Scrolling through Instagram can quickly convince you that everyone’s life is more interesting than yours. During a particularly adventurous week on Instagram Stories recently, I saw water skiing in Maui, hiking in Yosemite and swimming with wild pigs in Bermuda. I started Googling flights to new places. Then I ordered pho, Vietnam’s national dish, from the same Vietnamese place I eat at every week and returned to the same old routine and…felt bad about not trying somewhere new.
Evolutionarily, human brains tend to find newfangled experiences more exciting and attention-grabbing than repeat experiences. They can’t process all the stimuli(刺激) around us, so we evolved to pay attention to new, flashy and potentially dangerous things more intently than familiar things, which we’ve seen enough to know they’re not dangerous. What’s more, words like ‘repetition’ and ‘repetitiveness’ tend to be associated with more negative emotions.
However, recent research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests we ought to reconsider how we digest those feelings of monotony(单调). Some previous research has painted a negative picture of repeat experiences, saying that doing the same thing twice can feel less valuable. But Ed O’Brien, a professor of behavioral science, wondered whether people actually underestimate how positively they react to repeat experiences.
To test this theory, Mr.O’Brien and his team exposed all participants to the same stimulus once in full(various stimuli were tested, including museum visits, movies and video games). Next, after dividing them into two groups, the first group of participants were asked to imagine repeating the experience, while the second actually did repeat the experience. Counter to previous research, Mr.O’Brien found that across the board, repeat experiences were far more enjoyable than participants predicted. In other words: You’re far more likely to enjoy something the second time around than you think.
“Brand-new experiences are definitely great for enjoyment,” said Mr.O’Brien. “And our studies don’t go against this idea. In many cases, the brand-new option is better. But, what our studies emphasize is that repeat options also might have high hedonic(快乐的) value and might also come with lower costs to acquire than a purely new option.”
7. What did the author think of her own life?
A.It included many exciting things. | B.It depended heavily on social media. |
C.It was highly adventurous. | D.It was boringly repetitive. |
8. How do our brains usually respond to stimuli from familiar things?
A.They may pay little attention to them. | B.They may process them first. |
C.They may feel uncertain of them. | D.They may consider them as positive things. |
9. What is the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 2?
A.fictional | B.fascinating. | C.novel. | D.significant. |
10. What did the second group of participants do during the experiment?
A.They experienced the same stimuli twice. |
B.They imagined their old experiences twice. |
C.They repeated similar activities many times. |
D.They predicted the first group’s experiences. |