Composite by Danielle Campbell/Alamy.
Composite by Danielle Campbell/Alamy.
From veganism to fundraising, psychologists have found acts of altruism often attract mistrust and even anger
NicholaRaihani
Sun 23 May 2021 06.00 EDT
In 2014, the word “humblebrag” was added to the Oxford online dictionary, along with the following definition: “An ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one is proud.”
In the wild, humblebrags often present as false complaints (“I’ve lost so much weight I have nothing to wear!” or “So stressed: I applied for six jobs and got all of them!”) or as a boast cloaked in humility (“I can’t believe my book became a bestseller!”).