Cultural Script Activation
Familiar situations run learned sequences — the restaurant, the sales meeting, the funeral — automatically; departures feel wrong, and once a script starts there is pressure to finish it.
An everyday example
Completing a purchase because the checkout script had begun, though the price had changed mid-way.
What it can cost you
Being carried through a sequence by momentum; treating script violations as bad faith.
Warning signs
- I am going through the motions.
- Stopping would feel rude.
One thing to do
Notice when you are inside a script; you can stop at any step, and you can ask what the script's author gains from your completing it.
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