So if I’m with a bunch of people from my class, and I already know who’s considered “high status”, and none of us have any major conflict of interest that would make us want to assess whether or not the others are allies or not, wouldn’t we all just be broadcasting generic “I like you well enough and consider you pretty much an equal, except in the context of this and this and this fact which we already both know quite well” signals? Go to a party with thirty people, and unless someone’s committed the faux pas of inviting my arch-enemy, I do this thirty times. If anything, this seems even less interesting than literally talking about the weather.
If you can recommend a good free source of information that explains this (or a book that’s worth the money), even better.
If you’re in a social situation that is without drama, then the social subcommunications will be relatively uninteresting.
However, there are many interactions where this will not be the case, e.g. dating/romance, probably business events that involve alliance and conflicting interest.
So if I’m with a bunch of people from my class, and I already know who’s considered “high status”, and none of us have any major conflict of interest that would make us want to assess whether or not the others are allies or not, wouldn’t we all just be broadcasting generic “I like you well enough and consider you pretty much an equal, except in the context of this and this and this fact which we already both know quite well” signals? Go to a party with thirty people, and unless someone’s committed the faux pas of inviting my arch-enemy, I do this thirty times. If anything, this seems even less interesting than literally talking about the weather.
If you can recommend a good free source of information that explains this (or a book that’s worth the money), even better.
EDIT: Yeah, what Wei Dai said.
If you were a character in a sitcom I was writing, I’d have your dream girl walk in just as you were saying that.
BenAlbahari, that is mean—but funny!
If you’re in a social situation that is without drama, then the social subcommunications will be relatively uninteresting.
However, there are many interactions where this will not be the case, e.g. dating/romance, probably business events that involve alliance and conflicting interest.
This mirrors my experience, but then how come other people, whose lives are generally just as boring as mine, seem to like parties?
Innate need to socialize, probably?