Virtue signalling

Virtue signalling is when a person (shows or) exhibits behaviour to make themselves look good to others.  Usually, this means the person says that they don't like or don't approve of something.  For example, a person might talk about political ideas that they know the other people around them agree with.

Psychologists Jillian Jordan and David Rand say that even when people feel true anger, they still show it in ways that they think will make them look good to other people.  They even do this when they are alone.

According to the Boston Globe, the word "virtue signalling" was used as early as 2004 and became popular in 2015.

References

Related pages
Hypocrisy

Category:Human behavior