The Elephant in the Brain_Hidden Motives in Everyday Life

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The Elephant in the Brain_Hidden Motives in Everyday Life Page 43

by Robin Hanson

competitive altruism,20–22

  laughter as,132

  social grooming,17–20

  anonymity,105, 213, 217–218, 337n.54

  aposematism,122

  apparatchiks,290–292, 296, 302

  Arabian babbler,316n.16

  competitive altruism,20–22

  social status,123

  Archimedes,134

  Aristotle,34, 130b, 283, 317n.17

  art

  as adaptation,189b

  changing extrinsic factors,197–201

  definition of,188b

  discernment,203–204

  early humans,187

  as evolutionary byproduct,189b

  extrinsic properties,194

  in humans,192–195

  importance of extrinsic properties,195–197

  impracticality,187, 201–202

  intrinsic properties,194

  parable of bowerbird,190–192, 334n.22

  atheists,264–266, 271, 278, 344n.14, 344n.9

  Atkinson, Bill,84

  autopsies,258, 343n.52

  awareness.See consciousness

  Axelrod, Robert,53–54b

  babbler.SeeArabian babbler

  baboons,18, 20, 23

  badges

  as markers of loyalty,278–279

  political,294–296

  religious,275–276

  Baron, Jonathan,215

  Bateson, Gregory,135

  The Beginnings of Art (Grosse),333n.13

  behavior

  choosing better,307–308

  enlightened self-interest,308–310

  Machiavellian,9, 34–35

  belief-first model, religion,264–266

  beliefs

  explaining religious behaviors,264–266

  loyalty in political,298–299

  supernatural,266, 277–280

  Belofsky, Nathan,245–246

  Benjamin, Walter,199

  Berelson, Bernard,162

  biases

  in academic hiring,293

  in charity,212–214, 215

  cognitive,8

  racial,315n.7

  in studying human nature,25–28, 31

  in voters,287

  Bingham, Paul,49, 50b

  blatant benevolence,217

  blindsight,87

  Bloom, Paul,30, 221, 223

  blushing,325n.4

  BMW,172, 176, 184–185

  body art,188b

  body language,111–127 322n.1, 324–325n.60

  being unaware of,112–113, 126–127

  in discreet communication,67

  dominance,123–125

  honest signals and,114–116

  politics and,119–121

  prestige,123–125

  sex and,116–118

  signals vs. cues,113, 114b

  social status and,121–125

  Boehm, Christopher,3–4, 49, 50b

  Boleyn, Anne,65

  bonobos, laughter,133

  The Book of the Courtier (Castiglione),36

  bowerbirds,190–192, 334n.22

  bragging,48, 54–55, 70, 85, 104

  brand promises, advertising,179

  Brooks, Mel,142

  Brown, Andrew,273

  Buddhist monks,263

  Buffett, Warren,218

  Burling, Robbins,158b

  Burnett, Carol,143

  Burns, Robert,305

  Burr, Bill,147

  Bush, George W.,10, 297b

  Caplan, Bryan,225, 229, 230, 232, 287

  Carnegie, Dale,317n.23

  cartoon drawings, prophet Muhammad,141–142

  The Case Against Education (Caplan),225

  Cassileth, Barrie,247

  Castiglione, Baldassare,36

  Catherine of Aragon (Queen),65

  Catholics,269–270, 278

  celibacy, religious behavior,280–281

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,254

  certification, education,232

  charity,205–223

  anonymous donations,213

  appearances matter,217–221, 337n.52

  compassion,217, 220–223

  effective altruism,206–208

  marginal,222–223

  mating motives and,216–217

  missing forms of,221–223

  peer pressure and,214–215

  prosocial norms,271–272

  proximity and,215

  real-world altruism,208–211

  relatability and,216

  U.S. charitable donations (2014),209t, 335n.11

  visibility of,212–214

  warm glow theory,211–212, 335–336n.21

  Charles II (King),245–246, 259

  Charlie Hebdo (magazine),141

  Cheater, self-deception archetype,84–85

  cheating,59–71

  common knowledge,61–63

  cutting in line,43

  detection,60

  discreet communication,65, 66–68

  discretion,63–65

  minor sins,70–71

  norm enforcement,64–65

  norm-evasion scenarios,60–61

  pretexts,65–66

  reason for,59

  religion,268

  scalping tickets,63–64

  shame,60

  skirting norms,65, 69–70

  Cheerleader, self-deception archetype,84

  Chimpanzee Politics (De Waal),34, 317n.18

  chimpanzees

  encephalization quotient,29f

  laughter,132, 133–134

  play signals,135

  political behavior,34–35

  proto-norm enforcement,318n.5

  social grooming,18

  Christianity,265, 278

  Christians,271, 274, 276, 278

  Christian Scientists,247, 263

  Churchill, Winston,286

  Chwe, Michael,62, 145, 184, 332n.16, 332–333n.31

  citizenship,228, 283

  Civil War,300

  Clinton, Bill,192

  cliques.Seecoalitions

  clothing,173, 176, 177, 178

  coalitions,35–36

  competition among,37, 300

  loyalty and,291–292, 296, 298

  weapons and,49–51b

  see alsocoalition politics; politics

  coalition enforcement,49

  coalition politics,35–36, 37, 283

  cognitive neuroscience,92

  cognitive psychology,7, 8–9

  collective enforcement,49

  common knowledge,61–63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 121, 275, 319n.10

  communication

  cryptic,67, 68

  degrading a channel of,78

  discreet,65, 66–68

  laughter as,133–134, 136

  nonverbal.Seebody language

  pheromones,118–119b

  see alsolanguage

  community

  mating strategies,272–273

  religion,267–281

  compassion

  charity,217, 220–223

  Christian virtue,275

  planned donations,337–338n.61

  virtue of,271, 274

  competition,13, 25–41

  education,234

  politics,34–37

  sex,31–32

  role of signals,38–40

  social status,32–34, 316n.7

  competitive altruism,20–22, 310

  compromise, disdain for,299

  confabulation.Seerationalization

  Confucianism,345n.27

  consciousness (awareness),4, 87–89, 113

  of body language,113, 126–127

  blindsight,87

  of laughter,129, 131, 145

  lying and,81, 94

  of motives,4–8, 193–194

  of signals,39

  see alsoself-deception; unconscious

  conspicuous care hypothesis,2–3, 242–259

  helping during health crises,258–259

  keeping up with Joneses,254–255

  reluc
tance to question medical quality,257–258

  signs of medical quality,256–257

  testing,254–259

  treatments requiring effort and sacrifice,255–256

  conspicuous compassion, charity,217

  conspicuous consumption.Seeconsumption

  conspire, etymology,66

  consubstantiation,347n.57

  Consumer Reports,207

  consumption,169–185

  advertising,179–185

  clothing,173, 176

  conspicuous,7, 169–170, 219–220, 236

  education,236

  environmental products,170–172

  housing,176

  inconspicuous,174–176

  leisure society,169–170

  Obliviation (thought experiment),175–178

  personal use vs. showing off,175t

  product variety,176–178

  services and experiences,173

  signals,172–173, 331n.11

  voting as,295

  conversation

  academic research,164–166

  benefits of speaking,152–155

  costs and benefits of,150–152

  criterion of relevance,154–155, 159

  greedy listeners,153

  listening,151–152, 158–159

  news,161–164

  prestige,160–161

  reciprocity,152–155

  sharing information,149–150, 159–160

  see alsolanguage

  cooperation,13, 26

  coalitions,35–36

  ecological challenges,26–27

  education,240

  enlightened self-interest vs.,308–310

  religion,268

  Corona beer, advertising,179–180, 184

  corpus callosotomy,92–93

  Cosmides, Leda,59

  counterfeit reasons

  introducing the Press Secretary,96–100

  “motives” and “reasons,”95b

  rationalization,94–96

  rationalization in real life,103–105

  sneaking past the gatekeeper,100–103

  split-brain experiments,92–94

  countersignaling,40

  courtship display, human art,192

  costly signals.See honest signals

  credentials, education,234–235

  crimestop,321n.44

  The Critique of Judgment (Kant),325–326n.8

  Crohn’s disease,104

  cryptic communication,67, 68

  cues, body language,114b

  currying favor, norm against,55–56, 85

  Darwin, Charles,23, 113, 130, 325n.4

  Darwin Awards (website),143–144

  da Vinci, Leonardo,195

  Davison, W. Phillips,181

  Dawkins, Richard,316n.19, 344n.14

  Debt (Graeber),44

  deception,38, 73. See alsoself-deception

  defense mechanism, self-deception as,75–77

  democracy,285–286, 296, 299

  Democrats,292, 293, 297b, 349n.29, 349–350n.32

  deniability.Seeplausible deniability

  Dennett, Dan,97, 98, 99, 344n.14

  Descartes, Rene,130b

  Dessalles, Jean-Louis,151, 155

  de Tocqueville, Alexis,310

  de Waal, Frans,34, 35

  Diana (Princess),210, 218

  disability denial,95

  discernment

  artistic,203–204

  in bowerbirds,191

  discreet communication,65, 66–68

  discretion,319n.19

  cheating,63–65

  self-discretion,88–89

  Dissanayake, Ellen,188b

  domestication, education as,238–240

  dominance

  in babblers,20

  body language,123–125

  in chimpanzees,34–35

  eye contact and,124–125

  vs. prestige,33–34, 123

  reverse dominance hierarchy,49

  social status,33

  Do-Rights

  disregarding vote decisiveness,286–287

  entrenched opinions and strong emotions,288–290

  misadventures in voting,297b

  model of political behavior,284–286

  uninformed voters,287–288

  see alsopolitics

  drinking in public,60, 61, 63

  Dunbar, Robin,19, 119

  Duncan, Isadora,114

  Durkheim, Émile,267, 345n.26

  Eastman, Max,132, 134, 138

  economic puzzles,9

  education,225–240

  beneficiary of charity,209, 209t

  certification,232

  designing institutions,311

  domestication,238–240

  improvement,232

  learning puzzles,226–230

  marginal returns,230, 338–339n.13

  propaganda,236–238

  Prussian model,237, 340n.24

  school starting times,229, 338n.11

  sheepskin effect,227

  signaling model,230–234

  Edwards, Jonathan,318n.29

  effective altruism,206–208, 211, 212, 223, 307

  egalitarianism,47–48, 49, 121, 172, 240

  Einstein, Albert,123, 240

  elephant,5–6b

  elephant in the book,166–167

  elephant in the brain,ix, 1, 6f

  putting to use,304–312

  elephant in the room,1

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo,4, 218

  “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (Andersen),61–62

  employment,169, 330–331n.2

  end-of-life medical care,2, 250, 256, 343n.44

  The Enjoyment of Laughter (Eastman),134

  enlightened self-interest,308–310

  environmentally friendly products, consumption,170–172

  Ethan Frome (Wharton),67

  euphemisms,4, 68

  evolutionary biology,30

  gene-centered theory of,316n.19

  signals and signaling,38–40

  evolutionary psychology,7, 59, 347–348n.60

  The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Darwin),113

  eye contact,8, 112, 117, 124–125, 213

  eye cues,318n.6

  Facebook,55, 164, 173, 220

  factions.Seecoalitions

  faith,262–263, 265, 270, 347n.58

  The Family Circus (comic strip),137

  Federal Communications Commission,69

  Fenichel, Otto,75

  fertility,270, 272–273, 346n.36

  financial crisis (2008),10

  Financial Times (magazine),174

  Fisher, Ronald,316n.19

  fitness display theory

  discernment,203–204

  human art,192, 194, 196, 334n.26

  impracticality of,201–202

  flattery,55, 85

  flirting,70, 85, 126–127

  The Folly of Fools (Trivers),74, 77

  food

  as art form,202

  rituals of sacrifice,269

  foragers

  lifestyle,45–48

  medicine and,243–244

  Frank, Robert,308

  Franklin, Benjamin,222, 310

  Freud, Anna,75, 89

  Freud, Sigmund,6–7, 75, 86, 89, 130b

  Gadsden, Christopher,48

  Gallie, Walter Bryce,188b

  Game of Thrones (television show),36

  gangs.Seecoalitions

  Gates, Bill,218, 235

  Gatto, John,340n.37

  Gazzaniga, Michael,92–94, 96

  Geehr, Carly,59

  gestures,323n.14

  Gingrich, Newt,317n.18

  GiveDirectly,207

  GiveWell,207–208, 335n.3

  Goodall, Jane,132

  Google,162

  Gore, Al,297b

  gorillas, laughter,133

  gossip,51–53

  Graeber, David,44

  Great Purge,33, 317n.14, 349n.24

  “green” p
roducts,170–172

  Griskevicius, Vladas,88, 171, 217, 218, 219, 337n.49

  grooming.Seesocial grooming

  Grosse, Ernst,333n.13

  group interest, political self-interest vs.,294

  The Gulag Archipelago (Solzhenitsyn),290

  Haidt, Jonathan,86, 87, 97, 267, 284

  Hajj,261–262, 262f, 269, 270

  Haldeman, Bob,82

  handicap principle,39, 191, 197, 203. See also honest signals

  hand-kiss, politics,121

  handshake, politics,120–121

  The Happiness Hypothesis (Haidt),86

  Hare Krishnas,274

  Harris, Judith Rich,320n.16

  Hassenfeld, Elie,206, 207

  Hayek, Friedrich,312

  healers,245

  healthcare.Seemedicine

  Heath, Chip,273

  Heibeck, Tracy,113

  Henry VIII (King),65, 262

  hidden motives,225, 303–304

  confronting,307–308

  core idea,4–8

  explanations,233

  institutions,310, 312

  rule of thumb,306b

  understanding your own,305–306

  writing and publishing this book,166–167

  Hierarchy in the Forest (Boehm),3

  hill-climbing,280

  Hinduism,265

  A History of the News (Stephens),161

  Hobbes, Thomas,45, 130b

  Homo sapiens.Seehumans

  Honda Accord,171

  honest (costly) signals,38–39, 114–116, 272

  sacrifice and,269, 271

  see alsohandicap principle

  House of Cards (television show),283

  human behavior

  animal behavior and,22–24

  bipedalism,189b

  capital model,338n.1

  laughter,133–134

  motives,4–8, 13

  nature,9

  playful intentions,136

  self-deception,13–14

  social behavior,11

  humans

  ancestors’ brain volume over time,25, 26f

  art in,192–195

  intelligence,25–30

  laughter,129–131

  Hume, David,91

  humor,130b, 132, 137–138, 327n.34, 327n.41. See alsolaughter

  hunter-gatherers.Seeforagers

  Huntington, Samuel,291

  hypocrisy,4, 278, 304, 310

  choosing better behavior,307–308

  everyday,205–206

  mild,298

  ice bucket challenge,213

  ideals,65, 205, 206, 284, 288, 307, 308, 310

  identifiable victim effect,216

  identity

  political,293

  teenagers,332n.14

  image advertising,180

  incongruity theory, laughter,130b

  inconspicuous consumption,174–176

  indirect reciprocity,310

  individuality, concept of,177

  Industrial Revolution,198, 238, 239

  informal speech,68

  Inside Jokes (book),132

  Inside Out (Pixar movie),86

  institutions,7

  designing,310–312

  norms and,51

  social,9–11

  intelligence

  ecological challenges,26–27

  education and,230–231

  evolution of,25–31

  Homo sapiens,29–30

  humans,25–28

  humans competing in,30f

 

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