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Suppose you were very fond of someone named Jane. Will this make you more likely to like someone you meet named Jane? Conversely, let's say you really couldn't stand someone named Jim. Will you automatically react negatively upon meeting someone else with that name? Or do you feel no correlation between how you feel about a particular Jane or Jim (or whoever) and anyone else with those same names?
Suppose you were very fond of someone named Jane. Will this make you more likely to like someone you meet named Jane? Conversely, let's say you really couldn't stand someone named Jim. Will you automatically react negatively upon meeting someone else with that name? Or do you feel no correlation between how you feel about a particular Jane or Jim (or whoever) and anyone else with those same names?
Mostly, no. However I will say that on occasion if I have had a lot of good experiences / impressions of people consistently with a certain name (due to a large sample set) I may have a slight predisposition to view them in a more positive light (initially). But as Spuggy aptly pointed out, it is the individual behavior I observe over time in interactions that will ultimately determine my perception of them.
On the flip side if they look a lot like someone I have already met whom I have a good impression of I may subconsciously already view them more favorable because of the association of traits to the physical appearance. Again, this may change upon time and interaction, but I think this is more powerful to cause the affect you are referring to than a "name" only.
For example, I know two men named Tim. One is someone I have a favorable impression of and a good relation and another is not. I may view the next person I meet who has physical likeness and echos of the 'Tim' I have good feelings toward in a positive manner initially because of the visual association kindly face, pleasant demeanor et al.
There are a pair of similar female names that raise a flag for me as I've never met a person with that name who didn't have a problematic personality. One day I heard my daughter say she always has problems with anyone with the one name and surprised me.
It's just anecdotal but I thought it was an interesting coincidence.
It makes me wonder about the way parents choose names for children. Do they ever chose names they think have an air of superiority about them and does that carry any weight about the way the child is raised or how that child is perceived by others?
There are a pair of similar female names that raise a flag for me as I've never met a person with that name who didn't have a problematic personality. One day I heard my daughter say she always has problems with anyone with the one name and surprised me.
It's just anecdotal but I thought it was an interesting coincidence.
It makes me wonder about the way parents choose names for children. Do they ever chose names they think have an air of superiority about them and does that carry any weight about the way the child is raised or how that child is perceived by others?
Would that name be Christine/Christina/Kristin? At pretty much every job, there seems to be a micromanaging, passive aggressive, control freak pest with a variation of that name.
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Originally Posted by bus man
Suppose you were very fond of someone named Jane. Will this make you more likely to like someone you meet named Jane? Conversely, let's say you really couldn't stand someone named Jim. Will you automatically react negatively upon meeting someone else with that name? Or do you feel no correlation between how you feel about a particular Jane or Jim (or whoever) and anyone else with those same names?
Yes, slightly. I worked with a guy named Matthew who only went by Matthew. He was a real jerk and got me fired, but I later found out his 19? YO son was killed in a car accident shortly before I started, which explains his demeanor.
But I also know a Matt (formally Matthew also) who is the coolest guy ever.
The name Karen seems to have stigma now. I guess its supposed to be in a cheeky way. So, having a bad interaction with someone of a certain name can make you have bad connotations with that name again. But the reverse is true too!
Actually not. It would be quite a common response for many of us. How that person acted upon the feelings and thoughts would determine whether they were "nuts' or not.
In the world of psychology much of what we defend against are things that have happened to us in the past before we were capable of dealing with them. See The Drama of the Gifted Child by psychologist Alice Miller for a more complete analysis.
Sometimes when we run into someone who even subconsciously reminds us of a problematic person in our past, particularly childhood, we experience anxiety and a reversion to childlike coping mechanisms.
Gaining new, adult coping skills and recognizing competency in them is one of the goals of restoring someone from that nutsy state.
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