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Drunk Tank Pink
And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
Drunk Tank Pink probes the hidden psychological and social influences that shape the way we see, think, feel, and act in the world.
- Anyone who wants to learn about the hidden influences that shape their perceptions and behavior
- Anyone interested in how the weather and scenery affect their moods
- Anyone who thinks their behavior is mostly rational and free of influence from random factors
Adam Alter is a New York University psychology and marketing professor whose research deals with behavioral economics and the psychology of judgment and decision making. He has contributed to magazines such as the New Yorker, the New York Times, Psychology Today and Popular Science.
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Drunk Tank Pink
And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
- Read in 16 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 10 key ideas
Synopsis
Drunk Tank Pink probes the hidden psychological and social influences that shape the way we see, think, feel, and act in the world.
Key idea 1 of 10
Your name influences the life you lead by triggering strong mental associations in others.
Guess how many baby “Adolfs” there have been since the Second World War? Hardly any? You’re right.
Parents tend to steer away from names that have strong associations with negative concepts. And the world will forever associate any dear little “Adolf” with right-wing dictatorship.
Besides concepts, we also associate names with demographic information. This means that you can guess a person’s approximate age, gender, ethnicity and even social status from his or her name.
For instance, most people would presume that Dorothy is a white female, Fernanda is Hispanic, and Aaliyah is black.
Studies have even revealed a strong relationship between a mother’s education and the names she chooses for her children. For example, white boys named Sander are much more likely to have mothers who finished college than white boys named Bobby.
What’s more, names even have the power to influence important life outcomes.
For instance, a study showed that job applicants with white names (Emily, Anne, Brad) receive callbacks 50 percent more often than applicants with black names (Aisha, Kenya, Jamal), though their applications were equally strong. This indicates, disturbingly, that names can lead to racial discrimination and shape the life outcomes of the name-bearer.
So we know that our names affect how other people see us, but do they also influence our own behavior?
Most definitely!
Psychologist Jozef Nuttin demonstrated that people like the letters in their own name so much, that they tend to donate more often and more handsomely to causes that share their initials. This meant that after Hurricane Katrina left New Orleans in ruins in 2005, charitable donations from people whose names began with K increased by 150 percent.
Key ideas in this title
- Your name influences the life you lead by triggering strong mental associations in others.
- The labels we use shape what we see, bias our judgments and create false memories.
- Symbols are so powerful that they inspire reactions without us even being aware of them.
- The mere presence of other people changes our thoughts and behavior.
- Our basic drives for safety, love and reproduction influence our thoughts and behavior.
- Our culture greatly influences the way we perceive the world around us.
- Colors play a powerful role by affecting us physically and evoking associations.
- Our physical location and surroundings also play a distinct role in shaping our thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
- The weather has a powerful effect on our mood and behavior.
- Final summary
