There’s a self-fulfilling prophecy aspect to this. If you expect to be judged for your transitive associations, you’ll choose them carefully. If you choose your transitive associations carefully, they’ll provide more Bayesian evidence about your values, making it more rational for others to judge you by them.
If you expect to be judged for your transitive associations, then all that your transitive associations tell me about your character is that you have reason to care about your social status. I learn nothing else about your actual values in this way.
There’s a self-fulfilling prophecy aspect to this. If you expect to be judged for your transitive associations, you’ll choose them carefully. If you choose your transitive associations carefully, they’ll provide more Bayesian evidence about your values, making it more rational for others to judge you by them.
If you expect to be judged for your transitive associations, then all that your transitive associations tell me about your character is that you have reason to care about your social status. I learn nothing else about your actual values in this way.