[yebyen]

> "mental calculus" is just you projecting your own feelings onto a situation for which you have very little factual information

That's exactly what mental calculus is. When I'm in a normal state of mind, "was the service any good" and "does this person have the money to tip" are also part of the mental calculus applied when I notice you didn't tip.

> I'm going to think less of you as a person

Maybe so. Vanishingly so (that's why it's calculus) depending on the scope of our interaction. If you are a person on the street who I noticed didn't tip the hot dog vendor, I'm likely not even doing this mental calculus at all, unless you've done something else to attract my attention.

If you're my boss, and I casually observe you not tipping on a regular basis, sure it's going to affect my opinion of you.

(If you are the owner of the company where I work and I notice you suddenly have a habit of not tipping, I'm likely to take it as a signal that maybe business is not so good!)