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MENTAL MODEL · M8118

Carlin Effect

Carlin Effect
BehaviormediumSocial Psychology
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Updated 2026-08-11

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Comedian George Carlin's observation names a self-centered bias: people tend to set their own behavior or speed as the reference point for normal, then judge everyone above it as reckless and everyone below it as incompetent. The error is not any single judgment but the silent installation of a personal coordinate system as though it were an objective standard.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Catch the judgment: notice the next time you call someone too aggressive or too cautious. - Ask whose ruler: check whether your own pace is the reference being used. - Find an outside standard: look for a measure that does not move with your comfort.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Judgment requires a reference point, and in the absence of an explicit one the self is silently installed in that role. Because the reference moves with the observer, the same behavior is rated reckless by one person and timid by another with no contradiction between them.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    doi.orghttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b04133ZH · Explicit
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