Why are we so attached to our things? - Christian Jarrett

Zakaj smo tako navezani na svoje stvari? - Christian Jarrett

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Matej Divjak

After witnessing the violent rage shown by babies

Potem ko je bil priča srditi jezi dojenčkov,

whenever deprived of an item they considered their own,

kadar so jim odvzeli predmet, ki so ga imeli za svojega,

Jean Piaget, a founding father of child psychology,

je Jean Piaget, utemeljitelj otroške psihologije,

observed something profound about human nature.

dognal nekaj globokega o človeški naravi.

Our sense of ownership emerges incredibly early.

Občutek za lastništvo se pojavi neverjetno zgodaj.

Why are we so clingy?

Zakaj se tako oklepamo stvari?

There's a well-established phenomenon in psychology

V psihologiji obstaja znan pojav,

known as the endowment effect

ki se imenuje učinek imetništva,

po katerem dajemo večjo vrednost stvarem, ko si jih enkrat lastimo.

where we value items much more highly just as soon as we own them.

In one famous demonstration,

V enem od znamenitih poskusov

students were given a choice between a coffee mug

so študentje imeli izbiro med skodelico za kavo

or a Swiss chocolate bar

in švicarsko čokolado

as a reward for helping out with research.

kot nagrado za pomoč pri raziskavi.

Half chose the mug, and half chose the chocolate.

Pol jih je izbralo skodelico, druga polovica pa čokolado.

That is, they seemed to value the two rewards similarly.

Obe nagradi so torej ocenjevali podobno.

Other students were given a mug first

Drugi študenti so najprej dobili skodelico,

potem pa možnost, da jo zamenjajo za čokolado,

and then a surprise chance to swap it for a chocolate bar,

but only 11% wanted to.

a le 11 % je to želelo storiti.

Yet another group started out with chocolate,

Tretja skupina je najprej dobila čokolado

and most preferred to keep it rather than swap.

in večina je ni hotela zamenjati.

In other words, the students nearly always put greater value

Z drugimi besedami: skoraj vsi študenti so večjo vrednost dali

on whichever reward they started out with.

nagradi, s katero so začeli.

Deloma je to povezano s tem, kako hitro tvorimo povezave

Part of this has to do with how quickly we form connections

between our sense of self and the things we consider ours.

med zavedanjem sebe in stvarmi, ki jih imamo za svoje.

That can even be seen at the neural level.

To se vidi celo na ravni nevronov.

In one experiment, neuroscientists scanned participants' brains

V nekem poskusu so znanstveniki skenirali možgane udeležencev,

while they allocated various objects either to a basket labeled "mine,"

medtem ko so različne predmete razporejali bodisi v košaro "moje"

or another labeled, "Alex's."

bodisi v košaro z oznako "Alexovo".

Ko so udeleženci potem gledali "svoje" stvari,

When participants subsequently looked at their new things,

their brains showed more activity

so možgani kazali večjo dejavnost

in a region that usually flickers into life

v območju, ki se aktivira,

whenever we think about ourselves.

ko mislimo nase.

Another reason we're so fond of our possessions

Drugi razlog, da imamo radi svoje stvari,

is that from a young age we believe they have a unique essence.

je v tem, da od zgodnjih let verjamemo, da imajo posebne lastnosti.

Psychologists showed us this by using an illusion

Psihologi so to dokazali z iluzijo,

to convince three to six-year-olds they built a copying machine,

ko so tri- do šestletnike prepričali, da imajo kopirni stroj,

ki lahko napravi popolne kopije česarkoli.

a device that could create perfect replicas of any item.

V izbiri med najljubšo igračo

When offered a choice between their favorite toy

or an apparently exact copy,

ali njeno točno kopijo

the majority of the children favored the original.

je večina otrok izbrala original.

In fact, they were often horrified at the prospect of taking home a copy.

Pravzaprav so se zgrozili nad možnostjo, da bi domov odnesli kopijo.

This magical thinking about objects isn't something we grow out of.

Tega magičnega odnosa do stvari se ne odvadimo.

Rather it persists into adulthood while becoming ever more elaborate.

Vztraja v odraslosti in postaja vse bolj dodelan.

For example, consider the huge value placed on items

Pomislite na vrednost, ki jo pripisujemo stvarem,

that have been owned by celebrities.

ki so bile last zvezdnikov.

It's as if the buyers believed the objects they'd purchased

Kot bi kupci verjeli, da bodo kupljeni kosi

were somehow imbued with the essence of their former celebrity owners.

imeli esenco prejšnjih zvezdniških lastnikov.

Iz podobnih razlogov se mnogi neradi ločimo od družinske dediščine,

For similar reasons, many of us are reluctant to part with family heirlooms

which help us feel connected to lost loved ones.

saj ohranja povezanost z ljubljenimi, ki jih ni več.

These beliefs can even alter our perception of the physical world

Ta prepričanja lahko celo spremenijo naše dojemanje fizičnega sveta

and change our athletic abilities.

ter spremenijo naše športne sposobnosti.

Participants in a recent study were told they were using a golf putter

Udeležencem nedavne študije so povedali, da uporabljajo palico za golf,

once owned by the champion Ben Curtis.

ki je nekoč pripadala prvaku Benu Curtisu.

Med poskusom so menili, da je luknja kak centimeter večja,

During the experiment,

they perceived the hole as being about a centimeter larger

than controlled participants using a standard putter

kot so to menili udeleženci kontrolne skupine s standardno palico,

and they sank slightly more putts.

in prva skupina je ciljala nekoliko bolje.

Although feelings of ownership emerge early in life, culture also plays a part.

Čeprav se občutek za imetje pojavi zgodaj, tudi kultura igra določeno vlogo.

For example, it was recently discovered that Hadza people of northern Tanzania

Nedavno so odkrili, da ljudstvo Hadza iz severne Tanzanije,

who are isolated from modern culture

ki je izolirano od moderne kulture,

don't exhibit the endowment effect.

ne kaže občutka imetništva.

That's possibly because they live in an egalitarian society

Morda zato, ker živijo v enakopravni družbi,

kjer se skoraj vse deli.

where almost everything is shared.

At the other extreme, sometimes our attachment to our things can go too far.

Po drugi strani naša navezanost na stvari včasih gre predaleč.

Del razlogov za motnjo kopičenja stvari je pretiran občutek odgovornosti

Part of the cause of hoarding disorder is an exaggerated sense of responsibility

and protectiveness toward one's belongings.

in zaščitniškega odnosa do lastnine.

That's why people with this condition find it so difficult to throw anything away.

Zato ljudje s to motnjo težko kaj vržejo stran.

What remains to be seen today

Ugotoviti pa moramo še,

is how the nature of our relationship with our possessions

kako se odnos do lastnine

will change with the rise of digital technologies.

spreminja z vzponom digitalne tehnologije.

Many have forecast the demise of physical books and music,

Mnogi so napovedali zaton fizičnih knjig in glasbe,

but for now, at least, this seems premature.

a to se za sedaj zdi preuranjeno.

Perhaps there will always be something uniquely satisfying

Morda bo vedno nekaj posebno zadovoljujočega

about holding an object in our hands and calling it our own.

v držanju stvari v rokah in védenju, da so naše.