Hierarchy of Worth
A Hierarchy of Worth occurs in social settings where individuals are ranked according to some externally applied criteria. For example, our school system imposes an "F" to "A" hierarchy of intellectual worthiness and superiority. Hierarchies of worth may be overt, as is the case of military or corporate hierarchies, or they may be covert, as is the case with racial hierarchies in North America (racial hierarchies of course remain overt in many countries). On this planet, hierarchies of worth are ubiquitous. Our planet is filled with overt and covert hierarchies and an individual in the modern world would typically be subjected to many overt and covert Hierarchies of Worth.
The foundational psychological structures that support the manifestation of hierarchies of worth are constructed primarily by the modern school system and reinforced by parents and the media. Foundational structures are implanted as children are forced by the adults in their lives to compete in ranked competitions that provide positive reinforcement, bordering on worship, for the winners (stars, trophies, "A" grades, capital letters, gold medals, etc.) and public ridicule for everyone else.
The impact of this brainwashing is significant and pathological in all cases. Children indoctrinated in this fashion go on to, because of the natural tendency of the physical unit to want to minimize punishment/pain and maximize reward, expend considerable energy and effort in order to "plug in and perform" in those hierarchies available to them. This is a considerable waste of psychic energy and may, if accompanied by other difficulties and pathologies, contribute to the psychogenesis of neurosis and psychosis.
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