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Welcome to a journey into the peculiar corners of our minds—a journey inspired by Joseph Henrich’s provocative work, The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous.In this book, Henrich dissects what it means to be “WEIRD” (an acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) while revealing a set of psychological traits that are anything but ordinary. With wit and scholarly rigor, he explores how characteristics such as self-focus, individualism, nonconformity, patience, trust, analytical thinking, and an obsession with intention have not only defined a segment of our population but have also played a critical role in shaping modern society. As you read on, prepare to challenge your assumptions about what is “normal” in human psychology.
What Does It Mean to Be WEIRD?
At its core, being WEIRD transcends a simple demographic label—it is a profound psychological signature. Henrich’s analysis uncovers that WEIRD individuals tend to overvalue personal possessions (the endowment effect), exaggerate their own talents, and constantly seek to enhance their self-image. This introspective self-focus is paired with a deep-seated desire for autonomy: a love for making independent choices, trusting impersonal institutions, and adhering to abstract moral principles rather than traditional, context-bound norms. WEIRD psychology also champions analytical over holistic thinking, a preference for linear progress, and a pronounced tendency to deconstruct the world into its constituent parts. These traits, while advantageous in the modern context, are strikingly unique when compared to the broader spectrum of human behavior observed throughout history and across cultures. Henrich’s work forces us to reconsider the benchmarks of “normalcy” and invites us to appreciate how our psychological peculiarities have contributed to both our personal identities and collective achievements.
Signs You Are Psychologically WEIRD
1. You think nepotism is a bad thing
“People from more individualistic countries, for example, possess weaker family ties and show less nepotism, meaning that company bosses, managers, and politicians are less likely to hire or promote relatives.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.30)
“Instead, they are deeply loyal to their friends and want to cement enduring relationships, even if this involves illegal actions. In these places, being nepotistic is often the morally correct thing to do. By contrast, in WEIRD societies, many people think badly of those who weight family and friends over impartial principles and anonymous criteria like qualifications, merit, or effort.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.46)
How do you react when you hear about managers hiring their relatives or politicians making deals with businesses run by their relatives? Most of us would probably frown and declare the person a selfish a**hole. And we expect everyone to follow the idea that nepotism is bad, which is why we are so upset when some people ignore it.
That’s what makes it so interesting to find out that in great parts of the world as well as the majority of human history, nepotism was not only common it was actually morally expected. If you didn’t favor your family or tribe you might just be publicly shamed and cast out by them.
This isn’t to say that nepotism is a good or bad thing. That’s a decision you have to make for yourself, However, realizing that we are psychologically weird in our mindset on it can be a very eye-openening realization.
2. You feel guilty more often than ashamed
“In most non-WEIRD societies, shame—not guilt—dominates people’s lives.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.22)
“Guilt depends on one’s own standards and self-evaluation, while shame depends on societal standards and public judgment.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.22-23)
We psychologically weird Westerners feel guilty all the damn time. We feel guilty for procrastinating, skipping that workout session, eating that dessert, canceling the plans we’ve made, lying to spare someone’s feelings, accidentally cutting someone off in traffic, and countless other things. On the flip side, when was the last time you felt ashamed? Not only would that require a public misstep of you, which is already hard to achieve considering how open our societies are, but it would also require you to care about what those who judge you think. And the older we get, the better we are at not caring what others think about us.
Just imagine what life would be like if you felt no guilt. Imagine what shame would make you do differently. Fascinating, isn’t it?
3. You answer “Who am I?” with your personal attributes, aspirations, and achievements
Most humans answer focuses around their social roles and relationships (Mia’s mother, Richards daughter, the village healer, etc.). If you are psychologically weird you focus mostly on personal traits that make you stand out from others (having a phd, running marathons, being a gamer, being a petrolhead, being a student, being an artist).
Who are you in a social context? If your social roles defined you, how would you act? What would you change?
4. You behave very similarly no matter who you are dealing with
“Compared to much of the world, WEIRD people report behaving in more consistent ways—in terms of traits like “honesty” or “coldness”—across different types of relationships, such as with younger peers, friends, parents, professors, and strangers. By contrast, Koreans and Japanese report consistency only within relational contexts—that is, in how they behave separately toward their mothers, friends, or professors across time.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.32)
Wearing different masks when interacting with different people is seen as fake in psychologically weird countries. We encourage everyone to be authentic no matter what they do. Of course, that doesn’t mean abandoning the manners and respect you show to authority figures. But we hate finding out someone is not quite who we think they are. After all, how would you feel if your nice and diligent coworker spent his private time fanatically supporting anarchist movements? You’d probably feel unsettled by the dichotomy of his personality.
5. In general, you think that most people can be trusted
“WEIRD populations have among the highest levels of impersonal trust, although there’s interesting variation within both the United States and Europe. Across countries, the percentage of people who generally think most people can be trusted ranges from 70 percent in Norway to 4–5 percent in Trinidad and Tobago.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.46)
Mistrusting every stranger that you meet sound utterly exhausting to a psychologically weird person like me. Sure, I wouldn’t trust any stranger with my life and I am definetly locking my door because thieves do exsit. However, at the same time I genuinely do believe that the great majority of people is not out to get me and would even help me if I needed it.
This sort of mindset became necessary as we humans branched out more. After all, it is easy to misstrust strangers when you only have to see them occasionally. But neither the industrialisation and especiialy not the globalisation would have succeeded without being able to work together with strangers towards a common goal.
6. You dare to go against the stream
“WEIRD people, however, conform less than all the other populations that have been studied.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.36)
“The willingness of WEIRD people to ignore others’ opinions, preferences, views, and requests extends well beyond peers to include elders, grandfathers, and traditional authorities.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.37)
Going against the stream is something that is almost praised in psychologically weird societies. We look up to those drop out entrepreneurs, comedian or businessmen politicians, royals who marry commoner, and the underdog who succeeds despite all odds. Going against the stream in many ways is not a death sentence anymore but rather a recipe for success.
7. You are patient
“Adults and teenagers who were more patient in the marshmallow task as preschoolers stayed in school longer, got higher grades, saved more money, earned higher salaries, exercised more, and smoked less. They were also less likely to use drugs, abuse alcohol, and commit crimes.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.40)
While I like to complain about how we Westerners have become way too used to instant gratification through Amazon Prime Deliveries and Uber Eats, we still are, in many ways, very patient. Just think, how many of the things you did today will reap results in the near future? As a student, you study for exams so that you can get a degree and get a good job in a year’s time. You go to the fitness studio without expecting immediate results. You only get the paycheck for your work once a month. You save money for your retirement in decades to come.
8. You stick to your morals even if it might be detrimental to your family and friends
“Why do so many WEIRD people act against their families’ interests to follow this arbitrary, impartial rule, and expect others to follow it as well?” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.44)
9. You care about the intentions people have behind their actions
“It turns out that how much people rely on others’ mental states in judging them varies dramatically across societies. As usual, WEIRD people anchor the extreme end of the distribution, relying heavily on the inferences we make about the invisible states inside other people’s heads and hearts.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.50)
10. When you see cat, carrot, rabbit – the odd one out is the carrot
“WEIRD people are highly analytical compared to most other societies.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.54)
“For example, when the target image was a pig that could “go with” either a dog (analytic, both are animals) or a cornhusk (holistic, pigs eat corn), some Mapuche who’d picked the dog explained that the dog “protects” or “guards” the pig.” – Henrich, Joseph. The WEIRDest People in the World (S.54)
In wrapping up, The WEIRDest People in the World not only offers a compelling book review but also serves as a mirror reflecting our own idiosyncrasies. Whether you find yourself nodding at the signs of self-enhancement and individualism or marveling at the intricate balance between trust and analytical reasoning, remember that these traits are part of a larger narrative about who we are and how we got here. As we continue to unravel the threads of our psychological makeup, Henrich’s insights remind us that being “weird” isn’t a flaw—it’s a testament to the rich, diverse tapestry of human thought and behavior. Happy reading, and may you embrace your inner WEIRDness with pride!
