The Principle of Normality
A normal person says what others say, but does what others do.
The principle captures two distinct features of normality: conformism & the chasm between words and actions. Normal people lack integrity, feeling little need to bring their actions in harmony with their words – or vice-versa.
Example: A normal person will say, “We should do everything possible to fight global warming” – yet donate zero to environmental charities. The cognitive dissonance is alien to them. They speak environmentalist words to echo what they hear. And they donate 0 to mimic what they see other people do.
24
242 reads
CURATED FROM
IDEAS CURATED BY
Life-long learner. Passionate about leadership, entrepreneurship, philosophy, Buddhism & SF. Founder @deepstash.
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about psychology with this collection
How to find common interests
How to be a good listener
How to overcome social anxiety
Related collections
Similar ideas to The Principle of Normality
3 Habits of high EQ people
- Emotionally attuned to others - They can sense any change, show sincere empathy, and offer support or guidance.
- Self-awareness - They are able to see how their unintentional actions or words might have been perceived by others. So they make an effort...
The Impact Of Entertainment In Real Life
People consciously or unconsciously get influenced by what is shown in movies, TV shows and social media, just like kids get influenced by their environment and mimic how their parents talk or behave.
If we ask a 10-year-old kid about what they want to do when they grow up, most will sa...
SOCIAL PROOF
- Ever wonder why TV shows use laugh tracks. It’s so you know when to laugh.
- People will more likely say yes when they see other people doing it too. This is amplified in situations of uncertainty, where we look to others for cues on what we should do.
- Humans are social by n...
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates