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."

    众所周知，钱可以买到跑车和莫诺罗·布拉尼克斯牌女鞋这样的奢侈品，也可以买到食品等必需品，以及优惠待遇一类的无形资产。（地产大亨唐纳·川普最后一次排队领取免费赠品在什么时候？）现在，有充分证据表明，数钱能产生有用的心理裨益。根据发表在《心理科学》杂志上的一项新研究，点钞能减少心理和生理疼痛，也能增加内在动力、无畏和信心等情绪。研究也发现，就像一个硬币有正反两面，数钱也同样有另一面：当想到最近的消费情况时，人们报告的心理和生理痛苦程度要高些。

    此项研究的发起人--中山大学的周欣悦，明尼苏达大学的凯瑟琳·佛贺斯及佛罗里达州立大学的罗伊·鲍迈斯特，集中研究金钱的象征性力量，他们从一个简单的假设开始：想到钱，能改变人们在社会交往--尤其是社会认可和排斥中的感受。

    为验证这一想法，研究者采取了下列方法：将84个中国大学生分为两组。一组点数80张大面额纸币；另一组分发80张普通的纸。然后所有参与者玩一个在线视频游戏，他们使用游戏控制，可以跟其他网络玩家一起投球和接球。但研究者操纵了这个游戏，10次投球后，一半学生无法再接到传给他们的球，而剩下的学生则继续传球。游戏结束时，在第二轮传球中出局的学生评价了他们的社交窘迫程度及感觉有多么沮丧。受到社交排斥后，那些之前数钱的人报告的社交窘迫程度，较那些仅仅数纸片的人要低一些。此外，数钱的参与者也报告称内在动力和自我满足的感觉更强。

    为了调查数钱是否也会减轻生理疼痛--先前的研究表明心理和生理的疼痛可以同样的方式感受到--研究者重复了之前的社交排斥试验，但这一次，他们把球类游戏换成了疼痛敏感性任务，一半参与者处于中度疼痛状况下（他们的手浸在温水里）,而另一半则遭受了高度疼痛的状况（手浸在滚烫的水中）.再次地，数钱的人报告的疼痛程度较低。

    为完善这项研究，研究者进行了更多的试验。他们也发现，想到消费情况会恶化社交窘迫情绪，而且社交排斥和生理不适的念头激起了参与者对钱的渴望，也让他们变得不那么慷慨大方。

    那么，这对现实世界--尤其是经济状况穷困潦倒--的人意味着什么呢？明尼苏达大学的佛贺斯说，不足为奇，一个影响是失业可能造成另外的挑战。裁员是一种排斥，可能增加人们对金钱的渴望，此时他们荷包里的钱比以前少。换句话，她说："经济衰退让人们对他们无法拥有的东西念念不忘。"

    幸运的是，研究也为找到新工作提供了一个可行的解决办法。佛罗里达州立大学的鲍迈斯特说，"出门面试前，不妨坐下来数一叠钱，"其他选择呢？"设置一个金钱画面的屏幕保护程序，"佛贺斯说，"有助于改善一些受排斥的情绪。"

    钱并不能买到爱情，而数钱则可能帮你找到亲密爱人。"也许泡吧的小伙子要认识女孩，应该数数钱，"鲍迈斯特喃喃自语，"我想他们接近了很多女孩，也被拒绝了很多次。我不是一个泡吧专家，但数钱会让小伙子们感觉强壮有力，这样他或许不会因再三被拒而烦恼不已。"