Money might not buy you love, but according to some studies in psychology and consumer behaviour, how you spend it could reveal a thing or two about your romantic intentions. These studies demonstrate that just thinking about meeting a new partner can actually impact our shopping decisions – affecting men and women differently.

金钱或许不能为你买来爱情，但根据心理学和消费者行为，你如何消费多少可以反映出你的浪漫心思。如下研究发现，单单想着和新爱侣见面就会影响我们的消费观，男女受影响程度不同。

These studies are largely based on “costly signalling theory” – a model borrowed from evolutionary biology which suggests that conspicuous displays serve a vital function in signalling one’s desirable traits.

研究很大程度上基于“高价信号理论”,这一模型借自进化生物学，人们想要彰显其渴求的特征，而晒出不易获得的事物能发挥至关重要的作用。

In humans, the signals displayed by men and women tend to differ, due to the different traits that are thought to be attractive to the opposite sex based on evolutionary pressures. According to costly signalling theory, men should seek to display their wealth and resources to women, while women should advertise their helpfulness and kindness to men.

对于人类而言，基于进化压力，男女吸引异性的特点不同，男女传递的信号也有所不同。根据“高价信号理论”，男性会寻求向女性显示其财富和资源的机会，而女性则向男性热推其乐善好施的品质。

Men who had romance on their minds were more likely to report that they would spend money on conspicuous luxury goods, for example a new car, a new watch, a new cell phone or a nice holiday. Women, on the other hand, did not increase their desire for luxury goods when thinking about meeting a new partner.

心怀浪漫的男士更有可能把钱花在显而易见的奢侈品上，如新车、新表、新手机和美好的假期。而另一方面，女性想着要见新约会对象时并不会增加她想买奢侈品的欲望。

Surprisingly, this study also found that women who possessed luxury goods were seen by other women as having a more devoted romantic partner.

出人意料的是，这项研究还发现，拥有奢侈品的女性在其他女性看来意味着有一个挚爱的爱侣。

Men are willing to pay more for a conspicuous luxury car after thinking about a romantic rejection. This could be due to their desire to attract a new partner, after having had their self-esteem harmed. However, women show the opposite pattern: they are willing to pay more for a luxury car after thinking about a romantic success, likely because they view the car as a sign of relationship commitment with their partner.

男性若求爱遭拒，思来想去后是愿意花钱买招摇的奢侈轿车的。这可能因为男性在自尊心遭伤害后有吸引新伴侣的欲望。而女性则是相反的模式：她们在认为爱情顺利的情况下才会愿意买豪车的，这很有可能是因为女性把这视为她们爱情不渝的标志。