don’t, so you don’t stand out (normative social
influence), or you’ll become genuinely convinced that
it’s correct, because so many people keep telling you
so (informational social influence). Cultivating the
ability to not be concerned with – or care about – the
views and opinions of others can allow you to make
more valid and accurate decisions and conclusions.
Others might describe this as ‘antisocial’, but then you
probably can’t trust anything they say.
There’s also the fact that the most common type of
phobia is social phobia; the unreasonable fear of
doing something that results in negative judgment or
embarrassment from others. This can hamper our
ability to do even basic things, like give presentations
or complain about poor service. None of this would
be an issue if you didn’t give a jot about what other
people thought of you, so by assuming that other
humans are insignificant blobs who exist just to
inconvenience you, you might end up getting a lot
more done.
There are even those who have learned to exploit the
brain’s weaknesses when it comes to caring about
others. There are several methods, demonstrated
repeatedly in experiments, which increase compliance.
You can use these techniques to manipulate others
into doing what you want. And many people
(politicians, car salespeople, cold-callers, etc)
frequently use these methods.
There’s the ‘foot in the door’ technique, where
agreeing to a small favour makes you more likely to
agree to larger ones, if they’re of a similar nature.
A friend asks to borrow 50cents for a bus fare, then $2
to buy a sandwich, and then it snowballs until you’re
paying their utility bills.
There’s the ‘door in the face’ technique, where you
refuse a big request, but doing so makes you more
likely to agree to a smaller one. A friend asks to borrow
your car for a week, and you say no. So she asks to
borrow it for the weekend, and you say yes. You feel
like you’re up on the deal, but you’re not. You didn’t
By assuming that other humans
exist just to inconvenience you,
you might end up getting a lot
more done