Why Humblebragging Actually Works

Trending News: Turns Out Being An Obnoxious Blowhard Does Actually Kind Of Work

Why Is This Important?

Because everyone claims to despise the office look-at-me, but then everyone also loves them?

Long Story Short

New research flies in the face of old research, now ascertaining that even though humblebragging remains awful, it’s actually awfully effective.

Long Story

The so-called ‘humblebrag.’ You definitely know some asshole who does this on the reg. Oh yes, they’ll play coy in a deceptive ball of “Really? Little old me?” and then jack off wherever they damn well please, and you’ve just got to sort of sit there taking these massive loads of ego-jism in the face and hair because of some kind of weird social etiquette that’s been established by the preamble of “I’m pretending I’m not a self-important jackass and if you call me on that now it makes you seem like the jackass even though everyone in this daddyf*cking room knows full well that I’m probably on cocaine and wildly talking about questionable importance.”

Up until now, scientific analysis has been on your side: Humblebragging is both objectively nauseating and doesn’t even help you get anywhere anyway. In fact, just owning your boastfulness is often seen as a far better way to self-promote, if still not particularly likeable. However, a team of business professors out of Prague’s University of Economics have delved further into the dynamics of the humble humblebrag, and come away with the idea that if the illusion of competence is conveyed, it often counts as actual competence in the public toilet forums that many a humblebragging piece of shit frequents.

Firstly, they hit their 91 respondents with the classic: “What’s your biggest weakness?” Around half of them actually managed to spin-doctor their answer. “Twenty-six humblebragged in their responses and 20 stated a positive characteristic in combination with a negative one,” stated the researchers.

Secondly, the respondents were asked to rate each other’s perceived fitness for a hypothetical job listing, and were given information about them as well as their responses to the first question. If you suspect that this is where things got really juicy, you are correct. Despite the humblebraggarts coming off as insincere and unlikeable, they were also seen as higher in “competence, dependability, and flexibility.”

“Possibly,” the researchers wrote, “because of the mutual elimination of these opposing forces, humblebragging led to neither more, nor less positive overall evaluation of a candidate’s suitability for the job.”

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Is it still bragging if you can back it up?

Disrupt Your Feed

So, what is your biggest weakness? Mine is fast women. Like literally. Physically capable runners.

Drop This Fact

The man with the most gigantic ego ever was arguably pharaoh Khufu, who got the limestone rolling on the construction of the Great Pyramid. Not only was the act of building this shit a severe display of his wealth and power (it took decades and involved thousands of slaves to do), but Khufu’s tomb is the Great Pyramid at Giza itself, which was one of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World.