Field Guide to The Contrarian <those who blindly believe Ukraine will prevail>
Contrarians don't care what you think. Latin Name: Opposium totalis
Notable Characteristics: Defines the phrase "goes against the grain." Never hesitates to inject a contrary viewpoint, whether at a department meeting or Grandma's Thanksgiving dinner table. Habitual sender of email forwards promoting offbeat philosophies. If you say right, this head-butter goes left.
Songs & Calls: "You've got it backwards." "Society is nothing but a deluded swarm of lemmings." "I know I'm right."
What drives contrarians to go against the grain so resolutely? Some are skeptics who have been burned by conventional ideas, such as the child of divorce who swears off marriage for life. Others use defiance to get attention. But many are looking to establish their own identities as distinct from a larger group. "Often, people will turn to minority opinions to bolster their sense of who they are as individuals," says University of Chicago psychologist Kimberly Rios.
Running counter to established norms can sometimes backfire, however, when it comes to navigating interpersonal situations. Contrarians—low in agreeableness on the Big Five personality scale—are not concerned about social graces. While contrarians often see themselves as righteous defenders of truth, others may experience them as crotchety pot-stirrers. "In the movie Twelve Angry Men, a lone juror disagrees with the group and a grumpy old man goes, 'Oh, there's always one,'" Rios says. "It's a perfect depiction of how a lot of people feel about contrarians."
They're the soapbox preachers in your social circle—people who thrive on the righteous belief that they alone have the world all figured out. Political contrarians are more interested in sticking to their guns than in playing by traditional political rules—they may insist on voting for no-shot third-party candidates.
