Adjust Your Brain for Inflation
打破思维定式——通货膨胀
Inflation turns money into a foreign language. The rising cost of gas, food and hundreds of other things is pushing Americans to rethink how they read every price tag. Whether in the produce aisle or the used-car lot, our definition of cheap or expensive has changed, researchers on consumer psychology say.
通货膨胀使得人们不懂钱了。汽油、粮食和各种各样的物品不断涨价，迫使美国人重新调整对于价格的认知。消费心理学研究人员表示，无论是在菜市场或者二手车行,人们对于便宜和贵的定义已经悄然改变。
With the annual inflation rate reaching a four-decade high of 8.5% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans have had to adjust budgets and spending priorities. Financial advisers say this recalibration can't be a one-time effort. Knowing exactly what you are willing to pay for something and examining what is a necessity should be a constant effort.
劳工统计局数据显示，通货膨胀年增长率已经达到了40年来的最高值，3月份的数值达到8.5%，因此人们亟需调整预算和花费的优先级。金融顾问表示，这种调整不是一劳永逸的。清楚你准备在特定事项上花多少钱及判断该支出是否有必要性，这需要我们不懈的努力。
"There's no going back to the way things were," said Scott Rick, associate professor of marketing at the University of Michigan, who studies financial decision making. "You have to update and roll with it."
斯科特·里克（Scott Rick）是密歇根大学市场营销专业研究财务决策的副教授，他表示：“时间不会倒退，我们必须与时俱进。”
The sudden inability to know how to read price tags is especially disorienting to those under age 40, who have never experienced anything like today's inflation rate. Understanding how we think about prices can help us adapt to inflation, Mr. Rick said.
突然不知道如何应对价格变化尤其会让那些不到40岁的人感到茫然，他们从来没有经历过这样的通货膨胀。里克说：“了解我们对于价格的认知可以帮助我们适应通货膨胀。”
What we judge to be a good, or fair, price is influenced by our individual background, income and our mental transaction histories, Mr. Rick said. The prices we pay over and over again like gas or rent are better defined than more occasional purchases, which is why politicians so often trip up when asked to recall the price of a gallon of milk, or older people are still anchored to the prices they paid in younger days.
里克表示，个人背景和以往的消费价格认知都会影响其对价格是否公道合理的判断。比起偶尔的开销，我们对于经常性支出会有更清晰的界定，比如油费和房租价格。这就是为什么政客们通常无法正确地说出一加仑牛奶的价格，而长辈们也总喜欢讲自己年轻时候的物价。
Inflation moves faster than our mind is sometimes willing to adapt. Our understanding of price tags is disproportionately shaped by the items that make up our daily budget. Researchers found that when it comes to gauging inflation expectations, shoppers typically look at the usual items they buy. This small number of items are the ones we use as "mental benchmarks," said David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. This process is known as anchoring.
通货膨胀有的时候变化过快，甚至超出了人们可接受的范围。对于价格的认知极度受到日常开销的物品价格影响。研究人员发现，在估算通胀预期时，顾客通常会关注他们经常购买的物品。布鲁金斯学会哈钦斯财政与货币政策中心的主任大卫·韦塞尔（David Wessel）表示，这一小部分部分物品就是我们的“心理基准”。而这一过程就是锚定效应。
For some people, that benchmark might be the price at the gaspump or how much they pay for a dozen eggs. Others find themselves adjusting their understanding of prices when they spot a price change in their monthly utility bill or their usual coffee order, "and they totally extrapolate that to the economy at large," Mr. Wessel said.
对于有些人而言，心理基准可能是加油站标的油价，亦或是一打鸡蛋的价格。还有人在注意到自己的物业费或者经常点的咖啡价格发生变化后，对价格的认知也随之调整。韦塞尔称：“人们会由此推断出整体经济状况”。
With prices so fluid, Mr. Wessel recommends people research prices online or talk to friends and peers about what they've been paying for a certain item. Our once-stable vocabulary of "cheap" and "expensive" has probably changed for good, and we need to learn to speak this new language. Shake off these memories as best you can and readjust your eyes.
由于价格总是不稳定，韦塞尔建议大家上网做做功课或者和伙伴们谈谈购买特定物品的花费。曾经对于“便宜”和“贵”的理解已经永久改变了，我们必须重新认识这两个词。尽量忘记过去那些回忆，不断调整你的看法。
