d why is it such a problem? When one pictures a snob they imagine a person acting condescendingly to another, turning their noses up at the choices and behaviour of others. Yet, this isn't the complete story. Snobbery has a lot to do with how individuals live their lives; life style choices. A snob sees their own choice/view point or way of living as superior to how others behave and they are often at odds with the majority's preferences. Snobs are normally extremely annoying. Considering what the problems with snobbery are and trying to understand why we feel it to be inherently wrong might be fun exercises in themselves, but they may also help us to avoid making similar mistakes ourselves. This blog attempts to do something along those lines.
Snobbery in itself is annoying because snobs often act condescendingly and are rude to others, who have what they would class as 'less cultured' views or ways of living. Snobbish behaviour and being looked down upon is unpleasant. Most members of society subscribe to the maxim of 'do unto others as you would have done unto yourself', which seems like a fair rule to follow in life. Thus, causing others to feel discomfort or annoyance in itself is a reason why snobbery is a problem. However, there is more than one victim when we consider why snobbery is a problem. Rather than musing about the many examples of snobbery and how snobs can be annoying, in this blog I will look further afield to what is inherently wrong about snobbery and why it can be problematic. First of all, the views that a snob subscribe to can be massively inaccurate, which is problematic if you believe that ignorance is undesirable. Secondly, if one falls foul of snobbery (we all probably have and will), this may lead us to make misinformed choices in life.
What is often annoying about snobs is their ignorance. For many things in life there is good reason to believe that certain products or choices are superior to another. If one has dry skin, then choosing to use a moisturiser over plain old water truly is a superior choice. But the problem with snobbery is that the conclusions drawn about what choice or decision is superior, are often misguided. A fine example is the recent rise in popularity of organic food produce. Organic is cool and a bit of an exclusive club. Because of these things it isn't odd to hear these words uttered from the wife of an upper-middle class investment banker or accountant; “I simply won't buy non-organic fruit and veg, organic is so much tastier and healthier”. Food snobs are common, and organic is the new cool when it comes to food snobbery. Indeed it is far more expensive than non-organic food and therefore an exclusive club. But what it isn't, is healthier or tastier than non-organic.
Basker (1992) fed groups of participants non-organic and organic samples of loads of different fruits and vegetables and measured participants preferences. The important thing in this study was that the participants were blind to which sample was organic or non-organic. The results : no significant difference in preferences between organic and non organic produce. In some instances, participants even tended to prefer the conventional products over organic. Furthermore, no decent research to date has shown clear results that suggest organic really is better off for one's health. Snobs often believe their choice is superior to the masses, but often this simply won't be the case.
This type of expectation effect on actual experience is well replicated in food studies – a nice label makes a cheap wine elegant and enjoyable and a sophisticated sounding dish is far more enjoyable when dining out at a restaurant. Thus, when one expects something to be enjoyable this influences their online experience to be more enjoyable than it would be without such positive expectations. So snobs really do believe the hype and end up living it too.
A type of snobbery we may all be guilty of is an avoidance of cheaper value products. When faced with several products it is
common to pick one priced somewhere in the middle and avoid the cheapest, as we expect it to be nasty tasting or of poorer quality. Yet, this obviously isn't always the case. With many products, it is the label that is the selling point. Although not a published empirical study, of late we have been doing some experiments that require participants to have a disappointing taste experience ce with a food they normally enjoy eating. For example, eating a bar of milk chocolate and finding it to be rather un-enjoyable. To do this I searched Sainsbury's basics range for snacks foods. Although I eventually found some products that participants did enjoy less than the upper end products, the overwhelming majority of value products produced extremely pleasant experiences for my participants. A victory for JB Sainsbury's and an overwhelming failure for snobbish attitudes to cheaper value products.
Another reason one may continue to exhibit such snobbish behaviour is worry of appearing cheap or lacking in 'culture' or 'class' to those around them. One may avoid trying slightly less cool hobbies and pursuits in life. One may be embarrassed to buy cheap products. But if one assumes that when shopping we aim for some kind of balance between quality of product and price, and much of the cheaper brands are no lesser in quality than their fancy labelled and expensive counterparts, perhaps we should shun such embarrassment and use our saved money on other things that might be more enriching in life.
A final observation on snobbish behaviour is the tendency for snobs to avoid mainstream pursuits. Everyone has a friend who only listens to unsigned bands. But the mere fact that something is extremely popular suggests snobbish avoidance of it might be rather irrational. Although hype around popular music or film may sometimes be over the top, the quality of music a band produces is probably strongly related to the chances of them being signed and their popularity. The desire to come across as individualistic and edgy surely must have something to do with all of this. The irony is of course is that such behaviour isn't individualistic at all, as hundreds of other snobs are behaving in just the same way.
What this all suggests is that we should be more careful and examine whether our preconceptions are always correct. The preconceptions concerning taste quality that drives many people to buy organic don't appear to be accurate at all. The snobbish wine lovers avoidance of anything priced under £30 is likely to be similarly inaccurate. The ignorance of snobbish behaviour is in itself a crime. A lack of open mindedness to less fashionable or cheaper options in life may end up to be costly, as individuals might end up missing out on all sorts of hidden joys in life and paying for labels and marketing rather than actual quality.
Application
Try cheaper, more mainstream or uncool stuff with an open mind; you might really like it.
Snobs are annoying and by nature closed minded and ignorant. None of this is good.
Don't buy organic vegetables. EVER.
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