# Is there a name for this situation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397 "2017-07-02T22:57:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/21 "2017-07-04T21:41:47Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > No, the issue with the OP’s beard and his wife is just an example of the phenomenon he’s asking about. Can’t think what to call it, but “confirmation bias” is pretty close, I think. I’m inclined to call it relative dissonance. She wasn’t there to see the before picture and has nothing relative to judge the “clean” sink by. Where as the OP does. Like those diet commercials. You see a guy go from 350 to 200 pounds, you think to yourself: “Oh look how skinny he is.” Where as, if you just saw the 200 pound guy, you might think: “He Fat” ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/22 "2017-07-05T00:01:01Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m inclined to call it relative dissonance. She wasn’t there to see the before picture and has nothing relative to judge the “clean” sink by. Where as the OP does. > > Like those diet commercials. You see a guy go from 350 to 200 pounds, you think to yourself: “Oh look how skinny he is.” Where as, if you just saw the 200 pound guy, you might think: “He Fat” As I think about this, it’s really the OP who is affected by this. He trims his beard, gets a mountain of hair on the counter, cleans _most_ of it up, and thinks, “That’s much better!” His wife walks in and (pretty reasonably) points out, “There’s hair on the bathroom counter.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/23 "2017-07-05T14:10:43Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > \ it is the feeling that someone can do no right, and every insignificant error is magnified (or as some might call it, being married to a woman). Can we not do that? All these hackneyed, mean-spirited “Women always think they’re right”/“Men are idiot man-children” memes just make everything worse. ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/24 "2017-07-05T14:30:28Z")
I do not know a name for this situation but perhaps the OP could effectively change his wife’s perception about the matter. Simply do not clean up at all after trimming. Perhaps the wife will have a melt down or two, but after a while the OP can then return to his “incomplete” cleanup practice and the wife will then be grateful that he is at least trying and has made much improvement. …or maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/25 "2017-07-05T15:19:57Z")
> [@Oddball\_92](#): > > I do not know a name for this situation but perhaps the OP could effectively change his wife’s perception about the matter. Simply do not clean up at all after trimming. Perhaps the wife will have a melt down or two, but after a while the OP can then return to his “incomplete” cleanup practice and the wife will then be grateful that he is at least trying and has made much improvement. > …or maybe not. For the sake of science, I endorse this idea! OP, please keep a detailed experiment log and report back regularly. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/26 "2017-07-05T15:21:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For the sake of science, I endorse this idea! OP, please keep a detailed experiment log and report back regularly. If he can. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/27 "2017-07-05T15:29:08Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m inclined to call it relative dissonance. She wasn’t there to see the before picture and has nothing relative to judge the “clean” sink by. Where as the OP does. > Like those diet commercials. You see a guy go from 350 to 200 pounds, you think to yourself: “Oh look how skinny he is.” Where as, if you just saw the 200 pound guy, you might think: “He Fat” [Anchoring](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchoring). _Is this good or bad, high or low, clean or dirty?_ _Compared to what?_ ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/28 "2017-07-05T15:37:26Z")
I found it. [Selective perception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_perception). > [@](#): > > It is a broad term to identify the behavior all people exhibit to tend to “see things” based on their particular frame of reference. That particular cite focuses on media messages, but it holds true for all types of stimuli. Once something catches your attention, it becomes the thing you focus on. See also [Blue Car Syndrome](http://wordyevidenceofthefact.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/blue-car-syndrome.html). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/29 "2017-07-05T15:40:29Z")
^ Psst: post #4. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/30 "2017-07-05T16:49:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > [Anchoring](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchoring). > > _Is this good or bad, high or low, clean or dirty?_ > > _Compared to what?_ IMHO, I think “anchoring” may be the best descriptor for OP situation I’ve seen offered so far. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/31 "2017-07-05T17:46:01Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Can we not do that? All these hackneyed, mean-spirited “Women always think they’re right”/“Men are idiot man-children” memes just make everything worse. …walk a mile in my shoes… ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/32 "2017-07-05T18:29:07Z")
I would have labeled it non-contextual bias, but I like Anchoring better and intend to use it in conversation from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/33 "2017-07-05T23:29:06Z")
Well, there is a name that common people commonly say when they have worked and worked and worked, and used up their initial estimate of work time well and truely, 200%, 300%… etc and find that the problem they were meant to be getting rid of still remains. “thats life” they say, naming it life. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/34 "2017-07-05T23:38:27Z")
Her: “That sink isn’t clean!” Me: “Well, it’s ‘boy clean’.” For the record, I trim my beard in the shower, just before I take a shower. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/35 "2017-07-06T00:18:32Z")
Totally not the point of this thread, I know, but I’m a beard guy and trim a few times a week. Get a trimmer with a vacuum built in. It makes the whole process so much easier. It won’t catch all the hair but the 5% that gets on the sink is much faster and easier to clean. You then dump out the extra captured in the trimmer’s hair reservoir into the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/36 "2017-07-06T02:46:27Z")
[Rashomon\_effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_effect)? ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/37 "2017-07-06T23:30:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Totally not the point of this thread, I know, but I’m a beard guy and trim a few times a week. Get a trimmer with a vacuum built in. It makes the whole process so much easier. It won’t catch all the hair but the 5% that gets on the sink is much faster and easier to clean. You then dump out the extra captured in the trimmer’s hair reservoir into the trash. I found my vacuum trimmer to be worse than a regular trimmer and not much cleaner. I try to run outside on the lawn with a hand mirror when I can. When the weather doesn’t permit it, I do it over a trash basket. I may try the towel trick mentioned upthread. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/38 "2017-07-07T16:12:23Z")
A few years back Jacksonville FL had the lowest homicide rate in 20 years. Every year since then when it’s gone up the media acts like the police are staffed by a bunch of Keystone cops. I call it “stupidity”. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/39 "2017-07-07T16:13:49Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I’ll do the dishes only to \*\*find a bowl or something in the bedroom \*\*and plop in the sink. She’ll see the bowl and yell at me “for never doing the dishes!” Am I the only one bothered by this? Why would you have dishes in the bedroom? ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397/40 "2017-07-07T16:41:20Z")
Because someone took a snack into the bedroom? No, it doesn’t bother me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-situation/790397.md?page=3)