<p>What prompted the original question was someone I follow on Twitter mentioning the term I was referring to, which I had forgotten and wanted to remember.</p>

<p>Luckily, he recently re-posted the concept. It's called the <strong>Overton Window</strong>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Overton window, also known as the window of discourse, is the
  range of ideas the public will accept. It is used by media
  pundits.[1][2] The term is derived from its originator, Joseph P.
  Overton (1960–2003),[3] a former vice president of the Mackinac Center
  for Public Policy,[4] who in his description of his window claimed
  that an idea's political viability depends mainly on whether it falls
  within the window, rather than on politicians' individual
  preferences.[5] According to Overton's description, his window
  includes a range of policies considered politically acceptable in the
  current climate of public opinion, which a politician can recommend
  without being considered too extreme to gain or keep public office.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'd think you could also apply this concept to the psychology of individuals. If you push their line of thinking too far, too fast, it will often be rejected.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-28T20:23:53.317Z
2016-11-28T20:23:53.317Z
Cdn_Dev
<p>At an individual level, a person that refuses to even consider an idea that goes against his or her existing beliefs would be called close-minded or narrow-minded. </p>

<p>Intolerant and prejudiced can also be used, but intolerant tends to be applied when discussing religious or political ideas, and prejudiced when talking about racial relations. </p>

<p>Conformist can also be used, and is a more neutral term. It's also a bit vague, so you'd have to specify which idea or range is being conformed to.</p>

<p>A public discourse limited to an acceptable range of subjects would limited to "safe topics". </p>

<p>A person who can accept or generate ideas outside of socially acceptable opinions can be labelled a free-thinker. Depending on how far outside the norms the ideas are, the person and may be branded a "radical" or even "pervert" in order to indicate society or government's disapproval of the individual.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-01T20:04:12.777Z
2016-08-01T20:04:12.777Z
TomEberhard
<p>This one might need a bit of an explanation. I read a statement someone made a few months ago about the normalization of concepts in society. That is if you have ideas that don't exist within the range of socially acceptable opinion, people won't tend to understand or accept them, and so discourse is usually confined to that range.</p>

<p>So I'm wondering if there is a term for either:</p>

<p>An inability to accept ideas that are outside the norm of socially acceptable opinion.</p>

<p>OR</p>

<p>The phenomenon in general, where public discourse is usually limited by a range of what's acceptable.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-30T18:53:04.573Z
Normalcy Bias is the term
Doctor Zhivago
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-30T22:18:38.507Z
Could you please provide a link to the statement you are referring to?
Chris Rogers
<social-psychology>
Term for an inability to accept ideas that are outside the norm
Cdn_Dev
# Term for an inability to accept ideas that are outside the norm

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-30)

This one might need a bit of an explanation. I read a statement someone made a few months ago about the normalization of concepts in society. That is if you have ideas that don't exist within the range of socially acceptable opinion, people won't tend to understand or accept them, and so discourse is usually confined to that range.

So I'm wondering if there is a term for either:

An inability to accept ideas that are outside the norm of socially acceptable opinion.

OR

The phenomenon in general, where public discourse is usually limited by a range of what's acceptable.

**Tags:** social-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Normalcy Bias is the term  
> **username_2**: Could you please provide a link to the statement you are referring to?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2016-11-28. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

What prompted the original question was someone I follow on Twitter mentioning the term I was referring to, which I had forgotten and wanted to remember.

Luckily, he recently re-posted the concept. It's called the **Overton Window**.

> The Overton window, also known as the window of discourse, is the
> range of ideas the public will accept. It is used by media
> pundits.[1][2] The term is derived from its originator, Joseph P.
> Overton (1960–2003),[3] a former vice president of the Mackinac Center
> for Public Policy,[4] who in his description of his window claimed
> that an idea's political viability depends mainly on whether it falls
> within the window, rather than on politicians' individual
> preferences.[5] According to Overton's description, his window
> includes a range of policies considered politically acceptable in the
> current climate of public opinion, which a politician can recommend
> without being considered too extreme to gain or keep public office.

I'd think you could also apply this concept to the psychology of individuals. If you push their line of thinking too far, too fast, it will often be rejected.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-08-01. Score: 2

At an individual level, a person that refuses to even consider an idea that goes against his or her existing beliefs would be called close-minded or narrow-minded.

Intolerant and prejudiced can also be used, but intolerant tends to be applied when discussing religious or political ideas, and prejudiced when talking about racial relations.

Conformist can also be used, and is a more neutral term. It's also a bit vague, so you'd have to specify which idea or range is being conformed to.

A public discourse limited to an acceptable range of subjects would limited to "safe topics".

A person who can accept or generate ideas outside of socially acceptable opinions can be labelled a free-thinker. Depending on how far outside the norms the ideas are, the person and may be branded a "radical" or even "pervert" in order to indicate society or government's disapproval of the individual.


---

