The Psychology of Name Calling

“You banana!”

“You porcupine!”

 

It’s been an interesting few days since I’ve been training the new group of kids during the SuperKids’ training program here at AKLTG. But I began to dwell upon the idea of name calling, because it was accentuated by the most recent batch, which seemed to turn name calling into an art.

 

First, I think name calling is a strategy for familiarization. As with most such approaches, they can be offensive. But why do you think nature allowed for such a strategy to exist and to even work?

 

I think such a strategy can work – after all the humor strategy of finding a “target” has always been a commonly used one in stand-up comedy gigs. I suppose when people start calling you names, it means they want to be comfortable with you.

 

Of course, some people use name calling to get a rise out of the other person. The truth is if you can get a good-humored response to name calling, you should be more willing to make friends. It signals “I’m ok with you not being ok with me”, and indication of high self-esteem.

 

So… go ahead and call each other names in good spirits. J Well… more than that, learn to accept name-calling as an invitation to be your friend.

 

 

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