Herd Mentality
Safety in numbers
Animals learned a long time ago that there is safety in numbers. Running together in packs not only offered survival of the fittest, but also of the less fit. The underachievers felt a false sense of security, and were comforted as they were surrounded and shielded by their brethren.
This feeling of safety can be deceptive. It seems that the collective wit, caught up in the emotionalism of the moment, is not always superior to the thinking of an individual. .
To gain more insight into this phenomenon, you may wish to peruse Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds .
It seems that one of the most difficult things for each of us to do is to do our own critical thinking. There is little “risk” in going along with the crowd mentality, until experience reveals the unexpected truth of the matter.
Unfortunately, it is always easier in hindsight to discover what should have been done. We can only hope to use our own critical thinking skills with the information that is available at that moment, and make our best guess as to a proper course of action.
Do you have the self-confidence to think for yourself and act accordingly?
Social Growth
