Johnstone portrayed of status as being zero sum, but it wasn’t a zero-sum game where each person always tried to maximise their status. Sometimes they’d lower it deliberately. And since he wasn’t using it in the self-esteem sense, they might even be having fun while lowering it. So I think it could be a positive sum game in terms of utility while being zero sum in terms of (this type of) status.
This is an interesting subject for me as I kind of enjoy playful teasing but don’t feel like I’ve really got the hang of doing it myself. Sometimes I manage it and then I’m half-surprised I managed it without upsetting the other person.
But it makes sense since this type of conversational status isn’t the same as the status people get most worried about.
Johnstone portrayed of status as being zero sum, but it wasn’t a zero-sum game where each person always tried to maximise their status. Sometimes they’d lower it deliberately. And since he wasn’t using it in the self-esteem sense, they might even be having fun while lowering it. So I think it could be a positive sum game in terms of utility while being zero sum in terms of (this type of) status.
This is an interesting subject for me as I kind of enjoy playful teasing but don’t feel like I’ve really got the hang of doing it myself. Sometimes I manage it and then I’m half-surprised I managed it without upsetting the other person.
But it makes sense since this type of conversational status isn’t the same as the status people get most worried about.