送礼的学问：越重越好？

The 17th-century French tragedian Pierre Corneille wrote: “The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.”

17世纪的法国悲剧作家皮埃尔·高乃依(Pierre Corneille)写道：“送礼在于送，不在于礼。”

He had a point, according to Charles Spence, head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford.

牛津大学跨模态研究实验室(Crossmodal Research Laboratory)主任查尔斯·斯宾塞(Charles Spence)称，高乃依此话有理。

The professor’s work focuses on how our brains perceive the world around us. His research has demonstrated that high-frequency sounds and curved shapes seem to enhance the sweetness in food, and a wine tastes better if it is heralded by the popping sound of a cork and drunk from a heavy glass. He has partnered with chefs like Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal to create multisensory food experiences, and worked with advertising agencies and marketers at many international brands.

斯宾塞的研究领域是关于我们的大脑如何感知周遭的世界。他的研究表明，高频声音和弯曲的形状，似乎能增强食物中的甜味;软木塞拔出时的爆裂声和沉重的酒杯，能让葡萄酒口感更佳。他与费朗·阿德里亚(Ferran Adria)和赫斯顿·布卢门撒尔(Heston Blumenthal)等大厨合作，打造多感官的美食体验，此外，与广告公司和众多国际品牌的营销人员也有合作。

So, what’s his advice if you want to impress this holiday season?

那么，如果你想在今年的节日季给人留下个好印象，他有什么建议吗?

Bulk it up 给重量加码

“We’ve just published research on eating a box of chocolate,” Mr. Spence said. “If you hide a 30-gram (1 ounce) weight in a box of chocolate, that weight translates to a significant increase in perceived quality of the chocolate.”

“我们刚刚发表了一篇关于吃巧克力的研究报告，”斯宾塞说。“如果你把一个30克(1盎司)的重物藏在一盒巧克力里，能显著改善对巧克力品质的印象。”

There are exceptions, but the association between weight and the perception of luxury applies to numerous items including tableware, cutlery, perfume and wine, Mr. Spence said. “That’s why in a restaurant, a sommelier might subtly give you the bottle to weigh in your hand,” he added.

当然也存在例外，斯宾塞说，不过，体重和奢侈感之间的联系适用于众多物品，包括盘子和刀叉等餐具、香水，以及葡萄酒。“这就是为什么在餐馆里，侍酒师可能会巧妙地把瓶子递到你手里让你掂重的原因。”

Black is basic

黑是基本色

Black is the color most associated with luxury because, Mr. Spence said, “it seems to be the color that we perceive to be the heaviest.”

黑色是与奢华联系最为紧密的颜色，斯宾塞说，这是因为“它大概是我们认为最重的颜色”。

Such luxury cues are learned, rather than innate, so they can change over time. “I’m doing a lot of work on transparency at the moment; premium packaged goods should have a transparent window because it conveys freshness or quality,” he said.

这种关于奢侈的暗示系后天习得，并非先天就有，所以它们也会随着时间的推移而改变。“目前，我在做透明度方面的研究;高级包装的商品应有一个透明窗口，这就能让新鲜度或品质被看见，”他说。

But the trend is recent, the professor added, because “traditionally luxury goods used to have opaque packaging. I think it has to do with the current desire for authenticity.”

不过，斯宾塞补充道，这种趋势是最近才出现的，因为“传统的奢侈品往往采用不透明的包装。我认为这与当下对真实性的渴望有关。”

Layer it on 分层包装

Unnecessary wrapping can be an ecological concern but, when it comes to luxury goods like wine in a presentation case, it does make an impression.

过度包装可能是一个环保问题，但在涉及奢侈品时，比如放在展示盒中的葡萄酒，它的确能给人留下深刻的印象。

“Tissue layers are really good,” Mr. Spence said, “because the crinkle adds an extra sense to the experience.”

“一层层的包装绵纸非常好用，”斯宾塞说，“因为褶皱让人特别有感觉。”

Consider a squirt of fragrance in the box or wrapping, and, if you want to cover all sensory bases, work out some way for classical music to be playing when the gift is opened because we associate it with quality.

想想盒子里或者包装里扑鼻的香味吧，如果你想触及所有的感官，还可以想办法在打开礼物时来点古典音乐，因为我们总是把它与品质联系在一起的。

Engaging several senses at once is beneficial. “The brain combines the inputs from each sense, both to determine what something is, but also to determine a hedonic or reward value,” Mr. Spence said. Also, the more stimuli to the senses, the more activity is produced in the orbitofrontal cortex, a small part of brain situated just behind the eyes. And the more activity there, the more rewarding something is perceived to be.

同时触及多种感官是有帮助的。斯宾塞说，“大脑把每种感官的输入综合在一起，这既可以判断是何物，也能决定享乐或者奖励的价值大小。”此外，对感官的刺激越多，眶额皮层，也就是眼睛后方一小部分的大脑，就越活跃。那里越活跃，人们就会觉得越有价值。

You can go too far 当心做得过火

“Engaging one sense is more effective, but you can potentially have an incongruence if that extra sense doesn’t match the others,” the professor said.

“触及一种感觉会带来更好的效果，不过，如果这种额外的感觉与其他的感觉不配，就有可能造成不协调，”斯宾塞说。

He offered as an example the Portuguese denim brand Salsa, which embedded its jeans with microcapsules of perfume chosen to match the color of the item — a lemon scent to match yellow jeans — and to diffuse over time.

他以葡萄牙的牛仔服饰品牌Salsa为例，这个品牌在牛仔裤里嵌入了香水微胶囊，并且与不同的颜色搭配，比如柠檬味搭配黄色牛仔裤，而且它随着时间而慢慢释放。

“It totally backfired,” said Mr. Spence — who had no part in the project. “It proved too much for consumers.”

“这就完全适得其反了，”斯宾塞说(他本人没有参与到这个项目中)。“这对消费者来说，就做得太过了。”