Why Stand in Line on Black Friday? The Psychology Explained

Standing in line is a pain. At the post office. At the box office. At a restaurant.

But on Black Friday, it's an experience.

The first spot outside some Best Buy stores is usually claimed weeks in advance, often by a person in a tent. Shoppers at Walmart will print out maps of the store, with circles around their primary targets. Someone, somewhere, will try to cut in line at a Target, arousing the wrath of the cold, cranky people who played it fair.

At stake are both bargains and bragging rights, turning what would otherwise be a miserable experience into an adventure.

"These queues are quite different than the usual annoying ones we encounter day to day at the A.T.M. or in the subway," said Richard Larson, a professor at M.I.T. who has spent years studying line behavior.

Professor Larson, whose nickname in academic circles is Dr. Queue, said he would never wait in a line on Black Friday himself. The lines, he said, are "once a year, they're exhilarating. They're the kind you might tell your grandchildren about."

Lines test patience, personal space and principles of fairness and rationality, especially on Black Friday, when the crowds can be overwhelming. Still, the promise of a once-a-year score lures hordes of shoppers to queues that start before sunrise — or in some cases, the night before.

J. Jeffrey Inman, a veteran of Black Friday lines and president of the Society for Consumer Psychology, said that many families treat the hours long experience as a bonding ritual and a cherished tradition.

"It's not a chore," said Mr. Inman, who is also a professor of marketing at the University of Pittsburgh. "And there's this layer of competition to it, with people edging forward, getting in their ready stance, because there are only so many of those big screen TVs inside the door."

People may actually gravitate toward longer lines, so they can feel a greater sense of accomplishment once they finally make a purchase. Professor Larson said. "Even if they don't know what the line is for, they reason that whatever's at the end of it must be fantastically valuable."

Billie LeClere, 45, was first in line on Thursday at Walmart in Manchester, Iowa. She said she was a regular Black Friday shopper, but this year, she came with a specific purpose: to get a good deal on a new TV. She and her husband had recently separated, and he had taken the old TV earlier that day.

"The marriage died, not the TV," she said, adding that the experience would give her a sense of accomplishment. "It's going to be nice to have something that's newer — and it's mine, not his."

▍生词好句

claim /kleɪm/: vt. 声明所有权

primary /ˈprʌɪm(ə)ri/: adj. 优先的；主要的；第一位的

cut in line: 插队

arouse /əˈraʊz/: vt. 唤起

wrath /rɒθ/ /rɔːθ/: n. 愤怒

cranky /ˈkraŋki/: adj. 脾气差的

at stake: 成为赌注

miserable /ˈmɪz(ə)rəb(ə)l/: adj. 糟糕的

adventure /ədˈvɛntʃə/: n. 探险

exhilarating /ɛɡˈzɪləreɪtɪŋ/ /ɪɡˈzɪləreɪtɪŋ/: adj. 愉悦的；兴奋的

rationality /raʃ(ə)ˈnalɪti/: n. 理性

bonding /bɒndɪŋ/: adj. 粘合的；聚合的

edge forward: 向前倾

stance /stans//stɑːns/: n. 姿势；立场

gravitate toward /ˈɡravɪteɪt/: 被……吸引