The influence of society on a person
Should you trust the opinion of the crowd? Herd instinct - good or bad? By following the crowd, are we heading towards degradation?
There are a lot of questions to which we would like to know the answers. So let's try to figure out what a crowd is, a herd, how they are interconnected, what the herd instinct is and whether it is always necessary to fight it.
Referring to Ozhegov's dictionary, we can define the words crowd and herd:
Crowd - 1. A crowd of people, a gathering. 2. transfer A faceless mass of people in contrast to outstanding personalities (outdated).
A herd is a group of animals of the same species.
From these definitions it can be noted that these two concepts are close to each other. The phrase “herd instinct” itself originally applied to animals. For them, a herd lifestyle is natural. In other words, the herd is a hierarchical system where everyone has their own role. The herd instinct in this case is sometimes called the herd hierarchy instinct and is genetic. This strict hierarchy can be seen in the example of a herd of rats: each rat has its own rank, and lower ranks are subordinate to higher ones. From biology we remember that individuals of the highest rank are called alpha, and the lowest are called omega. In animals, the determination of rank is influenced by such important qualities as impudence, physical strength, etc. Also, some external signs can determine rank. For example, in roosters - the size of the comb.
The herd instinct manifests itself not only in animals. We should not forget that man is a biosocial being, and he also has an instinct for herd hierarchy. The main difference between a “herd of people” and a herd of animals is the basis on which qualities the rank is determined. For animals, as we have found out, strength plays the greatest role, but for people it affects much less. Much more important is the position in society, the size of the salary, etc., but this is only an external manifestation of the herd instinct. In fact, in humans it is almost no different from animals. Although, if we compare the lifestyle of people and, in fact, animals, we will not notice any strong differences. Under the slave system, whoever had the most slaves had the highest rank. In animals, everything happens similarly - rank is proportional to the number of subordinate individuals of lower rank. Also, in animals, the rank may depend on the territory that “belongs to a given herd. Among people, rank was determined by the number of buildings - under a feudal system.
The simplest manifestation of the herd instinct is the solution of any issue in a group of people; in this example, let’s consider a group of students. Each group has a leader, an activist who will offer his opinion on solving a specific problem. Most of those present agree with this decision, but not because they agree, but because they are most likely not sure that they are right or do not want to take responsibility for their words, and uncertainty is one of the signs that strengthens the herd instinct. Regardless of whether the person who made the decision was right, everyone who followed him in the “herd” will think that he is smarter than them. This is called subconscious associations, because of which we wishful thinking.
In each person, the instinct of herd hierarchy is expressed to varying degrees. In addition to the fact that the herd feeling is inherent in the genotype, we get used to it in everyday life. Most of it is laid in childhood: mainly by the example of parents. Next comes kindergarten, school, teachers, friends. The media (mass media), television, and the Internet come to their aid. And finally, neighbors and surrounding people (see Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The influence of various factors on the formation of the herd instinct
Pros and cons of the herd instinct
By studying the herd instinct, we can identify a number of its positive and negative influences on human life.
First, let's look at the positive influences.
First, the herd instinct is a basic survival mechanism in both humans and animals. If several people are looking up, passers-by will involuntarily look up to see what has attracted the attention of the group of people. And there is nothing wrong with this, since there may be danger from above from which you need to hide. In this case, the herd instinct works as a self-preservation instinct.
Secondly, based on the opinion of the crowd, we can make a choice in an area that is not entirely familiar to us. An example would be choosing a computer or phone. Not all people understand the characteristics, but based on the analysis of model data by other people, their reviews and statistics carried out on websites, you can find out a lot of useful information and choose a product. This applies not only to searching for products on the Internet. When we are going to buy a product, we resort to the help of sales consultants who help in choosing, and we trust their opinion.
Next, we will consider the negative influences on a person’s life.
If there is a crowd around a person, i.e. some gathering of people, he begins to move, think and act differently from what was expected of him. Why does the human mass have such a strong influence on an individual? There are several answers to this question.
Basically, a large number of attachments arise in a group of people due to a lack of independence and initiative in certain individuals.
Well, the second option for why a crowd can influence a person so much is that the person himself allows the masses to think for him, without bothering himself. An interesting factor is that in a crowd, not only the leader, but also each individual can have a suggestive influence on each other. Often we listen to other people's opinions because they are based on simpler facts.
Another disadvantage of the herd instinct is the ease of managing large numbers of people. The reluctance to break away from the general team, so as not to lose one’s status in society, is one of the main problems of our time. People begin to depend on the opinions of others so much that they allow themselves to be controlled. The individual begins to act not for his own purposes, but for the purposes of society, so as not to stand out and not be the object of discussion. For example, consider a group of schoolchildren who decide to leave class. When most of the class agrees to skip class and are about to leave, the remaining guys begin to think and unwittingly join the crowd. In most cases, approximately 3-10% of the entire team will remain for the lesson.
A person, without experiencing any influence and being in the company of people, spontaneously “infects” their behavior and copies their habits. Once a few people start moving at a red light, most people start moving too, without thinking about whether they are doing the right thing.
For some, the herd instinct is a way of protecting themselves. Protection from the outside world and external influences. The complexity of decision making pushes them to follow public opinion.
Herd instinct in everyday life
We all understand that people have a tendency towards herd instinct. This is why it becomes possible to manipulate people for your own purposes. A famous example is an episode from Mark Twain’s book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” about how the main character forces the neighbor boys to paint the fence instead of him. The question immediately arises: how was he able to do this? And the answer is very simple! Using the herd instinct. Seeing that there are already two people in line to paint the fence, the others begin to think that there is something valuable in this work and they are even willing to pay for the opportunity to participate in this process.
This technique is often used in promoting online stores that have a system for evaluating purchased goods. Previously, we looked at an example of how, based on statistics and reviews, you can select the desired product, but it is worth considering that not only buyers, but also “dummy people” can give ratings and write reviews, i.e. the author himself, the manufacturer or competitors. But people trust reviews and ratings on websites more than, for example, advertising.
The herd instinct also affects relationships within the team. We begin to relate better to those people whom we consider “our own”. It is not at all difficult to understand the principle by which selection for “friend” or “stranger” occurs. Mainly because of marital status, common interests, belonging to a group, etc., and, oddly enough, we listen to the advice of “our own” more often, and even allow ourselves to follow their example.
Having analyzed the behavior of people in various situations, you can notice a very interesting thing called “spontaneous herd instinct.” The individual begins to follow what he himself has already done several times. It turns out that a person considers a certain action to be correct based on his behavior in the past. In sales, it is believed that the most important purchase from one customer is the second. Then the person “gets in line” and can buy again and again, often making larger orders and spending more money.
The topic of the herd instinct has been of interest to people for a very long time. In 1971, a popular science film was made in which various experiments were carried out on children. Let's consider one of the experiments carried out, called “sweet or salty”. Three quarters of the porridge in the plate was sprinkled with sugar, and the remaining area was sprinkled with salt. Children take turns trying the porridge from the same plate and answer what it tastes like. The first three get the sweet parts, and they sincerely say that the porridge is sweet. The tested child (the fourth) gets an over-salted piece. Despite this, most of the subjects stated that the porridge was still sweet. At the same time, many of them actively refuse another spoonful of such “sweet” porridge.
After this, several decades later, psychologists conducted the same experiments on modern society, but no significant changes were revealed. This means that the herd instinct, inherent in us even before our birth, undoubtedly evolves, but at such a low speed that in half a century this difference becomes not so noticeable. And in order to learn to think independently in a crowd, a lot of time must pass and a lot of effort must be spent on each individual in order to change our society for the better. But nevertheless, we see that in each of the experiments conducted there are about 10 percent of people who did not respond to the opinion of the crowd, but trusted only their own. This means we have a chance to correct the current situation and move towards a more rational future. We should always try to think with our own heads, but if we imitate something, then we need to choose worthy examples for this. Let the herd instinct manifest itself in the right form for you.
Stages of personality formation
The process of becoming an individual as a personality begins from the moment of birth, when the factor of heredity lays the foundation for formation. Other factors of influence of society on human development:
- natural environment, climatic features of the area of residence,
- a set of social norms and cultural values accepted in a group,
- a person’s assimilation of norms that provide influence on the socialization process,
- subjective experience that accumulates when leaving different situations.
The natural factor is the most important condition for the harmonious development of society. The influence of society on the development of personality lies not only in practical significance, but also has artistic, scientific, and moral significance.
The influence of society on the formation of personality begins literally from the moment of birth. The socialization process can be divided into several age categories:
- early up to 3 years,
- from 3 to 11 years old,
- teenage, from 12 to 15 years old,
- adolescence (up to 18 years).
The most important thing in ensuring the influence of society on the individual is the institution of the family, as well as children's groups. By the age of 18, a practically formed young personality has his own opinions.
The influence of social groups on human psychology and behavior can be both positive and negative. The concept of personality is manifested in the totality of social qualities acquired in life.
The influence of a group of society is aimed at eliminating the negative qualities of an individual, and the presence of feedback allows us to evaluate the correctness of the chosen vector of development.
The group contains people with different levels of knowledge, skills and abilities. By communicating with people of a higher level of development, you can quickly achieve your goal and become successful.
The influence of society on the individual through groups is the requirement to fulfill norms. Communication skills are developed here, and positive emotions from communication increase self-esteem and give confidence.
If group interests become higher than the interests of its individual members and act to the detriment of society, then the negative influence of the group is noted. When the opinion of the majority is imposed, gifted individuals are under psychological pressure.
As a result, such people either became conformists or succumbed to social ostracism, even to the point of expulsion. Sometimes a group can initiate character development in a negative direction, the acquisition of bad habits.
This influence of society can be illustrated by the well-known saying “whoever you mess with, you’ll gain from it.”
