The Psychology of Display: What They See is What You Get

Animals adapt to their environments in part through their displays.

Some blend in with their surroundings so as to avoid predators.

Some have bright, showy displays to attract mates.

Some have threatening displays to ward off predators.

Some have deceptive displays to attract prey.

Displays attract or repel.  Displays maintain offensive or defensive positions in the ecosystem.

People maintain their own displays, through how they dress, how they speak, and how they present themselves in person and online.

A great deal of unhappiness is created when people need one thing, but achieve the opposite because their displays achieve the wrong purpose.

Consider lonely people who long for companionship, but who maintain defensive displays to avoid hurt; vulnerable people who wish for safety, but send signals of neediness; traders who desire collaboration, but keep themselves--and their work--hidden.  All experience a mismatch between what they need and what they display.

What are your displays?

What do they say about you?

Do you display confidence or lack of confidence?  Energy or lack of energy?  Interest or lack of interest?  Sincerity or lack of sincerity?

What others see is what you get.

Further Reading: Corrective Emotional Experience
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