子對他們不喜歡的蔬菜的看法。
And if you've ever tried to convince a stubborn kid to eat their broccoli,
如果你試圖說服過頑固的孩子吃西蘭花,
you know exactly how much of an accomplishment that is.
那么就會確切地知道這是個多大的成就。
In the study, children sat at lunch tables with a few other kids who disagreed with their preferences.
在這項研究中,孩子們和其他幾個與自己有不同偏好的孩子坐在午餐桌旁。
So a kid who really liked corn but hated peas
一個喜歡玉米但討厭豌豆的孩子
would be told to sit with kids who dug peas but weren't into corn.
會被告知要和那些熱愛豌豆但不喜歡玉米的孩子們坐在一起。
After just four days of seeing the other students pick peas over corn
他在僅僅4天的時間里,觀察其他學生在玉米里挑豌豆,
and express their liking for peas,
并聽到他們對豌豆表達的喜愛,
the kid who originally said they didn't like peas would start liking them a little more.
于是最初說自己不喜歡豌豆的孩子開始有點兒喜歡豌豆了。
So with everyone around you talking about how awesome pumpkin spice lattes are,
所以,你周圍的人都在談論南瓜味拿鐵是多么棒時,
it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that they're influencing your opinion of it, too.
不難想象,他們也會影響你對它的看法。

There's evidence that social pressures can also affect our buying habits.
有證據表明,社會壓力也會影響我們的購買習慣。
Research has shown that when we don't have objective information telling us whether to buy something,
研究表明,當沒有客觀信息告訴我們是否買某物時,
we'll usually just do what everyone else is doing.
我們通常會隨大流。
And the way it's only offered each fall?
南瓜味拿鐵只在每個秋天供應的策略呢?
That's another part of the brain-gaming.
這是大腦游戲的另一部分。
It's taking advantage of what's known as reactance theory,
它利用了所謂的抗拒理論,
which says that we don't like when people try to limit our behavioral freedoms,
這一理論是說我們不喜歡人們試圖限制我們的行為自由,
and as a result, we're more likely to do things others try to keep us from doing.
因此,我們更有可能去做別人試圖阻止我們做的事情。
And not being able to buy a pumpkin spice latte whenever we want to?
我們不能隨時買南瓜味拿鐵?
You'd better believe that feels like a limit on our freedom.
你最好相信這是對我們自由的限制。
I mean, this is America!
我的意思是,這就是美國!
So, since we can't get pumpkin spice all year round, we want it more.
因此,既然我們不能全年都會吃到南瓜味,就會想要更多。
It might sound a little extreme.
這聽起來可能有點兒極端。
But reactance theory has been shown to explain
但抗拒理論已經證明,它可以解釋
why short-term sales or seasonal specials like pumpkin spice lattes are so effective.
為什么短期銷售或南瓜味拿鐵這樣的季節性特色銷售如此有效。
For example, way back in 1966 a study showed that
例如,1966年的一項研究表明
just telling people a certain product was out of stock was enough to make them rate it as more desirable.
僅告訴人們某件產品缺貨就足以讓他們更想要它。
And another study from 1987 found that
1987年的另一項研究發現,
one-day sales made people more likely to buy something than three-day sales or five-day sales.
人們更愿意購買為期一天的銷售,而不是三天的銷售或五天的銷售。
So the burning envy you feel when your coworker posts
所以同事在Insta上發布帖子時你會妒火中燒,
that Insta of the pumpkin spice latte they managed to get a whole day early.
因為他們提前一天拿到了南瓜味拿鐵。
You want that latte so bad because you can't have it...and that's reactance.
你非常想要拿鐵,因為你不能擁有它……這就是抗拒理論。
We might also love pumpkin spice so much because it's quintessentially fall.
我們喜歡南瓜味可能是因為它是典型的秋季產品。
For a lot of people, pumpkin spice triggers nostalgia.
對很多人來說,南瓜味會引發懷舊情緒。
That mysterious mix of cinnamon and nutmeg drags us right back to
那神秘肉桂和肉豆蔻的混合氣味促使我們回到
apple picking, carving pumpkins, and baking Thanksgiving pies with Grandma.
采摘蘋果、雕刻南瓜、與奶奶一起烘焙感恩節餡餅的舊時光。
And studies have shown that those warm fuzzies can literally make us feel happier,
研究表明,這些好話可以讓我們感到更快樂,
giving a boost to our social bonds, our self-regard, and our mood generally.
對我們的社會關系、自尊以及情緒都有促進作用。
Which means that if pumpkin spice makes you nostalgic,
這意味著如果南瓜味使你懷舊,
you're basically buying happiness in a little paper cup.
那么你基本上是在一個小紙杯里買幸福。
So, pumpkin spice has our brains good and hacked.
所以,南瓜味讓我們的大腦感覺良好,并被它侵入了。
We drink it in lattes and put it in candles because everyone else is doing it,
我們在拿鐵里喝它,把它放進蠟燭里,因為其他人都在做,
because we can't have it all the time, and because it literally makes us feel good.
因為我們不能一直擁有它,因為它真的讓我們感覺很好。
None of that is necessarily a problem, though.
但這些都不是問題,
Y'know, assuming you don't spend your entire paycheck at the coffee shop.
前提是你沒有把全部薪水都花在咖啡店里。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感謝您收看本期的心理科學秀!
If you're interested in learning about what's really in a pumpkin spice latte,
如果你有興趣了解南瓜味拿鐵里有什么,
and the chemistry that goes into flavor science in general,
以及味道科學中的化學過程,
you can watch our video about that on the main SciShow channel.
你可以在科學秀主頻道觀看我們的視頻。