[Link] How Signaling Ossifies Behavior

Jayson_Virissimo

Here is a new post at EconLog in which Bryan Caplan discusses how signalling contributes to the status quo bias.

The lesson: In the real world, signaling naturally tends to ossify behavior - to lock in whatever the status quo happens to be. If you're an optimist, you can protest, "It's only a tendency." But even an optimist should admit that this tendency leads to atypically slow and unreliable progress.

Here is a new post at EconLog in which Bryan Caplan discusses how signalling contributes to the status quo bias.

The lesson: In the real world, signaling naturally tends to ossify behavior - to lock in whatever the status quo happens to be. If you're an optimist, you can protest, "It's only a tendency." But even an optimist should admit that this tendency leads to atypically slow and unreliable progress.

Meh; what is the state-of-the-art evidence that (modern, western, educated) people actually are huge conformists and will automatically judge weird behaviors negatively?

The existence of sexism, racism, able-ism, transphobia, the lack of gay marriage in the United States (unless we're excluding it from that group?), trans people still can't serve in the US military, anyone who has ever committed a felony isn't even allowed to VOTE, anyone whose sexual orientation includes an interest in anyone under 18 (even if they would NEVER act on it) is potentially subject to violent vigilante mobs hunting them down...

I personally get confronted about 50% of the time I go shopping without wearing shoes, and that seems like it should be a relatively minor trespass. I've been thrown off a bus for it despite having written confirmation that it doesn't violate any of the company's policies.

Some basic experiments should confirm this one. Go to the video store and walk around on all fours, do a three-way makeout session in a high-traffic public area. If you're female, take the bus or go to a restaurant topless (assuming that's even legal where you are - that it's NOT legal in some areas should tell you tons)

There IS definitely a level of weirdness that's tolerated. My general experience is that it goes "no reaction", "being ignored", "people are nervous", and then "people actively want to get away from me". If I put even a bit of thought and creativity in to it, getting to "people are nervous" is pretty easy, but I'm often baffled by what ends up truly getting people to shun me (seriously, bare feet gets me more hate than anything else I've done in my life o.o)

anyone who has ever committed a felony isn't even allowed to VOTE

That example is clearly not about mere intolerance of weirdness: people dislike criminals because they're criminals, not because they're different!

Some of your other examples are more borderline; I agree that for pretty much any behavior related to sex weirdness is judged negatively.

Walking barefooted and on all fours are clearer examples of negatively judging weirdness. I wouldn't have expected bare feet to be the worst!

5savageorange13y

"trans people still can't serve in the US military" You mean people who intend to, are transitioning, or who have? Because if it's the second option, seems like there's a few good reasons (huge mood swings, poor ability to -cope- with said mood swings, unreliable physical performance). "do a three-way makeout session in a high-traffic public area" I presume you mean high foot traffic, because the alternative (say, on a roundabout) would make it materially harder to drive safely. It's interesting that all of your examples seem connectable to hygiene. * Barefeet doesn't present a hygiene risk unless you are in the habit of then jumping on counters or tabletops, but there is a clearly evident superstition that it does. * Walking on all fours transfers germs from the floor to your hands, which is a genuine, though perhaps not very large, risk to anyone who handles a video you've picked up or shakes your hand * Makeouts seem to have some level of 'dirtiness' associated with them. This is not altogether unfounded (transfer of herpes/cold sore bugs is well documented) but doesn't present a passive environmental risk (ie. it's only a risk to others whom you kiss or give oral to.) * Go to a restaurant topless - This doesn't actually have hygiene implications but it's not a great leap for people to think it does. Also if we're talking about staff intolerance, topless people are more vulnerable to food burns in case of accident, particularly given that said toplessness may distract enough to cause an accident. Which probably is significant given how litigous the US is. * Take the bus topless -- I think this is the same as the above but may also present a traffic hazard. I seem to remember someone posting research before, that connected people's sense of morality directly with their sense of hygiene (that is, morally problematic acts actually -felt- physically dirty). Wish I could recall the link.