It's been said that virtue is its own reward, but for those of us who demand more from our virtue, virtue signaling is the way to go. The declaration of the worldwide COVID-10 pandemic ushered in a newfound era of virtue signaling, in which people are encouraged to flaunt the positive personal qualities that they passionately desire other people to believe that they possess.
But which virtues to signal, and how? This is the question that New York marketing firm Integrity Ads endeavored to answer in its recent research into morality marketing.
If you’re debating which virtues to lead with in business or personal life, here are the top signaling picks, in descending order:
(5) Inclusiveness. Inclusiveness is hot, and the bast way to signal it to make a point of shunning and excluding anyone who does not emphasize their own inclusiveness of marginalized communities like LGBTQ individuals, those in large-sized bodies, non-binary police officers, and male-identifying White Congressmen.
(4) Vulnerability. Looking to skyrocket your sex appeal? Try some carefully signaled vulnerability. The most effective way to signal this virtue is to pull out the most cringe-worthy personal stories you can summon and, in the process, transform your shame into your claim for fame.
(3) Victimhood. Not accustomed to thinking of victimhood as a virtue? Think again. It’s now a highly coveted status point worthy of drawing attention to. To signal the victimhood virtue, pepper your conversations with terms like microaggression and adopt a slightly slumped posture (whether standing or sitting) to embody lack of agency. It can get you really good stuff.
(2) Humility. Not to be confused with victimhood, signaling humility implies that you possess great and mysterious virtues about which you are super humble. One way to bring attention to your humility is to cut people off in conversation and then tell them considerately, “No, no, you first.” Also helpful is to shrug and say, “What can I say? I’m lucky.” If pride cometh before a fall, humility cometh before a rise in external admiration and praise. You deserve it!
(1) Integrity. When it comes to the big enchilada of virtues that are important to signal that you possess:, integrity takes the cake. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you intend to change – but don’t worry, you don’t have to actually have it, you just have to signal it. Do that by lots of talking and use of the phrase “The one thing I’ll never compromise is my integrity.” If people hear it enough, they’ll believe it.
Bottom line: if you’re daunted by the prospect of signaling these high-level virtues, remember, it’s not about you, it’s about what you’re signaling about you. Allow your virtue signal to be a beacon that irresistibly draws to you the people it serves you to connect with.
In other words, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. If you haven’t got it, signal it. It works better anyway.
