狄德罗效应：一次消费会改写周围物品的标准

狄德罗得到一件漂亮的红色睡袍以后，原来的家突然显得配不上它。他换掉地毯，添置雕塑、镜子和餐桌，最后连旧草椅也换成了皮椅。一件新东西抬高了参照标准，周围原本还能接受的物品，开始一个接一个显得陈旧。

这就是狄德罗效应。一次购买付出的不一定只有标价，它还可能带来一整套配套消费。新手机需要新耳机和保护壳，新衣服让旧鞋显得不协调，新家具又让整个房间都需要重来。花费从物品本身，扩散到了它所暗示的生活方式。

它和 承诺升级 都会让小决定产生后续成本，理由却不同。承诺升级靠自我一致，狄德罗效应靠物品之间的新标准。新东西有时也会带来有用的整理，所以买之前更实际的问题是：除了这一件，我接下来还会觉得什么也必须一起换掉？

原笔记里的批注：

Note: Story #Insight

The French philosopher Denis Diderot lived nearly his entire life in poverty, but that all changed one day in 1765. Diderot’s daughter was about to be married and he could not afford to pay for the wedding. Despite his lack of wealth, Diderot was well known for his role as the co-founder and writer of Encyclopédie, one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias of the time. When Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia, heard of Diderot’s financial troubles, her heart went out to him. She was a book lover and greatly enjoyed his encyclopedia. She offered to buy Diderot’s personal library for £1,000—more than $150,000 today.* Suddenly, Diderot had money to spare. With his new wealth, he not only paid for the wedding but also acquired a scarlet robe for himself. Diderot’s scarlet robe was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that he immediately noticed how out of place it seemed when surrounded by his more common possessions. He wrote that there was “no more coordination, no more unity, no more beauty” between his elegant robe and the rest of his stuff. Diderot soon felt the urge to upgrade his possessions. He replaced his rug with one from Damascus. He decorated his home with expensive sculptures. He bought a mirror to place above the mantel, and a better kitchen table. He tossed aside his old straw chair for a leather one. Like falling dominoes, one purchase led to the next. Diderot’s behavior is not uncommon. In fact, the tendency for one purchase to lead to another one has a name: the Diderot Effect. The Diderot Effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption that leads to additional purchases 《Atomic Habits》，Location 928

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