Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M3151

Euphemism Treadmill

Euphemism Treadmill
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

To avoid offense, people invent euphemisms (e.g., changing 'mentally retarded' to 'intellectually disabled'). Over time, new euphemisms gradually acquire the negative connotations of the old terms and become harsh, prompting the invention of newer euphemisms (e.g., 'cognitive difference'). We run frantically on the treadmill, but discrimination remains unchanged. - Scaffolding effect: linguistic inflation of political correctness. - Renaming does not solve the problem. If you only change the label (e.g., calling 'layoffs' 'graduation') without changing the substance (the pain of unemployment), the new term will quickly become as distasteful as the old one. The fundamental solution lies in eliminating the underlying issue.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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Linguistic inflation of political correctness. - Renaming does not solve the problem. If you only change the label (e.g., calling 'layoffs' 'graduation') without changing the substance (the pain of unemployment), the new term will quickly become as distasteful as the old one. The fundamental solution lies in eliminating the underlying issue.

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New euphemisms gradually acquire the negative connotations of the original terms through use, forcing continuous replacement, but the underlying discrimination or pain is not eliminated. Linguistic inflation neutralizes old terms and stigmatizes new ones, resulting in running in place.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuphemismZH · Explicit
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