I am going to try and sidetrack this a little bit.
Motivational speeches, pre-game speeches: these are real activities that serve to “get the blood flowing” as it were. Pumping up enthusiasm, confidence, courage and determination. These speeches are full of cheering lines, applause lights etc., but this doesn’t detract from their efficacy or utility. Bad morale is extremely detrimental to success.
I think that “Joe has utility-pumping beliefs” in that he actually believes the false fact “he is smart and beautiful”; is the wrong way to think of this subject.
Joe can go in front of a mirror and proceed to tell/chant to himself 3-4 times: “I am smart! I am beautiful! Mom always said so!”. Is he not in fact, simply pumping himself up? Does it matter that he isn’t using any coherent or quantitative evaluation methods with respect to the terms of “smart” or “beautiful”? Is he not simply trying to improve his own morale?
I think the right way to describe this situation is actually: “Joe delivers self motivational mantras/speeches to himself” and believes that this is beneficial. This belief does pay in anticipated experiences. He does feel more confident afterwards, it does make him more effective in conveying himself and his ideas in front of others. Its a real effect, and it has little to do with a false belief that he is actually “smart and beautiful”.
I am going to try and sidetrack this a little bit.
Motivational speeches, pre-game speeches: these are real activities that serve to “get the blood flowing” as it were. Pumping up enthusiasm, confidence, courage and determination. These speeches are full of cheering lines, applause lights etc., but this doesn’t detract from their efficacy or utility. Bad morale is extremely detrimental to success.
I think that “Joe has utility-pumping beliefs” in that he actually believes the false fact “he is smart and beautiful”; is the wrong way to think of this subject.
Joe can go in front of a mirror and proceed to tell/chant to himself 3-4 times: “I am smart! I am beautiful! Mom always said so!”. Is he not in fact, simply pumping himself up? Does it matter that he isn’t using any coherent or quantitative evaluation methods with respect to the terms of “smart” or “beautiful”? Is he not simply trying to improve his own morale?
I think the right way to describe this situation is actually: “Joe delivers self motivational mantras/speeches to himself” and believes that this is beneficial. This belief does pay in anticipated experiences. He does feel more confident afterwards, it does make him more effective in conveying himself and his ideas in front of others. Its a real effect, and it has little to do with a false belief that he is actually “smart and beautiful”.