“升级效应”摆脱负罪感

怎么一出新款手机，你的旧手机就“恰好”被摔坏了？其实，这可能是“升级效应”所致。

If you've dropped, shattered or misplaced your phone more than usual in recent months, there could be a good reason.
如果你近几个月比平时更容易掉手机，摔坏手机，或者把手机放错位置，那你可能真的有充足的理由。

Scientists claim that as soon as a new phone comes out, people tend to act recklessly with their existing phones - without even realising it.
科学家表示，一旦有新款手机面世，人们对现有的手机就更加“肆意妄为”，而自己根本意识不到。

Researchers believe this is because we are conditioned to avoid the guilt of upgrading to a more expensive model without proper justification.
研究人员认为，这是因为人们下意识地为自己给手机升级换代找个理由，以避免“罪恶感”。

They've labelled this phenomenon the 'upgrade effect'.
他们将这种现象称之为“升级效应”。

'We would feel guilty about upgrading without a reason - but if our current product were damaged or depleted, we'd have a justification to upgrade without appearing wasteful,' said Columbia Business School Professor Silvia Bellezza.
哥伦比亚商学院教授西尔维娅说：“没有理由就给手机升级换代，我们会感到罪恶。但如果你现在的手机坏掉了或者不好用了，我们就有理由换手机，而且看起来不浪费。”

'So, we use our phone in the rain or leave our laptop behind at airport security without being aware that our carelessness has an underlying motivation.'
“所以我们会在雨中使用手机，或者把笔记本电脑落在机场安检那里，却意识不到我们的粗心其实有潜在的动机。”

By tracking the figures for the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, the group found that as soon as the 5S was released, iPhone 5 owners spent less time looking for their lost phones.
研究人员还追踪了iPhone 5和iPhone 5S的数据，结果显示，当iPhone 5S发布后，iPhone 5的失主就不再热衷于寻找自己丢失的手机。

The team also looked at an online survey of 602 mobile phone owners and found that the availability of an upgrade would lead to product neglect.
另外，研究小组还对602名手机用户进行了在线调查，发现有新款手机上市时，大家对旧手机就不那么在乎了。

（中国日报网英语点津 yaning）