Reflect on one's "herd mentality"

This afternoon, I went to pick up my daughter from school.

When I arrived at the school gate, my daughter had not finished class, and several parents stood outside the door.

I'm a little tired from standing, and I want to find a place to sit down.

Seeing the clean stones on the roadside, it should be very comfortable to sit there.

However, there is a voice in my heart saying, "Will other parents laugh at you if you sit on the roadside so casually?"

I thought so, so I didn't sit down.

After a while, another parent was probably tired and sat directly on the side of the road.

My inner voice said, "You see everyone else is sitting. Sit down, too."

Well, sit down, so I sat down, too

Such a simple process, either sitting or sitting, I know, is the result of my self-coordination of ID, superego and environment.

Besides, why don't other parents sit and I don't?

I think this should be herd mentality.

Conformity psychology refers to the individual's perception, judgment and understanding, which are influenced by the behavior of the outside crowd, and are in line with the behavior of public opinion or most people.

Generally speaking, the behavior of group members usually tends to follow the group. When he finds that his behavior and views are inconsistent with the group, or with most people in the group, he will feel a kind of pressure, which makes him tend to be consistent with the group, which is called conformity behavior.

Conformity is everywhere in our lives. There are two people quarreling in the street. It's no big deal. As a result, there were more and more people, and finally even the traffic was blocked. The people behind stopped and looked up at the crowd. ...

American james thurber has a very vivid text to describe people's herd mentality:

Suddenly, a man ran away. Maybe he suddenly remembered his date with his lover, which has been out of date for a long time now. No matter what he thinks, he is running in the street and running east anyway. The other man ran away, too This may be an enthusiastic newsboy. The third man, a fat gentleman in a hurry, also trotted all the way ... in less than ten minutes, all the people in this street were running. The noise gradually became clear, and the word "levee" was clearly heard. "It's broken!" This horrible voice may be shouted by an old woman on the tram, may be said by the traffic police or may be said by a boy. No one knows who said it, and no one knows what happened. But more than two thousand people suddenly ran away. "East!" The crowd shouted. The east is far from the river, and the east is safe. "Go east! Go east! " ……

Isn't this the story of human "plop"?

It seems that conformity has a great influence on people. There are many reasons why people follow the crowd. In a group, an individual feels isolated because he doesn't want to be unconventional and different, but when his behavior, attitude and viewpoint are consistent with others, he will feel "nothing wrong" security. Conformity stems from a group's invisible pressure on itself, forcing some members to act against their wishes.

Different types of people have different degrees of conformity behavior. Generally speaking, women are more obedient than men; There are more introverted and inferior people than extroverted and confident people; There are more people with low academic qualifications than those with high academic qualifications; There are more young people than old people; There are more people with less social experience than those with more social experience.

Some people hold a negative attitude towards "conformity". In fact, it has a dual nature: the negative side is to inhibit the development of personality, inhibit thinking, stifle creativity, and make people become opinionated and stick to the rules; But there is also a positive side, that is, it helps to learn the wisdom and experience of others, broaden our horizons, overcome stubborn opinions and blind self-confidence, correct our own way of thinking, and reduce unnecessary troubles such as misunderstandings.

Herd behavior is manifested in all aspects, including work, life and study.

The most important thing is to have wisdom and be able to distinguish when to follow the crowd and when to remain independent.