Optimal distinctiveness theory

And it is identified by social psychologist Marilyn Brewer.

And the term that she uses is a bit of a mouthful, optimal distinctiveness theory.

That's the term.

So it proposes that we are constantly balancing those two needs.

For context up top, I reached out to Matt to talk more about his essay, The Future is Trail, in issue seven of Good Sport Magazine.

In it, Matt uses his background in ecology and the theory of optimal distinctiveness to examine how niche outdoor sports are redefining sports culture.

But we also talk about aesthetics, a complicated relationship with technology, and Matt's run crew, AMPM, in the context of belonging.

Matt says of his creative process, expansive thinking happens in expansive spaces.

You used to work for a brand, let's go for a run and check it out.

Resolutions can get found or ideas can come up or connections can be made to

Matt, I just wanted to dig in a bit more about the optimal distinctiveness theory.

It's a term from social psychology that you explained in the Futurist Trail piece, but can you just lay out how that theory can apply to mainstream sport and its edges?

When I dove into this, I actually discovered something truly weird and ridiculously valuable for anybody starting up a brand, which is that yes, copying and being like everyone else will kill your brand, but what so few people talk about is how being too original will also kill your brand.

And I want to introduce you to something known as Optimal Distinctiveness Theory that was published back in 1991 by Marilyn Brewer, which says that people want to stand out and be different, but they also want to fit in at the exact same time.

And so I can't put into words just how important this video's gonna be for you if you're growing a clothing brand.

This is basically all that I do, by the way.

Why does he even need to feel so special after all? But Moses is wrestling with something that impacts all of our lives.

In 1991, just going back a few years, social psychologist Marilyn Brewer developed what became known as Optimal Distinctiveness Theory.

It's a mouthful, eh? And her landmark paper, landmark, was titled The Social Self, On Being the Same and Being Different, At the same time.

And they identified attention in our human condition to fundamental and competing human needs.