Do you feel fake?

The New York Times recently published its “Ninth Annual Year in Ideas” article. It’s a great read. We almost didn’t make it past “c” though (ideas are organized alphabetically) when we read the “Counterfeit Self, The” piece.

The article doesn't take the easy route of condemning counterfeit goods (lovingly known as shanzhai in China) themselves, but it looks at the way people act when using them. The study which measured people’s propensity to cheat on a math test (one group wearing what they thought were knock-off sunglasses and one group wearing the real deal) came to the conclusion that people wearing shanzhai goods were more likely to cheat.

One researcher and psychologists involved in the story, Francesca Gino, explains the finding: "When one feels like a fake, he or she is likely to behave like a fake."

After living in China for so long, do you feel fake?

Other than a interesting commentary on human psychology, does this explain some of the questionable business practices talking about in China? Can we chalk them up to simply using and being surrounded by shanzhai good? Hopefully the Kai En managers won’t use this one as an excuse.