Signaling

Signaling theory, drawn from biology and economics, holds that many behaviours are best understood not as the pursuit of their stated goals but as costly demonstrations of hidden qualities — intelligence, health, virtue, wealth — to observers who cannot verify those qualities directly. Applied to human social life by economists including Robin Hanson, it suggests that much of what people do in medicine, education, charity, and culture is partly or primarily about displaying traits rather than achieving outcomes. The insight implies that a large share of human activity is, at some level, performative — even when the performers are unaware of this.

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