The Elephant in the Brain_Hidden Motives in Everyday Life
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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