Coping With Labels
10/25/2022 2:19 PM MST
psychology
Many labels are meant to pin someone down along a spectrum of some quality. For example, someone may be called “stupid” to imply they are lower on the scale vs. someone who is called a “genius.” Around a group of intelligent people, the “stupid” label may apply more to you than if you’re riding public transportation. Also, the proximity to bad decisions can increase the “accurateness” of the “stupid” label, as if you just made a bad decision the label seems more apt than if it occurred long ago in the past.
The purpose of labels is typically to reduce something complex to a symbol. A group of armed militants gain the “dangerous” label saving the mind time to calculate the preciseness of the danger. However, if one was to examine the group in isolation, the members would gain additional qualities which could make the computation more intensive.
One should strive never to use labels when perceiving of things. A label sets expectations which are irrelevant when pure information is arriving. If one is making decisions, one has to use labels to make the situation calculable. However the more labels are used, the more the necessity to update plans on the fly becomes. If the plan succeeds, then the labels that were used gain some credibility. Likewise, if it fails, the labels lose credibility. Of course, the one prescribing labels gains or loses credibility along with the labels they prescribed.
Therefore, it makes sense to assign temporality to insults if they are meant to be constructive. One should describe the logical situation that allows for an improvement or change in the other. Likewise, when one is considering the self, one should only allow for labels that one prefers. Mental calculus will occur automatically to defend a label and so you’re more likely to remain a just holder of the label if you desire to maintain it.
Labels in the simplest sense are meant to control behavior. If you call someone “stupid” often they are more likely to seek others’ approval before making decisions. If you call someone “smart” they learn to trust their own instincts so long as the label still is being applied to them. The wise do both typically. As labels set expectations, they color our perception of non-present memories or plans.
There are two types of labels: strong and weak. Strong labels are ones that are irrefutable or at least one lacks the ability or will to refute them. For instance, someone calling a person in a wheelchair “disabled” is hard to refute, and may be considered an insult.
Weak labels are ones that can be refuted with the right way of thinking. For example, if you make a mistake a someone calls you “idiot” this is a weak label. It has some truth to it, since you just made a mistake, but it is only a passing judgment relative to the person’s compound intelligence. They may otherwise be skilled or educated.
Prescribing a label conjures up the relative differences in the group as well. Returning to the intelligence labels, calling someone “smart” will likely make the group more likely to listen to them as a result, and calling them “stupid” making the group less likely to listen to them.
Any time you refuse a label offered to you, you are rejecting certain behaviors from consideration. If you are labeled “smart” you may be less likely to attend group therapy or seek answers from educated people. You may also encourage other behaviors as well.
Any time you accept a label offered to you, you also accept certain behaviors into consideration. If you accept the label “Christian” for example, you may be more likely to consider being baptized. If you accept the label “Atheist” you may be more likely to attend a science convention. These examples of course are all stereotypical, however the behaviors you adopt or reject will likely be based on stereotype so this is preparatory.