We love to look up to people. We need heroes and role models. We need aspirational targets. But what happens when one of our heroes crumbles before our eyes? Case Study: Tiger Woods.
It's not really surprising that humans need these psychological bearing points. Yesterday,
I talked about the importance of social norms to us. These are the unwritten rules that govern our behavior in a group. They tell us what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and taboo. And these behavioral guidelines are hardwired deeply in our brains. In his book the Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker shows how our feelings towards obscene words seems to reside in a different part of our brain than those that are normally responsible for language. People with brain injuries that remove most of the normal language abilities have somehow managed to keep their ability to swear intact. Our reaction to George Carlin's
The 7 Words You Can't Say on TV lies deep in our subconscious, centered in the fear center of our brain (the amygdala) and the home of habitual behaviors (the basal ganglia). It's why when I say
piss you have a totally different reaction than when I say
urine, although both labels have exactly the same meaning. It is also why one of the symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome is an overwhelming urge to swear (
Coprolalia). Tourette's is caused by faulty wiring in the limbic structures of the brain, including the basal ganglia.
The same mechanisms govern our adherence to social norms. In any group of people, we will pick a few to admire and aspire to, and a few to revile and feel disgust for. And the line between the two, as Tiger Woods found out, is not that far. When a hero crosses the line of our social norms and breaks an unwritten rule, we are quick to condemn. It why spin doctors will always have jobs. It's also why we have a cult of celebrity. Mass communication and entertainment have created a global social group and has created heroes and villains, giving us bearing points to judge ourselves against. The archetypes of the hero and the villain are, as any Disney story editor will be quick to tell you, embedded into the human psyche. Think about the visceral reaction you had when you saw the picture of Tiger with his baby and ex-wife above. And now, think about what your reaction would have been just 2 months ago. Something fundamental has flipped in your brain that governs your feelings towards Mr. Woods.
The celebrity marketing firm Davie Brown Entertainment has attempted
to quantify this all-to-human quirk of ours. Their Celebrity Index ranks some 2400 celebrities on their ability to influence brand affinity and consumer purchase intent. Scores are compiled based on seven different attributes: appeal, breakthrough (can they catch your attention when they appear on screen or in print), trendsetter, influence, trust, endorsement and aspiration. Not surprisingly, Tiger has not faired well in the index.
Wood's overall score dropped from the 6th most influential celebrity to no 78, but the big losses are in the aspiration and appeal scores. Just a few months ago, Tiger was a role model on par with Steve Jobs, Steven Spielberg and Warren Buffet. He was the 9th most aspirational celebrity on the list. Today, he's plummeted to the basement, where he's roommates with Jerry Springer and Al Sharpton. And when it comes to appeal, he's dropped from 96th to 2252nd. He used to keep company with Matt Damon and Meg Ryan. Now, when it comes to appeal, he's rubbing elbows with Dolph Lundgren and Kid Rock.
Trust is another area where Woods took a major hit. Prior to the scandal, he was as trusted as Sean Connery. Today, you would rather trust Pauly Shore. And finally, let's look at the score that made Tiger a billionaire, his "endorsability". He dropped from no. 11 to 1681, only slightly ahead of Chris Brown.
The power of social norms giveth and, if you decide to be an absolute cad, they taketh away. Celebrities are well advised to remember, it's we who put you there and we're also the ones who will take you down.