"Shin, Pittinsky, and Ambady conducted an experiment on Asian-American women. A first group was asked questions related to their gender, then given a math test. A second group was asked questions related to their race, then given a math test. * The second group did better on the math test than the first."

"People are sometimes willing to sacrifice the pleasure they get from an experience in order to project a certain image to others...People, particularly those with a high need for uniqueness, may sacrifice personal utility in order to gain reputational utility."

• In Hong Kong, in a culture that values conformity rather than uniqueness, the similar but opposite effect occurred. People ordered the same order as the people ordering before them. They were still unhappy, but they made their choice to avoid uniquenes, rather than to seek it out."