A reminder

The internet is for cats...and the debt ceiling.

From an article

Honestly, why are you driving a BMW?

Olof Johansson-Stenman ∗, Peter Martinsson
Department of Economics, G¨oteborg University, Vasagatan 1, Box 640, SE-40530 G¨oteborg, Sweden
Received 18 June 2002; received in revised form 3 July 2003; accepted 26 August 2004
Available online 20 June 2005


Abstract
This paper proposes that people derive utility not only from goods or their attributes as in standard models, but also from their self-image as influenced by their own perception of their preferences. In a representative survey, most respondents considered their own concern for status when purchasing a car to be minor in comparison with the status concerns of others. Similarly, most individuals considered themselves to be more environmentally concerned than other people. These results are consistent with an extension of the conventional theory where an individual’s self-image is added as an argument in the utility function.

Most people want to give a good impression and be perceived as complying with various social norms in order to gain social approval and esteem. Hence, we have a personal interest in pretending to behave ‘better’ or more in accordance with (possibly local) existing social norms than we actually do; we may, for example, exaggerate our social responsibility or modify our musical taste in the presence of others. Kuran (1995) discusses such “preference falsification” to obtain social acceptance in depth and presents overwhelming evidence that preference falsifications are important for much of human behaviour. This is therefore,
taken as a point of departure in the present paper. For example, if it is considered politically correct to be concerned about the environment, then people have an incentive to overstate their own concern when communicating with others. A possible consequence of this isthat people may believe that others are more environmentally concerned than they actually are.


However, in addition to social norms (see, e.g., Elster, 1989; Young, 1998 for overviews)that we try to fulfill through modified self-presentation in order to obtain social acceptance,there are also personal norms that we try to comply with even when our behaviour is not observable by others (see, e.g., Aaron, 1994; Kuran, 1998a). One reason for this is that we
like to improve or maintain a positive self-image.


Let's go ahead and just get to the gist of this study. Shakespeare pretty much covered at least half of its findings in a much pithier manner, "All the world's a stage." There, I just saved you reading the next fourteen pages of the study.

The equally interesting portion, not the fact that I pretend to like certain types of music in groups, or synchronized swimming during the summer Olympics, rather, that people's perception of themselves is so skewed. Ie, I made this choice because I am a deep thinker. X or y made that choice willy-nilly. And we always say, willy-nilly. This sort of dialogue, common when I'm talking about political ills is perhaps, unfounded. Thus, when I decry the American public's refusal to engage with political issues and make informed decisions, perhaps I'm just attributing their difference of opinion to being ill-informed. Maybe everyone is considering the past ills of deregulation but measuring them out against governmental involvement. Maybe everyone just believes that top down economics result in more jobs for the lower classes, maybe they've considered the radical shift upwards in money in the hands of the wealthy and determined them to be good and honest hard working folks who deserve all that money because of it's relationship to their internal merit. Maybe....

But probably not. Those people are all stupid anyway ;).