Choosing Beliefs That Make Us Look Good
This concept describes how people adopt beliefs not for their truth but to project a desired social image, akin to choosing clothing. It involves impression management and signaling, where the goal is to appear a certain way to others, not to persuade them.
THE IDEA
IMAGE: CHOOSING BELIEFS THAT MAKE US LOOK GOOD
When we’re picking out clothing to wear, deciding between suits or jeans, leather or hemp, high heels or high-tops, we implicitly ask ourselves: “What kind of person would wear this? Someone sophisticated, free-spirited, unconventional, down to earth? Is that how I want other people to see me?”
We choose beliefs in a similar way.* Psychologists call it impression management, and evolutionary psychologists call it signaling: When considering a claim, we implicitly ask ourselves, “What kind of person would believe a claim like this, and is that how I want other people to see me?”
Different people like to present themselves differently with their clothing, and the same is true with beliefs. One person might be drawn to nihilism because it makes him seem edgy, while another might be drawn to optimism because it makes him likeable. Still another might gravitate toward moderate positions on controversial issues in order to seem mature. Note that the goal here isn’t to get other people to share your beliefs, the way it is in the case of “Persuasion.” The nihilist isn’t trying to get other people to believe in nihilism. He’s trying to get them to believe that he believes in nihilism.
Just as there are fashions in clothing, so, too, are there fashions in ideas. When an idea like “socialism is better than capitalism” or “machine learning is going to change the world” begins to gain currency in your social circles, you might be motivated to adopt it as well in order to remain fashionable. That is, unless being contrarian is part of your image, in which case an idea’s growing popularity might make you less receptive to it, not more.
Despite all the variety, some preferences about self-presentation are near universal. Almost no one prefers to go around in dirty or stained clothing. Analogously, almost no one wants to hold beliefs that make them look crazy or selfish. So for the sake of our image, we reach for defensible explanations for our behavior, such as “The reason I’m opposed to new construction in my neighborhood is because I’m worried about its impact on the environment. It’s certainly not because I want to keep my own property values high!”
Here again, the inability to understand something can be helpful. I remember sitting with a group of classmates in high school, discussing how someone we knew was bitter about their friend’s recent success. A girl in our group named Dana expressed puzzlement: “Why would someone be jealous of a friend?”
“Aww . . . Dana is so pure she can’t even comprehend the concept of jealousy!” someone said fondly.
“You guys, I really don’t get it!” Dana protested over the chorus of awwww s. “Why wouldn’t you be happy that your friend is happy?”
When to use it
In a job interview, you express enthusiasm for company values to appear aligned, even if you have doubts.
In a political discussion, you take a moderate stance to appear reasonable, rather than stating your true extreme view.
On social media, you share articles that signal your intellectual identity, such as posts about climate change or philosophy.
In a group project, you adopt the popular opinion to avoid standing out, conforming to the group's consensus.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Choosing Clothing to Project an Image
When selecting clothing, people ask themselves what kind of person would wear a particular outfit and whether that aligns with the image they want to project. Similarly, when considering a belief, people implicitly ask what kind of person would hold that belief and if that matches the image they want to show others.
Dana's Innocence About Jealousy
Dana expressed genuine puzzlement about why someone would be jealous of a friend’s success. Her friends interpreted her lack of understanding as a sign of purity, leading them to admire her even more. Appearing unable to comprehend certain negative emotions can improve one's social image.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a belief you hold that makes you look good to your social group. Would you hold it if no one knew?
When you adopt a new idea, are you motivated by truth or by impression management?
Consider a time you rejected an idea because it would make you look bad. Was that justified?
Often confused with
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Scout Mindset (Julia Galef)