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Myopia Theory was first suggested by psychologists Claude Steele and Robert Josephs. “Myopia” is the official term for nearsightedness. Correspondingly, Myopia Theory proposes that alcohol “narrow[s] our emotional and mental fields of vision.” People under the influence of alcohol, therefore, are more likely to engage in risky behaviors because they have a diminished sense of long-term consequences. Gladwell draws on Myopia Theory to argue that acute alcohol intoxication makes the already complex task of making sense of strangers even more difficult.
Myopia Theory Quotes in Talking to Strangers
The Talking to Strangers quotes below are all either spoken by Myopia Theory or refer to Myopia Theory. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8
Quotes
The lesson of myopia is really very simple. If you want people to be themselves in a social encounter with a stranger—to represent their own desires honestly and clearly—they cannot be blind drunk.
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Myopia Theory Term Timeline in Talking to Strangers
The timeline below shows where the term Myopia Theory appears in Talking to Strangers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Eight: The Fraternity Party
...intoxication. It suggested that alcohol was less “an agent of disinhibition” than “an agent of myopia.”
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5. Psychologists Claude Steele and Robert Josephs were the first scientists to propose the “myopia theory," which dictates that alcohol heightens the drinker’s concern for immediate considerations and inhibits their...
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