This series started as a way for me to make sense of what I was learning. I kept running into theories in social psychology that felt abstract until I connected them to something I’d actually experienced; a decision I couldn’t explain, a moment that stuck with me, or something I noticed in how people treat each other.
That’s what the “Why I Care” part is. It’s personal. It’s where I try to figure out why a concept matters to me, beyond the academic definition.
The “Why You Should Too” part came later, when I realized that these ideas don’t just live in classrooms or textbooks. They shape how people behave, online and offline. They show up in how we help each other, or don’t. In how we judge people, how we present ourselves, and how we try to fit in. I started wondering; if we all had more language for these things, would we treat each other differently?
This project is my way of learning out loud. I’m not trying to be an expert. I’m still figuring things out. But I wanted a space where theory and lived experience could sit next to each other, without having to choose one over the other.
Some of the pieces I’ve written so far include:
- Cognitive dissonance, and that discomfort when we act against our values
- Conformity, and how group pressure can change what we say or believe
- Social identity theory, and how being part of a group can shift who we think we are
- Prosocial behavior, and why helping doesn’t always come as naturally as we expect
Each post starts from something close to home and works outward, from a feeling to a theory, and then back again. I write them for myself to better understand. But I also write them for anyone else who’s trying to pay more attention to how people work, and how we sometimes get in our own way.
That’s what this series is.
Not a lecture. Not a manifesto.
Just an ongoing attempt to notice more.
Thanks for reading.
Beyond the Bystander 
Leave a comment