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Unit6:SectionAAsHisNameIs,SoIsHe!IntensiveStudyAsHisNameIs,SoIsHe!1Forherfirsttwenty-fouryears,she’dbeenknownasDebbie–anamethatdidn’tsuithergoodlooksandelegantmanner.“MynamehasalwaysmademethinkIshouldbeacook,”shecomplained.“Ijustdon’tfeellikeaDebbie.”2Oneday,whilefillingoutanapplicationformforapublishingjob,theyoungwomanimpulsivelysubstitutedhermiddlename,Lynne,forherfirstnameDebbie.“ThatwasthesmartestthingIeverdid,”shesaysnow.“AssoonasIstoppedcallingmyselfDebbie,Ifeltmorecomfortablewithmyself…andotherpeoplestartedtotakememoreseriously.”Twoyearsafterhersuccessfuljobinterview,theformerwaitressisnowasuccessfulmagazineeditor.FriendsandassociatescallherLynne.IntensiveStudy3Naturally,thenamechangedidn’tcauseDebbie/Lynne’sprofessionalachievement–butitsurelyhelpedifonlybyaddingabitofself-confidencetohertalents.Socialscientistssaythatwhatyou’recalledcanaffectyourlife.Throughouthistory,nameshavenotmerelyidentifiedpeoplebutalsodescribedthem.“…Ashisnameis,soishe…”saystheBible,andWebster’sDictionaryincludesthefollowingdefinitionofname:“awordorwordsexpressingsomequalityconsideredcharacteristicordescriptiveofapersonorathing,oftenexpressingapprovalordisapproval”.Notewell“approvalordisapproval”.Forbetterorworse,qualitiessuchasfriendlinessorreserve,plainnessorcharmmaybesuggestedbyyournameandconveyedtootherpeoplebeforetheyevenmeetyou.IntensiveStudy4Namesbecomeattachedtospecificimages,asanyonewho’sbeencalled“aplainJane”or“justanaverageJoe”canshow.ThelatternameparticularlybothersmesincemynameisJoe,whichsomethinkmakesmemorequalifiedtobeabaseballplayerthan,sayanartcritic.Yet,despitethisdisadvantage,Ididmanagetobecomeanartcriticforatime.Evenso,oneprominentmagazineconsistentlyrefusedtoprint“Joe”inmyby-line,usingmyfirstinitials,J.S.,instead.IsuspectthatifIwereamorerefinedArthurorAdrian,thenamewouldhaveappearedcomplete.IntensiveStudy5Ofcourse,nameswithapositivesensecanworkforyou,evenencouragenewacquaintances.ArecentsurveyshowedthatAmericanmenthoughtSusantobethemostattractivefemalename,whilewomenbelievedRichardandDavidwerethemostattractiveformen.OnewomanIknowturneddownablinddatewithamannamedHarrybecause“hesoundeddull”.Severaleveningslater,shecameuptomeataparty,pressingforanintroductiontoaveryimpressiveman;they’dbeenexchangingglancesallevening.“Oh,”Isaid.“YoumeanHarry.”Shewasillatease.IntensiveStudy6Thoughmostofuswouldliketothinkourselvesfreefromsuchprejudicednotions,we’reallguiltyofnamestereotypingtosomeextent.Confess:wouldn’tyoubesurprisedtomeetacarpenternamedNigel?AphysicistcalledBertha?APopeMel?Often,weprojectname-basedstereotypesonpeople,asonewomanfrienddiscoveredwhiletakingchargeofanursery-school’sgroupoffour-year-olds.“ThereIwas,tryingtogetalittleactiveboynamedJuliantositquietlyandreadabook–andpushingathoughtfulcreaturenamedRorytoplayball.Ihadtheirpersonalitiesconfusedbecauseoftheirnames!”IntensiveStudy7Apparently,suchprejudicescanaffectclassroomachievementaswell.InastudyconductedbyHerbertHarariofSanDiegoStateUniversity,andJohnMcDavidofGeorgiaStateUniversity,teachersgaveconsistentlylowergradesonessaysapparentlywrittenbyboysnamedElmerandHubertthantheyawardedtothesamepaperswhenthewriter’snamesweregivenasMichaelandDavid.However,teacherprejudiceisn’ttheonlysourceofclassroomdifference.Dr.ThomasV.BusseandLouisaSeraydarianofTempleUniversityfoundthosegirlswithnamessuchasLinda,Diane,Barbara,Carol,andCindyperformedbetteronobjectivelygradedIQandachievementteststhandidgirlswithlessappealingnames.(Acompanionstudyshowedgirls’popularitywiththeirpeerswasalsorelatedtothepopularityoftheirnames–althoughtheconnectionwaslessclearforboys.)IntensiveStudy8Thoughyourparentsprobablymeantyournametolastalifetime,rememberthatwhentheypickeditthey’dhardlymetyou,andthehopesanddreamstheyvaluedwhentheychoseitmaynotmatchyours.Ifyournamenolongerseemstofityou,don’tdespair;youaren’tstuckwiththelabel.Moviestarsregularlychangetheirnames,andwithsomedetermination,youcan,too.DebbieFemalename,representsthepersonalitycharacteristicsofgenerous,understanding,honest,creativeandintense.ItisashortnameofDeborah,whichmeansbeeinHebrew.DeborahwasaheroineandprophetesswholedtheIsraelitestodefeatCanaanitesastoldintheOldTestamentBookofJudges.AlsointheOldTestament,thiswasthenameofthenurseofRebecca.LongacommonJewishname,DeborahwasfirstusedbyEnglishChristiansaftertheProtestantReformation,anditwaspopularamongthePuritans.Formoreinformationaboutexplanationsofnames,visit://•Theyweresubstitutingviolencefordialogue.•DavidwassubstitutedforWilliaminthesecondhalfofthematch.2.vi.Actorserveasareplacement•Canyousubstituteformeatthemeeting?•Honeycansubstituteforsugarinthisrecipe.3.n.apersonorthingthatreplacesorserveassthelse•Theteacherisill,soasubstituteisteachingtoday.•Thereisnosubstituteforgoodfoodandexercise.Lynne(f.)orLynn(m.)representsthepersonalitycharacteristicsofsensitive,deeplyartisticandcreative,intense,andnature-loverandcomesfromWelshmeaning“lake”orisashortformofLinda(Spanish),orBelinda(Italian),