448. The psychology of reputation

448. The psychology of reputation

Published: August 20, 2026

Duration: 43:17

We're talking about reputation. On a fundamental level, our reputations are a signal of our qualities that make us worth associating with, and we tend to spend a large amount of time ruminating and even obsessing over what others think of us. In this episode, we explore why we need reputations as social creatures, understand why we can misinterpret others’ reputations, and think about what we can do to repair a bad reputation. 

We unpack: 
• Where our reputations come from
• Why two people can view the same person so differently 
• The halo effect and how appeara...