Learning about the Social Actor and how humans evolved to care deeply about social acceptance made me think about how much of my behavior is shaped by wanting to fit in or be perceived a certain way. There are things I do, how I dress, how I talk around certain people, even the interests I put forward, that aren't always fully authentic. They're performances tailored to whatever group I'm around. Before this I just thought I was being adaptable, but now I see it's deeper than that. My brain is literally wired to monitor how I'm coming across because historically, being accepted by the group meant survival.