Meet Claire
Each of us has a cavedweller inside of us. I have decided to call mine Claire. Most of the time she's pretty quiet—I can go about my daily life making conscious choices about what to wear, in what order I need to get things done, and who I want to spend time with. But fairly predictably, Claire takes over. Most of the time she is backing me up. She helps me defend myself if something comes flying in my direction, makes me yawn when I am getting tired, and causes me to crave certain foods when I need nourishment. But once in a while, she motivates me to do things I don't understand. That is because she thinks it is still thousands of years ago and I am part of a tribe that is not only hunting and gathering, but also is seen as prey—and Claire wants to survive to see the next day. The world is not safe in her eyes, and there are certain instincts she feels I should be employing. And in most cases, she is right.
But there is one area of my life where Claire has been particularly pushy lately: my life as a fan. Most people agree that the term "fan" is short for "fanatic." It suggests that someone has "gone crazy" over something. Though there are many types of fans, the most studied seems to be sports fans who may be playing out natural aggressive feelings in an appropriate way. There are also fans of music, who appreciate a musician's ability to symbolically represent human emotions. There are fans of stories, in a book or on a screen. And then there are fans of actors or celebrities, and these are the fans who are most often deemed "crazy." On the surface, it does appear that being interested in another person's life would be self-defeating, but if we look at fandom through an evolutionary lens, it might not seem so crazy.
While human culture around me is moving forward at break-neck speeds, the way Claire sees things is not. That is because her survival habits can only be updated by natural selection, which takes many thousands of years. Many of the daily decisions I make, like whether to call, text or email someone, are based on advancements only a few years old—but Claire is seriously old-school. Her top priority is to get me in with a tribe with an effective leader, who can hunt and protect like a "mother."
Now there are very specific characteristics this powerful tribal leader has to have, so I'd like to break this down from Claire's point of view. Let's say Claire is wandering the savanna. She has only been eating berries lately and is tired and hungry. She only has a few more days to survive when she happens upon a tribal leader we will call Fred. Fred has a growth on one eye, most of his teeth are missing, and he walks with a limp. She then observes another tribal leader, called Blaine, who has no physical injuries, has clear skin and eyes, and remarkably shiny hair. Which tribal leader is Claire going to pick to follow? She's no dummy. She knows Blaine displays cues of health, which suggests a history of successful hunting and a safe place to sleep, while Fred has probably not had very many restful nights and does not appear to be able to take care of himself, let alone his tribe. Better luck next time, Fred.
Claire secretly follows Blaine back to his cave and soon notices something else about him: He is a total jerk to the other members of his tribe. The only way he seems to be able to get his followers to do what he wants is by using intimidation and aggression. Now Claire is not so sure about joining Blaine's tribe. Yes, she would have consistent meals, but does she want to deal with someone who is up in everyone's grill all the time? She knows of one more tribe further up the way and decides to check it out. This tribe’s leader is known as Jerome. He appears to be just as healthy as Blaine, but treats his followers with respect. He uses persuasion to get people to do their jobs and is even willing to share what he knows about hunting with others whom he trusts—and Claire wants Jerome to trust her. She joins Jerome's tribe and gets a job gathering berries for everyone. She wants to show Jerome her appreciation for helping keep her alive and healthy, so she starts giving him a few extra berries and other treasures she finds while gathering. He notices her, appreciates her efforts and eventually teaches her how to hunt meerkats, as well.
Because Claire chooses a leader who is generous and persuasive instead of aggressive and intimidating, she not only survives, but is happy. Only then does she feel safe enough to bring some offspring into the world—and Jerome's tribe gets stronger with the arrival of new member. Meanwhile, Blaine's tribe is not growing and Fred's tribe has been eaten by saber-toothed tigers.
So what does all this mean for the rest of us living 40,000 years later? It means that many of us are unconsciously looking for effective tribal leaders—and in some cases, trying to get closer to them. Because modern-day performers are healthy looking and successful, we are drawn to them as potential leaders. And in trying to connect with these performer/leaders, modern-day fans all over the world behave in surprisingly similar ways. We dress or act like our favorite actor. We may aspire to learn the same instrument our favorite musician plays. We flock to movies, concerts or conventions to display our devotion to them. In an evolutionary sense, we are actually mimicking our chosen effective leader, which would ultimately help our “tribe. “ We feel compelled to gain access to our “leaders” so we can learn from them and survive the next winter. We “stalk” our favorite performer online and learn as much as we can about them. Some may write stories in which we interact personally with our chosen leader. And if we still don’t feel satisfied, we may try to complete a reciprocal relationship (like Claire did) by sharing OUR talents, stories or passions with our performer in the form of amazing art, blogs or video montages.
Whatever your “thing” is—celebrity, sports team, or story—the drive to make a connection is unconscious and primitive. But because our modern-day leaders are not living two caves over, we are left with a one-way relationship with distant people we admire. And sometimes, this can leave us feeling that things aren’t the way they “should” be.
Here are some lyrics from songs that “prove” the ideas in this blog post. More references are below.
People say that I’m crazy, but I’m not that way inclined
- Madness (is all in the Mind)
Trying to change my direction…so hard to open my eyes
- Flock of Seagulls
Stay with me one more day…if we get through one more night
- Oingo Biongo
You took me over, take a look at me
- The Police
Somewhere there is someone who can see what I can see
- Simple Minds
See my life in your design…restless and brave
- Neil Finn
Though I feel…sometimes so hard…did I survive?
- The Samples
Reasons were here from the start
- Spandau Ballet
It feels like time is forever when you are on your own
…now our paths have crossed
- Stick Figure
I’m all alone and an easy target
- The Foo Fighters
Now the room is lit with danger…transition to another place
The wind in my hair makes me so aware how good it feels to be alive tonight
- Depeche Mode
Listen to this soundtrack for Meet Claire
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3BvH2OM8RHiKODwBL8vXYb
References
Andersen, S., Reznik, I. & Glassman, N.S. (2005). The Unconscious Relational Self: The New Unconscious (pp 421-481). Oxford University Press, New York.
Anderson, S.M. & Chen S. (2002). The Relational Self: An Interpersonal Social-Cognitive Theory. Psychological Review vol 109, No 4, 619-645.
Begland, C. (2007). .The Athlete's Way: Sweat and Biology of Bliss. St. Matin's Griffin, New York.
Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., & Henrich, J. (2012). Pride, personality, and the evolutionary foundations of human social status. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(5), 334-347.
Currier, R.L. (2017). Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human and Brought Our World to the Brink. Arcade Publishing, New York.
Gouldner, A.W. (1960). The Norm of Reciprocity: A Preliminary Statement. American Social Review v 25 (161-178)
Henrich, J., & Gil-White, F.J. (2001). The evolution of prestige: Freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22 (3), 165-196.
Henrich, J (2016). The Secret of Our Success: How Culture is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter. Princeton University Press, Princeton (NJ) & Oxford (UK).
Tirvers, R. (2006). Reciprocal Altruism: 30 years later. In Kappeler P.M., van Schaik, C.P. (eds.) Coordination in Primates and Humans. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Whatley et al (1999). How Internalized is the Norm of Reciprocity? Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 21 (3), 251-259.
Wilson, E.O. (1975). Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts.
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