First Brian, congrats on finishing the London Marathon in a great time despite the lactose acid at the 20 and thanks for doing it for a noble cause, if I can use that adjective after reading this piece on the hubris of status seeking. As a fair-skinned daughter of an ethics professor I turn beet juice red just imagining someone thinks I have cheated is some way. I have such a hard time understanding how people can live with the fear that their chicanery will be disclosed at some point. I have a very similar imagination block understanding how one might feel personal confirmation in a falsified exercise statistic; I feel guilty when my not so smart watch records a workout for me when I have been asleep and I am the only one who sees the stats unless you count the master judge I imagine that is measuring my worth from somewhere inside my watch/iphone. I am NOT bragging. I wish I had more fluidity around the phenomenon of my self-constructed perceptions of how others might judge me. I wish I was a cuddle fish. I am still fascinated and befuddled when I try to put myself in the shoes of, say, Trump’s cabinet members in the 100 day round-the-table orgy of praise and falsification of reality in every aspect af the Regime’s overreach. This is a great piece to give us a social science perspective on the layers of interpretation apropos social cheats and liars but I am still shaking my head as to the personal psychology that emerges or submerges out of the broader social (and cultural?) contexts you elucidate.
Thank you! There are also structural, cultural, and personality reasons why corruption occurs in power (my book Corruptible is all about this). What fascinates me here is the banal corruption of social status seeking in daily life.
Your laudable aversion to dishonesty shows up in some academic experiments, where a significant number of people are ruthlessly honest even when given ample opportunity and rewards in an experiment for cheating.
A possible corollary to being the best hunter of a smallish band, say ~200 souls, is this: In a small group there is a good chance of being best at, or very good at, something. It might be weaving, or making flint spear points, or finding mushrooms. Thus a larger percentage of the small population has social recognition, maybe adding to social balance and cohesion.
This is so interesting. Thanks! Here’s another running story.
Husband and I decided we wanted to run a half-marathon, but we weren’t ready yet. So we paid for our entries, and left a car ½ the way down. We’d run many 10Ks and knew we could do that. We started with everyone else, ran to our car and then drove to the finish line. It was on a county/state road and between two small towns in the Rockies.
We didn’t cross the finish line; that was NOT our intention. We’d paid so we could start with everyone else and be part of the happening. We loved running and the camaraderie.
Imagine our amusement when a fellow teacher who ran the whole thing, saw us on the sidelines cheering him on as he finished. He was shocked that we had evidently run faster than he did. We soon explained, but it was fun for a few minutes. We ran the whole thing the next year.
The phenomenon of “bragging” is nothing new in human history. But I think your assessment of the phenomenon being exacerbated by social media is on target. In “flesh and blood” human communities the braggart is often constrained by the fact that most people eventually find the behavior unpleasant to be around. And if the braggart is a “status cheat” the deception cannot be maintained simply because people know him/her. In the on line world there is not much potential for small victories to be personally validated - such as the runners club where one can be lauded for simply finishing or posting a modest time that is a personal best, only the exceptional stands out. I suspect the runners you describe were solitary runners. If they had been a part of a running community, the deception would have been suspected from the get-go.
Possibly OT, but as an amateur (but decently skilled) performing musician for the past 59 years (but who's counting), that today a lot of people want to be rock stars... prancing around on stage to thunderous applause, but few people really want to learn to play an instrument or sing well enough that they don't need autotune. This sickens me.
Thank you, Brian, for an insightful look at the various "reasons" for deception. It's puzzling how seemingly intelligent and privileged people fall prey to the Dunning-Kruger syndrome, especially when it magnifies their inadequacies and puts them in a spiraling/snowballing deficiency-loop.
Obviously, there are severe consequences when deception is coupled with an insatiable thirst for power/control/survival.
The questions are: how/when does it become unsustainable, and who will end it?
fascinating, brian. thanks this intriguing essay. and hey, 11,000th aint bad! no mater your ranking in the marathon, you were there doing it and for a good cause www.unicef.org and that's tops!
I've been extremely lucky in my work and ironically because my ex was VERY "positional." I was trundling along doing an English PhD just because I loved it, and he decided that I'd never make money at it (probably true) and insisted I go to law or business school. I chose law, and discovered I loved it, intellectually, as much as studying lit (they actually have a lot in common as to the reasoning involved). And I ended up in a job that, while working for a large corporation, was definitely not a meaningless cog--in adjusting bond claims (a sort of quasi judicial position) I actually was HELPING people without having to take on iffy positions in regard to "defense" of a client.
And after retirement, the intellectual interest has continued. One reason I subscribe to you, actually.
So yeah, I like "likes" on my comments on Substack. But I enjoy writing them more. Too bad more people can't be as lucky.
(He became an ex because I couldn't STAND his full dive into status seeking, something I attributed to HIS job as professor in a business school. He wasn't at all like that when we married.)
Enjoy the dopamine! But thanks for your always thoughtful comments. (I didn’t mean to imply that working for a large corporation is meaningless; rather that *some* of those jobs feel that way to people).
I suspect that everyone would be much happier without fretting about positional goods. I also think most people do fret about them quite a lot of the time. Your story is a nice parable - intrinsic motivation is a beautiful thing.
There is a similarly strange phenomenon, sometimes called 'stolen valo(u)r', where people turn up to events for veterans in full uniform, including medals, but never served. I guess the motivation is similar.
Yes, the term often comes up in US politics — and Tim Walz was accused of it during the 2024 campaign (it seemed he exaggerated a few things but he definitely served).
Oh, humans, status updates and dopamine. Smartphones are accelerating the demise of our social skills. Coupled with Ai and technology, it looks like cyborgs are on the way.
I'm putting a real "like" in here because you earned it by explaining so beautifully why people seek accolades they haven't truly obtained. And mazel on the London Marathon!
Thanks! I must admit that I went down this particular running deception rabbit hole when struck down with a particularly acute case of “Maranoia,” in which one fears an impending marathon. This word is, apparently, in widespread use in the runner’s lexicon, which I thought you’d appreciate.
These examples of what can be characterized as on-line anomie is the natural progression of a "metaverse" where a user-defined reality becomes an end-point in itself, with actual "rewards" for synthesized "accomplishments" spilling out into what we call the real world. And to the extent that such behaviour will continue to gain rewards to the practitioners, however short-lived, the incentives remain.
And the ever-increasing use of AI agents, deepfake videos, etc., virtually guarantees that the barriers to fakery are being tested as never before, and what you term "Status Cheats" can only proliferate, given the tools available. It's as though "Second Life" has found a wormhole into real life, right?
Yes, but I hope that at some point the pendulum will swing back. I like intellectual engagement through Substack, but normal social media has become completely boring to me. I hope others feel the same and a reversion to in-person connection happens at some point, where follower counts and photo editing doesn’t matter for one’s real world social status.
You stopped just short of mentioning the root cause : when children are paid attention to only when they either accomplish tangible wins or when they bring social approval which their parents can bask in, they learn that love and connection are earned through socially valuable accomplishments. Integrate this over time and their self worth becomes a function of social approval and they do crazy things to get it.
I wonder if their dopamine circuits have almost been trained to only light up when they achieve social approval. These folks have a lot in common with your average people pleaser who can't seem to say NO to someone even if it hurts them. If true, I wonder what doom scrolling is doing to the human mind!
Most status cheats likely begin as status chasers but when their ability fails to keep up with their dopamine fix needs, they cope by cheating to get social approval.
smaller group size doesn't necessarily obviate this status chasing need. The group *dynamics* is what determines success. Larger group sizes does amplify the status chasing and cheating because there is greater absolute numbers of narcissistic parents and theie offspring even if % stays consistent with general population
Yes, you’re right that this is likely something that does start very early and has cultural variation. The left/right US discourse on “participation trophies” is interesting in this regard.
First Brian, congrats on finishing the London Marathon in a great time despite the lactose acid at the 20 and thanks for doing it for a noble cause, if I can use that adjective after reading this piece on the hubris of status seeking. As a fair-skinned daughter of an ethics professor I turn beet juice red just imagining someone thinks I have cheated is some way. I have such a hard time understanding how people can live with the fear that their chicanery will be disclosed at some point. I have a very similar imagination block understanding how one might feel personal confirmation in a falsified exercise statistic; I feel guilty when my not so smart watch records a workout for me when I have been asleep and I am the only one who sees the stats unless you count the master judge I imagine that is measuring my worth from somewhere inside my watch/iphone. I am NOT bragging. I wish I had more fluidity around the phenomenon of my self-constructed perceptions of how others might judge me. I wish I was a cuddle fish. I am still fascinated and befuddled when I try to put myself in the shoes of, say, Trump’s cabinet members in the 100 day round-the-table orgy of praise and falsification of reality in every aspect af the Regime’s overreach. This is a great piece to give us a social science perspective on the layers of interpretation apropos social cheats and liars but I am still shaking my head as to the personal psychology that emerges or submerges out of the broader social (and cultural?) contexts you elucidate.
Thank you! There are also structural, cultural, and personality reasons why corruption occurs in power (my book Corruptible is all about this). What fascinates me here is the banal corruption of social status seeking in daily life.
Your laudable aversion to dishonesty shows up in some academic experiments, where a significant number of people are ruthlessly honest even when given ample opportunity and rewards in an experiment for cheating.
Speaking of structural, cultural, and personality reasons, I though of your work when I read this piece....https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/science/two-theories-of-consciousness-faced-off-the-ref-took-a-beating.html.
I have immense respect for anyone who completes a marathon, Brian! Just being able to complete one is a personal milestone.
I completely agree! Thank you.
A possible corollary to being the best hunter of a smallish band, say ~200 souls, is this: In a small group there is a good chance of being best at, or very good at, something. It might be weaving, or making flint spear points, or finding mushrooms. Thus a larger percentage of the small population has social recognition, maybe adding to social balance and cohesion.
Yes, exactly!
This is so interesting. Thanks! Here’s another running story.
Husband and I decided we wanted to run a half-marathon, but we weren’t ready yet. So we paid for our entries, and left a car ½ the way down. We’d run many 10Ks and knew we could do that. We started with everyone else, ran to our car and then drove to the finish line. It was on a county/state road and between two small towns in the Rockies.
We didn’t cross the finish line; that was NOT our intention. We’d paid so we could start with everyone else and be part of the happening. We loved running and the camaraderie.
Imagine our amusement when a fellow teacher who ran the whole thing, saw us on the sidelines cheering him on as he finished. He was shocked that we had evidently run faster than he did. We soon explained, but it was fun for a few minutes. We ran the whole thing the next year.
Great story. And to think — if only you’d been more dishonest you could’ve been featured in my Substack!
Another interesting read.
The phenomenon of “bragging” is nothing new in human history. But I think your assessment of the phenomenon being exacerbated by social media is on target. In “flesh and blood” human communities the braggart is often constrained by the fact that most people eventually find the behavior unpleasant to be around. And if the braggart is a “status cheat” the deception cannot be maintained simply because people know him/her. In the on line world there is not much potential for small victories to be personally validated - such as the runners club where one can be lauded for simply finishing or posting a modest time that is a personal best, only the exceptional stands out. I suspect the runners you describe were solitary runners. If they had been a part of a running community, the deception would have been suspected from the get-go.
Yes, I’m sure you’re right about that!
Possibly OT, but as an amateur (but decently skilled) performing musician for the past 59 years (but who's counting), that today a lot of people want to be rock stars... prancing around on stage to thunderous applause, but few people really want to learn to play an instrument or sing well enough that they don't need autotune. This sickens me.
I suppose singing with an autotune to sound good is a bit like marathoning glory with the help of a bike!
Thank you, Brian, for an insightful look at the various "reasons" for deception. It's puzzling how seemingly intelligent and privileged people fall prey to the Dunning-Kruger syndrome, especially when it magnifies their inadequacies and puts them in a spiraling/snowballing deficiency-loop.
Obviously, there are severe consequences when deception is coupled with an insatiable thirst for power/control/survival.
The questions are: how/when does it become unsustainable, and who will end it?
Thank you for doing your part in ending it!
fascinating, brian. thanks this intriguing essay. and hey, 11,000th aint bad! no mater your ranking in the marathon, you were there doing it and for a good cause www.unicef.org and that's tops!
Thank you! Thanks to so many people’s generosity, we raised roughly £4,500!
I've been extremely lucky in my work and ironically because my ex was VERY "positional." I was trundling along doing an English PhD just because I loved it, and he decided that I'd never make money at it (probably true) and insisted I go to law or business school. I chose law, and discovered I loved it, intellectually, as much as studying lit (they actually have a lot in common as to the reasoning involved). And I ended up in a job that, while working for a large corporation, was definitely not a meaningless cog--in adjusting bond claims (a sort of quasi judicial position) I actually was HELPING people without having to take on iffy positions in regard to "defense" of a client.
And after retirement, the intellectual interest has continued. One reason I subscribe to you, actually.
So yeah, I like "likes" on my comments on Substack. But I enjoy writing them more. Too bad more people can't be as lucky.
(He became an ex because I couldn't STAND his full dive into status seeking, something I attributed to HIS job as professor in a business school. He wasn't at all like that when we married.)
Enjoy the dopamine! But thanks for your always thoughtful comments. (I didn’t mean to imply that working for a large corporation is meaningless; rather that *some* of those jobs feel that way to people).
I suspect that everyone would be much happier without fretting about positional goods. I also think most people do fret about them quite a lot of the time. Your story is a nice parable - intrinsic motivation is a beautiful thing.
There is a similarly strange phenomenon, sometimes called 'stolen valo(u)r', where people turn up to events for veterans in full uniform, including medals, but never served. I guess the motivation is similar.
Yes, the term often comes up in US politics — and Tim Walz was accused of it during the 2024 campaign (it seemed he exaggerated a few things but he definitely served).
Oh, humans, status updates and dopamine. Smartphones are accelerating the demise of our social skills. Coupled with Ai and technology, it looks like cyborgs are on the way.
Despair not! We are never automatically doomed and can always choose to course correct. I fear it may be a bit, though…
Derek Murphy is a hero for his investigative work. Thanks for reminder of Strava Mule story, I had forgotten about that. Great post.
I'm putting a real "like" in here because you earned it by explaining so beautifully why people seek accolades they haven't truly obtained. And mazel on the London Marathon!
Thank you!
Fascinating, Brian, thank you!
Thanks! I must admit that I went down this particular running deception rabbit hole when struck down with a particularly acute case of “Maranoia,” in which one fears an impending marathon. This word is, apparently, in widespread use in the runner’s lexicon, which I thought you’d appreciate.
It sounds like a particularly foreboding pasta sauce!
These examples of what can be characterized as on-line anomie is the natural progression of a "metaverse" where a user-defined reality becomes an end-point in itself, with actual "rewards" for synthesized "accomplishments" spilling out into what we call the real world. And to the extent that such behaviour will continue to gain rewards to the practitioners, however short-lived, the incentives remain.
And the ever-increasing use of AI agents, deepfake videos, etc., virtually guarantees that the barriers to fakery are being tested as never before, and what you term "Status Cheats" can only proliferate, given the tools available. It's as though "Second Life" has found a wormhole into real life, right?
Yes, but I hope that at some point the pendulum will swing back. I like intellectual engagement through Substack, but normal social media has become completely boring to me. I hope others feel the same and a reversion to in-person connection happens at some point, where follower counts and photo editing doesn’t matter for one’s real world social status.
You should have gone on a bender the night before to set your PB
You stopped just short of mentioning the root cause : when children are paid attention to only when they either accomplish tangible wins or when they bring social approval which their parents can bask in, they learn that love and connection are earned through socially valuable accomplishments. Integrate this over time and their self worth becomes a function of social approval and they do crazy things to get it.
I wonder if their dopamine circuits have almost been trained to only light up when they achieve social approval. These folks have a lot in common with your average people pleaser who can't seem to say NO to someone even if it hurts them. If true, I wonder what doom scrolling is doing to the human mind!
Most status cheats likely begin as status chasers but when their ability fails to keep up with their dopamine fix needs, they cope by cheating to get social approval.
smaller group size doesn't necessarily obviate this status chasing need. The group *dynamics* is what determines success. Larger group sizes does amplify the status chasing and cheating because there is greater absolute numbers of narcissistic parents and theie offspring even if % stays consistent with general population
Yes, you’re right that this is likely something that does start very early and has cultural variation. The left/right US discourse on “participation trophies” is interesting in this regard.