Hello everyone.
Last night, as I lay down to sleep, I said "goodnight" to my partner. This morning at work I said "Thank You" when a co-worker held the door for me. Also this morning, I said "good morning" to countless people. Where is all this going?..... it's about common phrases that we use everyday, but lose the meaning of.
Let me elaborate a little bit on that point. When you say good morning to someone, are you actually hoping that they have a pleasant morning? or do you say it out of social obligation? As humans we have a set of these "parrot phrases" that make our interactions with people easier. In psychology, they are called heuristics ... (a.k.a. shortcuts) and they essentially make it easier for our brains to function. It's like a keyboard shortcut on your computer, whereby you simply hit the right combo for the situation and you don't even really have to think about it. Psychologists use it to explain shortcuts in our judgments and behavior. For example, "I had an experience were a cat bit me, therefore, I hate all cats". The same works for "Thank you" and the other parrot phrases (e.g. "A woman walked into my workplace, I smiled and said 'good morning'") The character in the last example did not say "good morning" because he wished the woman had a nice day.... he said it because it is the social norm for that situation.
Because of these shortcuts in our interactions, I believe we are losing meaning behind our conversations. So from now on, I charge all of you to think about what you say to someone, change it up. That way, they know and YOU know you mean what you are saying. "Get a good rest" "
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| Are our words superficial social norms? |
Let me elaborate a little bit on that point. When you say good morning to someone, are you actually hoping that they have a pleasant morning? or do you say it out of social obligation? As humans we have a set of these "parrot phrases" that make our interactions with people easier. In psychology, they are called heuristics ... (a.k.a. shortcuts) and they essentially make it easier for our brains to function. It's like a keyboard shortcut on your computer, whereby you simply hit the right combo for the situation and you don't even really have to think about it. Psychologists use it to explain shortcuts in our judgments and behavior. For example, "I had an experience were a cat bit me, therefore, I hate all cats". The same works for "Thank you" and the other parrot phrases (e.g. "A woman walked into my workplace, I smiled and said 'good morning'") The character in the last example did not say "good morning" because he wished the woman had a nice day.... he said it because it is the social norm for that situation.
Because of these shortcuts in our interactions, I believe we are losing meaning behind our conversations. So from now on, I charge all of you to think about what you say to someone, change it up. That way, they know and YOU know you mean what you are saying. "Get a good rest" "
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