152 - Social Mirrors and The MUM Effect

We live our whole life with our biggest flaws on display. Why does no one point them out? Why are people predisposed to “stay mum” about our failings?

Marie Antionette may have never actually uttered the phrase “Let them eat cake” but she sure as hell didn’t hide the fact that she was spending French money to build an expensive play-village on palace grounds, all so she could LARP as silk-wearing peasants with her friends . Meanwhile, the real peasants of France were dying, crushed under an unfair tax system her husband had supported. So why didn’t anyone tell Marie that building an opulent “village” was basically courting the worst kind of optics?

Today, Todd and Joe discuss the ‘MUM Effect’ - a little-known study in the field of Self Awareness that basically explains why nobody bothers to correct our character flaws. A few minutes of advice from a qualified social mirror could save us years of heartache and bad optics, yet nobody speaks up. We also harken back to old episodes about mentors, and why Lyndon B Johnson took criticism on public speaking from his wife. Lastly, we talk about finding our own “mirrors” and discuss the qualifications a mirror should have, especially before we allow them to point out our biggest flaws.

History Links:

https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/taxation/#Tax_farmers

https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/marie-antoinette-facts-life-death-cake-buried/

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/08/31/priority-queens-hamlet-peek-inside-marie-antoinettes-fairy-tale-rustic-village-versailles-loved-act-like-simple-peasant/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBn7iWzrKoI&ab_channel=TED-Ed

Science Links:

https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/sociology/the-mum-effect

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2786156

https://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/social-cognition/mum-effect/