How our stupidity grows

Which one of you (or us) is a complete fool? Nobody, of course. Well, or everything in a row – if things go somehow and spoil our mood. Because it all depends on who exactly makes such a judgment. Stupidity is a subjective assessment and rarely has a direct bearing on the intellectual abilities of a person whom we called a fool. For psychology, there are no “stupid”, unlike, for example, anxious, suspicious or hyperactive people. But it is important for her to determine what factors “stupefy” us: for example, excessive parental care hinders the development of the child; the confusion of a teenager in a chaotic transitional age forces him to hide his feelings behind foolishness; the spiritual difficulties of an adult make him “fall into childhood” … The so-called stupidity manifests itself as a result of our unconscious conflicts, it is precisely this that prevents us from learning new things, thinking, living and communicating with other people.

Childhood: little oddities, great suffering

In his famous work “Analysis of the Phobia of a Five-Year-Old Boy”, Sigmund Freud analyzes the story of little Hans, who, after the birth of his younger sister, suddenly became afraid of horses (see Z. Freud, “Psychoanalysis of Childish Fears”, ABC Classics, 2008). Going to bed, he cried for fear that the horse would come to his room at night, and in the morning he refused to walk, because the horse could bite him. All this seemed stupid to the parents. However, Freud came to the conclusion that in fact this fear of Hans is one of the symptoms of neurosis. It arose in a child “who loved his mother too much and was unconsciously afraid that his father (who, by coincidence, he associated with a horse) would punish him for this.”

By discovering the phenomenon of childhood neurosis, Freud changed our ideas about the “stupid” behavior of children. It became clear that, for example, a child who is too attached to his mother, growing up, continues to behave “like a baby” because he is sure that she expects just such behavior. And in order to become a truly adult, independent person, he needs to separate from his mother, stop holding on to her skirt.

The psychoanalytic view allows you to see some school difficulties in a different way. So, if there is a secret hidden by everyone in the family, the child feels it. Then his failures in school can be a message to his parents, for example: “If I do not have the right to know that my grandfather is not my dad’s real father, then I do not have the right to be able to read.” His refusal to become “smarter” is an unconscious strategy to protect his parents’ “secret”. “Stupid” are often spoiled children, whose desires are fulfilled before they had time to talk about them. The well-known psychoanalyst Francoise Dolto cited the following anecdote in this regard: one child, at an age when all the others already knew how to speak, continued to be silent. And once at the table, to the amazement of his parents, he suddenly demanded salt. “You can talk!” they exclaimed. “Of course,” he replied. “But until now, salt has always been on the table!”

Adolescence: a stupid age?

An extremely “idiotic” (for others) period, when the child goes on about his impulses, without thinking about the consequences. “The brain of teenagers changes as quickly as their body, and temporarily “loses” some functions,” says Marie Banich, psychologist, professor at the University of Colorado (USA). – In the frontal region, as well as in other areas responsible for self-control and choice of behavior strategy, a lot of random neural connections are formed that can be destroyed instantly. The information that is imprinted in memory with the help of these connections is lost. A teenager seems to balance on the verge between childhood and adulthood. Even in the most simple, everyday situations, he may feel confused and behave inappropriately – after all, the old behavior patterns have been lost, and new ones have not yet formed*.

“Stupid” behavior of teenagers can also be a defense mechanism by which they protect themselves from too strong experiences, adds psychoanalyst Ksenia Korbut. – A teenager puts on a mask of stupidity to get rid of anxiety, too strong emotions, and thus restores self-confidence. This mask helps him in unusual situations as well.” So, having fallen in love, he foolishly teases his passion and annoys her, fearing that others will guess about his feelings. Speaking in front of the class, he clownishes and makes his friends laugh, trying to hide his excitement. In order to “get smarter”, a teenager will have to get used to the role of an adult: learn to make choices, accept limitations, build his identity, that is, understand who he is and what his place in this world is. However, each of us sometimes happens to feel like a ridiculous teenager again. This happens when we find ourselves in an awkward situation, we feel out of place. An absurd joke at an important meeting discussing a topic that we do not own; the stupidest giggling or, on the contrary, the sudden, irresistible dumbness of lovers – all this is an echo of that teenage “nonsense”.

Maturity: How We Become “Old Fools”

Typical childhood and teenage stupidity passes quickly enough: these encrypted messages of the unconscious are addressed to loved ones; when a child is understood, his reasons for behaving inappropriately disappear, and he continues to grow and develop. On the contrary, if no one heard his call for understanding, neurosis can take possession of a person for many years, being fixed in his character by “absurd” features.

One scrolls the same thought in his head to infinity, the other will never step on a crack in the asphalt – this is how obsessive-compulsive disorder manifests itself. “Nedery, stupefying obsession with details, among which what is really important is lost, slow-wittedness – all these are manifestations of neurosis, because of which a person looks like a fool,” explains Ksenia Korbut. “He has a painful need to dominate and control those around him. Any objections for such a person are unbearable: he definitely needs the last word to always remain with him; considering everyone to be fools, he himself never feels stupid.

Another example is tantrums, who are easily recognizable by their habit of talking a lot. They like to discuss all their experiences, often exaggerating them – and this gives the impression of superficiality, frivolous stupidity. Those of us who are often insecure, have painful doubts about any of our judgments and actions, also look stupid. Such people are mostly victims of their inability to separate from their parents. “Their childish dependence on their mother or father is a source of intellectual retardation, it prevents them from thinking independently and giving preference to their own, individual values,” explains Ksenia Korbut.

In each of us, there will certainly be traces of at least one of these traits, and therefore all of us in one situation or another may well feel (and feel!) We are fools. And this will not be our fault … if, having noticed our own “stupidity”, we will try to understand its real reasons.

* For more details, see the film: “The Mind of Man”, 1 DVD, BBC, SOYUZ Video, 2008.

“It is important to feel the context”

Psychologies: What does it mean to act stupid?

Sergei Pantileev: This means not getting into the context of the situation. Whether it is communication or some kind of joint activity, the situation always presents us with certain requirements. If we answer them, we behave correctly, intelligently. If not (they came to get hired without even asking what the company is doing), then we are acting stupidly. Stupidity is the mismatch of our behavior or words with what our own interests, the situation and the expectations of others require.

Who is more stupid than others?

Those who tend to behave against the context. For example, tantrums. They are demonstrative, they need to constantly be in the spotlight, for which they manipulate others … And since they behave the same in any situation, they often miss, seem inadequate, strange, stupid, finally. Another example: Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin is Dostoyevsky’s idiot. This is a vivid type of a person who lives in accordance with his inner values, inner (often very original) logic, which makes him seem inadequate to others, and in this sense, he, of course, is an “idiot”. But by no means stupid.

Who then is a fool in the literal sense of the word?

According to the Russian psychiatrist Pyotr Gannushkin, there are constitutionally (from birth) stupid people. They are infantile, think in a stereotyped way, they have a poor imagination and a somewhat reduced intelligence. They feel badly about the situation, but adapt, guided by a small amount of skills and truths that they managed to understand in childhood. Their behavior is stereotypical, they do not deviate from the learned postulates, regardless of what is happening around. But the most remarkable thing is their pathos: they flaunt by doing nonsense, saying banalities, and this is what irritates those around them, who in their hearts call them complete fools and complete fools …

Elena Shevchenko