TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Christian Jarrett: Why are we so attached to our things?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

After witnessing the violent rage shown by babies whenever deprived of an item they cnosidered their own, Jean Piaget, a founding father of child psychology, observed something profound about human nature. Our snese of ownership egmeres ieibnlrdcy early. Why are we so clingy? There's a well-established phenomenon in psychology known as the endowment effect where we value items much more highly just as soon as we own them. In one famous demonstration, students were given a choice between a coffee mug or a Swiss chocolate bar as a reward for hilnepg out with research. Half chose the mug, and half chose the chocolate. That is, they seemed to value the two rraweds similarly. Other students were given a mug first and then a surprise chance to swap it for a chocolate bar, but only 11% wanted to. Yet another group started out with chocolate, and most preferred to keep it rather than swap. In other wdors, the students nearly always put greater value on whichever reward they started out with. Part of this has to do with how quickly we form ctninoecons between our sense of self and the things we consider ours. That can even be seen at the neural level. In one eemrepxnit, nsnsutoctireies scanned participants' brains while they atcaleold various objects either to a basket labeled "mine," or another labeled, "Alex's." When participants subsequently looked at their new things, their birans showed more activity in a roiegn that usually flickers into life whenever we think about ourselves. Another reason we're so fond of our possessions is that from a yunog age we believe they have a unique ecesnse. Psychologists showed us this by using an iillsuon to convince three to six-year-olds they built a copying mainhce, a device that could create perfect replicas of any item. When offered a ciohce between their favorite toy or an apparently exact copy, the majority of the children favored the original. In fact, they were often horrified at the prospect of taking home a copy. This magical tikhnnig about oecbjts isn't something we grow out of. Rather it persists into adulthood while becoming ever more elaborate. For example, consider the huge value placed on items that have been oewnd by ciebirteels. It's as if the buyers believed the objects they'd purchased were somehow imbued with the essence of their former celebrity owners. For similar reasons, many of us are reluctant to part with falmiy heirlooms which help us feel connected to lost loved ones. These beeifls can even alter our perception of the physical world and change our athletic abilities. Participants in a recent study were told they were using a golf putter once owned by the champion Ben Curtis. During the experiment, they perceived the hole as being about a centimeter larger than controlled participants using a standard puettr and they sank slightly more putts. Although feelings of ownership emerge early in life, culture also plays a part. For example, it was recently discovered that Hadza people of nerthron Tanzania who are isolated from modern culture don't exiihbt the endowment ecffet. That's possibly because they live in an egalitarian society where almost everything is shared. At the other extreme, sometimes our attachment to our things can go too far. Part of the cause of hrdnioag disorder is an exaggerated sense of responsibility and protectiveness toward one's boengignls. That's why people with this coindiotn find it so duclfifit to throw anything away. What rieanms to be seen today is how the nature of our relationship with our possessions will change with the rise of digital technologies. Many have foacesrt the demise of physical books and music, but for now, at least, this seems premature. Perhaps there will always be something uniquely satisfying about holding an object in our hands and caillng it our own.

Open Cloze

After witnessing the violent rage shown by babies whenever deprived of an item they __________ their own, Jean Piaget, a founding father of child psychology, observed something profound about human nature. Our _____ of ownership _______ __________ early. Why are we so clingy? There's a well-established phenomenon in psychology known as the endowment effect where we value items much more highly just as soon as we own them. In one famous demonstration, students were given a choice between a coffee mug or a Swiss chocolate bar as a reward for _______ out with research. Half chose the mug, and half chose the chocolate. That is, they seemed to value the two _______ similarly. Other students were given a mug first and then a surprise chance to swap it for a chocolate bar, but only 11% wanted to. Yet another group started out with chocolate, and most preferred to keep it rather than swap. In other _____, the students nearly always put greater value on whichever reward they started out with. Part of this has to do with how quickly we form ___________ between our sense of self and the things we consider ours. That can even be seen at the neural level. In one __________, _______________ scanned participants' brains while they _________ various objects either to a basket labeled "mine," or another labeled, "Alex's." When participants subsequently looked at their new things, their ______ showed more activity in a ______ that usually flickers into life whenever we think about ourselves. Another reason we're so fond of our possessions is that from a _____ age we believe they have a unique _______. Psychologists showed us this by using an ________ to convince three to six-year-olds they built a copying _______, a device that could create perfect replicas of any item. When offered a ______ between their favorite toy or an apparently exact copy, the majority of the children favored the original. In fact, they were often horrified at the prospect of taking home a copy. This magical ________ about _______ isn't something we grow out of. Rather it persists into adulthood while becoming ever more elaborate. For example, consider the huge value placed on items that have been _____ by ___________. It's as if the buyers believed the objects they'd purchased were somehow imbued with the essence of their former celebrity owners. For similar reasons, many of us are reluctant to part with ______ heirlooms which help us feel connected to lost loved ones. These _______ can even alter our perception of the physical world and change our athletic abilities. Participants in a recent study were told they were using a golf putter once owned by the champion Ben Curtis. During the experiment, they perceived the hole as being about a centimeter larger than controlled participants using a standard ______ and they sank slightly more putts. Although feelings of ownership emerge early in life, culture also plays a part. For example, it was recently discovered that Hadza people of ________ Tanzania who are isolated from modern culture don't _______ the endowment ______. That's possibly because they live in an egalitarian society where almost everything is shared. At the other extreme, sometimes our attachment to our things can go too far. Part of the cause of ________ disorder is an exaggerated sense of responsibility and protectiveness toward one's __________. That's why people with this _________ find it so _________ to throw anything away. What _______ to be seen today is how the nature of our relationship with our possessions will change with the rise of digital technologies. Many have ________ the demise of physical books and music, but for now, at least, this seems premature. Perhaps there will always be something uniquely satisfying about holding an object in our hands and _______ it our own.

Solution

putter
rewards
calling
hoarding
remains
connections
condition
thinking
sense
belongings
neuroscientists
celebrities
northern
experiment
exhibit
illusion
considered
essence
difficult
words
allocated
objects
emerges
forecast
incredibly
owned
machine
effect
region
family
brains
young
choice
beliefs
helping

Original Text

After witnessing the violent rage shown by babies whenever deprived of an item they considered their own, Jean Piaget, a founding father of child psychology, observed something profound about human nature. Our sense of ownership emerges incredibly early. Why are we so clingy? There's a well-established phenomenon in psychology known as the endowment effect where we value items much more highly just as soon as we own them. In one famous demonstration, students were given a choice between a coffee mug or a Swiss chocolate bar as a reward for helping out with research. Half chose the mug, and half chose the chocolate. That is, they seemed to value the two rewards similarly. Other students were given a mug first and then a surprise chance to swap it for a chocolate bar, but only 11% wanted to. Yet another group started out with chocolate, and most preferred to keep it rather than swap. In other words, the students nearly always put greater value on whichever reward they started out with. Part of this has to do with how quickly we form connections between our sense of self and the things we consider ours. That can even be seen at the neural level. In one experiment, neuroscientists scanned participants' brains while they allocated various objects either to a basket labeled "mine," or another labeled, "Alex's." When participants subsequently looked at their new things, their brains showed more activity in a region that usually flickers into life whenever we think about ourselves. Another reason we're so fond of our possessions is that from a young age we believe they have a unique essence. Psychologists showed us this by using an illusion to convince three to six-year-olds they built a copying machine, a device that could create perfect replicas of any item. When offered a choice between their favorite toy or an apparently exact copy, the majority of the children favored the original. In fact, they were often horrified at the prospect of taking home a copy. This magical thinking about objects isn't something we grow out of. Rather it persists into adulthood while becoming ever more elaborate. For example, consider the huge value placed on items that have been owned by celebrities. It's as if the buyers believed the objects they'd purchased were somehow imbued with the essence of their former celebrity owners. For similar reasons, many of us are reluctant to part with family heirlooms which help us feel connected to lost loved ones. These beliefs can even alter our perception of the physical world and change our athletic abilities. Participants in a recent study were told they were using a golf putter once owned by the champion Ben Curtis. During the experiment, they perceived the hole as being about a centimeter larger than controlled participants using a standard putter and they sank slightly more putts. Although feelings of ownership emerge early in life, culture also plays a part. For example, it was recently discovered that Hadza people of northern Tanzania who are isolated from modern culture don't exhibit the endowment effect. That's possibly because they live in an egalitarian society where almost everything is shared. At the other extreme, sometimes our attachment to our things can go too far. Part of the cause of hoarding disorder is an exaggerated sense of responsibility and protectiveness toward one's belongings. That's why people with this condition find it so difficult to throw anything away. What remains to be seen today is how the nature of our relationship with our possessions will change with the rise of digital technologies. Many have forecast the demise of physical books and music, but for now, at least, this seems premature. Perhaps there will always be something uniquely satisfying about holding an object in our hands and calling it our own.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
endowment effect	2

Important Words

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