We all know money buys luxuries like sports cars and Manolo Blahniks, necessities like groceries, and intangibles like preferential treatment. （When was the last time Donald Trump waited in line for anything?） Now there is evidence that just counting money can produce valuable psychological benefits. According to a new study published in the journal Psychological Science, thumbing through your cash can reduce emotional and physical pain as well as increase feelings of internal strength, fearlessness and confidence. The study also finds that there is an equally true flip side to this coin: When people are reminded of their recent spending, they report higher levels of both psychological and physical distress.

    Focusing on the symbolic power of money, the study's authors, Xinyue Zhou of Sun Yat-Sen University, Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota and Roy Baumeister of Florida State University, started with a simple hypothesis: reminders of money can alter how people experience social interactions - especially social acceptance and rejection.

    To test the idea, the researchers took the following approach: 84 students at a Chinese university were divided into two groups. One group counted 80 large-denomination bills; the other group parceled out 80 pieces of plain paper. All participants then played an online video game in which, using game controls, they could throw a ball and play catch with other Internet players. But the game was rigged so that after 10 throws, half the students would no longer get the ball thrown to them, while the rest of the students continued to play catch. When the game ended, participants who had been excluded from the second round of catch rated their level of social distress and how strong they felt. Those who had counted money before being socially excluded reported lower levels of social distress than those who had counted only paper. Additionally, the participants who had counted money also reported greater feelings of inner strength and self-sufficiency.

    To see if counting money also reduces physical pain - previous research indicates that psychological and physical pain are experienced in a similar way - the researchers repeated the earlier social-exclusion test, except this time they replaced the ball game with a pain-sensitivity task, in which half the participants were put in a moderate-pain condition （their hands were immersed in warm water）, while the other half were subjected to a high-pain condition （hands were immersed in very hot water）. Again, those who had counted money reported lower levels of pain.

    To complete their study, the researchers conducted additional experiments. They also found that reminders of having spent money aggravated feelings of social distress and that both social rejection and ideas of physical discomfort fueled participants' desire for money as well as made them less generous.

    So what does any of this mean for people in the real world - especially in this down-and-out economy? One implication, not entirely surprising, is that a job loss may pose an additional challenge. A layoff is a kind of rejection, and that could increase a person's desire for money at the same time he or she has less than before, says Vohs of the University of Minnesota. Put another way: "The recession can make [people] crave what they can't have," she says.

    Fortunately, the research also offers a possible solution for landing a new job. "It might be handy to sit down and count a stack of money before going out to the job interview," says Baumeister of Florida State University. Another option? "Set up a screensaver that shows money," says Vohs. "That might help ameliorate some of those feelings of being rejected."

    And while money can't buy love, counting it could help you find that special person. "Maybe young men who are going out to bars to try to meet women should count money," muses Baumeister. "I gather they have to approach a lot and get rejected a lot. I am not a specialist in bars, but it would make the men feel strong and probably make them not as bothered about being rejected over and over."

    眾所周知，錢可以買到跑車和莫諾羅·布拉尼克斯牌女鞋這樣的奢侈品，也可以買到食品等必需品，以及優惠待遇一類的無形資產。（地產大亨唐納·川普最后一次排隊領取免費贈品在什么時候？）現在，有充分證據表明，數錢能產生有用的心理裨益。根據發表在《心理科學》雜志上的一項新研究，點鈔能減少心理和生理疼痛，也能增加內在動力、無畏和信心等情緒。研究也發現，就像一個硬幣有正反兩面，數錢也同樣有另一面：當想到最近的消費情況時，人們報告的心理和生理痛苦程度要高些。

    此項研究的發起人--中山大學的周欣悅，明尼蘇達大學的凱瑟琳·佛賀斯及佛羅里達州立大學的羅伊·鮑邁斯特，集中研究金錢的象征性力量，他們從一個簡單的假設開始：想到錢，能改變人們在社會交往--尤其是社會認可和排斥中的感受。

    為驗證這一想法，研究者采取了下列方法：將84個中國大學生分為兩組。一組點數80張大面額紙幣；另一組分發80張普通的紙。然后所有參與者玩一個在線視頻游戲，他們使用游戲控制，可以跟其他網絡玩家一起投球和接球。但研究者操縱了這個游戲，10次投球后，一半學生無法再接到傳給他們的球，而剩下的學生則繼續傳球。游戲結束時，在第二輪傳球中出局的學生評價了他們的社交窘迫程度及感覺有多么沮喪。受到社交排斥后，那些之前數錢的人報告的社交窘迫程度，較那些僅僅數紙片的人要低一些。此外，數錢的參與者也報告稱內在動力和自我滿足的感覺更強。

    為了調查數錢是否也會減輕生理疼痛--先前的研究表明心理和生理的疼痛可以同樣的方式感受到--研究者重復了之前的社交排斥試驗，但這一次，他們把球類游戲換成了疼痛敏感性任務，一半參與者處于中度疼痛狀況下（他們的手浸在溫水里）,而另一半則遭受了高度疼痛的狀況（手浸在滾燙的水中）.再次地，數錢的人報告的疼痛程度較低。

    為完善這項研究，研究者進行了更多的試驗。他們也發現，想到消費情況會惡化社交窘迫情緒，而且社交排斥和生理不適的念頭激起了參與者對錢的渴望，也讓他們變得不那么慷慨大方。

    那么，這對現實世界--尤其是經濟狀況窮困潦倒--的人意味著什么呢？明尼蘇達大學的佛賀斯說，不足為奇，一個影響是失業可能造成另外的挑戰。裁員是一種排斥，可能增加人們對金錢的渴望，此時他們荷包里的錢比以前少。換句話，她說："經濟衰退讓人們對他們無法擁有的東西念念不忘。"

    幸運的是，研究也為找到新工作提供了一個可行的解決辦法。佛羅里達州立大學的鮑邁斯特說，"出門面試前，不妨坐下來數一疊錢，"其他選擇呢？"設置一個金錢畫面的屏幕保護程序，"佛賀斯說，"有助于改善一些受排斥的情緒。"

    錢并不能買到愛情，而數錢則可能幫你找到親密愛人。"也許泡吧的小伙子要認識女孩，應該數數錢，"鮑邁斯特喃喃自語，"我想他們接近了很多女孩，也被拒絕了很多次。我不是一個泡吧專家，但數錢會讓小伙子們感覺強壯有力，這樣他或許不會因再三被拒而煩惱不已。"