The Impact of Learning About Others on Us

People seek symmetry and reciprocity in social relationships, which is a general perception. In other words, they expect the other person in the relationship to put in the same amount of energy or effort that you do. Even if you just encounter someone on a frequent basis for a short period of time, sometimes without even speaking to them, it begins to appear as if a social connection has been established between you and them. This is primarily a psychological effect since the mind begins to recognize the individual. But does this have anything to do with anonymity? In this video released on the Chicago Booth Review’s website, Anuj K. Shah of Chicago Booth and Michael LaForest of Penn State explore this phenomenon being applied to anonymity as well as the influence of learning about others on us feeling less anonymous.

The entire discussion focuses on the fact that learning about others makes us feel as though they know us better as well. It is discovered that this psychological phenomenon is so powerful that it might even serve to stop crime. According to the findings of qualitative interviews conducted with some people who had previously been imprisoned, it came out that when they knew more about an officer, it felt to them like the officer was more responsive to their activities. This placed a wide emphasis on how individuals perceive others in general. He says that we have a tendency to believe that if we know others, they must also know us. He talks about research that was conducted to assess how people see strangers, and the results revealed that learning about others leads us to believe they know more about us. And this influences how we think and act towards others we know more about, even if they may not necessarily know more about us. As a result, Anuj proposes using this case study to help avoid crimes. He advises that officers initiate talks with community people, with the expectation that this will make police more sensitive to community issues. According to the phenomena on which this entire video is based, this will also lead to community people believing that the police were aware of their existence. Finally, how this phenomenon has the potential to be successful in lowering crime rates is examined. It is only a matter of time and a more effective implication approach.

Learning about others causes us to build a sense of familiarity with them, which has the effect of making us feel less anonymous with them, as proposed and explained in this video published on the Chicago Booth Review’s website.