Rejection - And why I still try - Page 2

Worldwalker · 03-15-2011, 03:44 PM

I'm not so sure about that. People tend to attribute their own preferred decision-making style to others. That is, if someone makes decisions logically, they will assume other people also make logical decisions. If someone makes decisions emotionally, they will assume other people also make emotional decisions. (that works for honesty, too; don't trust anyone who thinks everyone else is a thief)

Emotional decision-making tends to work against longevity. For example, someone focused on jealousy might think, in response to "you should have someone look at that spot on your neck", "my sister is just jealous that I'm prettier than she is." Hello malignant melanoma. Or if they focus on feelings, it comes out "Why should I go to the doctor when I don't feel bad?" That's not what you want to be thinking when you have high blood pressure. So ascribing emotional motives to other people's logical decisions -- "they discontinued my favorite shampoo because they hate me!" -- may be a sign of making emotional rather than logical decisions, and hence counter-survival.

Marseille · 03-15-2011, 04:59 PM

And if, rather than displaying their decision-making processes, they were actually just trying to cheer someone up -- as nice people are wont to do?

Sometimes when people think everyone is a thief, it's because they got robbed one too many times. Ever watch Maverick? Hmmm, Maverick probably proves both our points.

Worldwalker · 03-15-2011, 05:37 PM

Well, I'm not much of an authority on what nice people do.

Frankly, if someone told me "someone took such-and-such an action for irrational reasons" I'd feel even more depressed. Instead of it being something I can fix (hmm, submitted to the wrong market, need to target better) there's nothing I can do about it, and it could happen again at any time, no matter what I try. Yeah, that would really bum me out. Despite the world's best efforts to prove otherwise, I persist in believing in logical decisions because I couldn't cope with the idea that they're all random.

03-15-2011, 03:44 PM	#16
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I'm not so sure about that. People tend to attribute their own preferred decision-making style to others. That is, if someone makes decisions logically, they will assume other people also make logical decisions. If someone makes decisions emotionally, they will assume other people also make emotional decisions. (that works for honesty, too; don't trust anyone who thinks everyone else is a thief) Emotional decision-making tends to work against longevity. For example, someone focused on jealousy might think, in response to "you should have someone look at that spot on your neck", "my sister is just jealous that I'm prettier than she is." Hello malignant melanoma. Or if they focus on feelings, it comes out "Why should I go to the doctor when I don't feel bad?" That's not what you want to be thinking when you have high blood pressure. So ascribing emotional motives to other people's logical decisions -- "they discontinued my favorite shampoo because they hate me!" -- may be a sign of making emotional rather than logical decisions, and hence counter-survival.

03-15-2011, 04:59 PM	#17
Marseille Guru Posts: 687 Karma: 5700000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: kindle	And if, rather than displaying their decision-making processes, they were actually just trying to cheer someone up -- as nice people are wont to do? Sometimes when people think everyone is a thief, it's because they got robbed one too many times. Ever watch Maverick? Hmmm, Maverick probably proves both our points.

03-15-2011, 05:37 PM	#18
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Well, I'm not much of an authority on what nice people do. Frankly, if someone told me "someone took such-and-such an action for irrational reasons" I'd feel even more depressed. Instead of it being something I can fix (hmm, submitted to the wrong market, need to target better) there's nothing I can do about it, and it could happen again at any time, no matter what I try. Yeah, that would really bum me out. Despite the world's best efforts to prove otherwise, I persist in believing in logical decisions because I couldn't cope with the idea that they're all random.