Herd instinct in humans. The instinct to imitate and auto-sync

Bylinina Alena

1. Introduction

All animals in nature are characterized by a herd lifestyle. The herd is a hierarchical system in which each individual has its own role. Sometimes (usually when applied to predators) this is not called a herd, but a flock, but the essence of the herd does not change from the fact that it was called differently.

In man, too, there is an instinct for herd hierarchy. In fact, the human herd differs from the herd of animals only in terms of what qualities determine the rank of an individual in the herd. Unlike animals, physical strength plays a much smaller role in humans; much more important is the size of the wallet, belonging to one social class or another, and so on. But only external signs of herd rank. The very mechanism of action of the herd instinct in humans practically does not differ from that in animals.

Purpose of the study:

Find out why people like to blend in with the crowd. Is it easy for a person to succumb to the herd instinct. How to get rid of this quality.

1. Consider the theory of this issue.

2. Find out with the help of literature about people who, fearing to stand out from the crowd, committed offenses.

3. Conduct a survey among adolescents on the topic: "Is it easy for you to blend in with the crowd?". Draw conclusions.

Download:

Preview:

VIII regional festival-competition

research works and creative projects of students in the field of social and humanitarian sciences, art and culture

"Your Path to Discovery"

"The herd instinct.

Why do people follow the lead of others.

http://zoonovosti.by/board/post23460.html

Herd instinct and its manifestations. Varieties of desire to be like everyone else. Correction of such a state.

What is herd instinct


The desire to be like everything is studied in detail by specialists and voiced in many scientific works. F. Nietzsche called it the tendency of mediocre persons to distrust and hatred of relatively extraordinary personalities. W. Trotter, an English social psychologist and surgeon, considered in it a person's desire to join certain groups and social associations and copy the behavior of their leaders.

P.A. Kropotkin, a scholar and Russian anarchist revolutionary, considered solidarity to be a quality inherent in almost every person.

At the University of Leeds (UK), scientists put forward a theory about 5%. They showed by example that this number of people is quite enough to subjugate 95% of other inhabitants.

In this case, the herd instinct is automatically triggered, and on a subconscious level, a person begins to do what 5% of the demonstrators do. Even if he did not like the performance of any artist, he mechanically begins to applaud him because of the applause of part of the audience.

Types of herd instinct

This phenomenon covers many aspects of human life. Among them, the leading positions are occupied by religion, politics, art, advertising and the sexual life of the inhabitants. It is in these areas that it is easiest to manipulate people's minds.

Religious herd instinct


The spiritual essence of a person is often based on church postulates. In most cases, they do not carry a destructive grain for the consciousness of people, because in a moderate dose they offer them to understand the essence of moral norms. However, the herd instinct on religious grounds is not always harmless, as evidenced by the following points:
  • sects. Such islands of "spiritual purification" most actively began to operate in the domestic expanses in the early 90s. Taking advantage of the confusion of people after the collapse of the USSR, the pseudo-prophets began to create societies that later were able to cloud the brain even of adequate individuals. At the same time, the herd instinct worked smoothly, because the person wanted to believe in the best and reached for a ghostly dream. Specialists were interested in the fact that the leaders of the sects were excellent psychologists and orators. In their reasoning before the public, they relied on Christian postulates, while destroying human souls and gathering fanatics into a controlled herd. The most dangerous sects are Jehovah's Witnesses, Calvary Chapel and Temple of the Nations.
  • Communities-communes. These organizations can be called the highest manifestation of a dangerous association of people on religious grounds. If the community lives at the monastery, where everyone can see its activities, then this is not a problem. However, the manipulators do not stop at such a modest raising of funds for their existence and arrange entire settlements of adherents of the created idol. An example is the Manson Family community, in which the herd instinct made people slaves of someone else's will and cruel killers.

Sexual herd instinct


In this case, we will talk about the stereotypes that are inherent in modern society. To some extent, the herd instinct is one of the main mechanisms of sexual selection:
  1. Dogma about procreation. One of the most common stereotypes is that people (especially women) worry about their infertility. If we do not take into account the moral side of the issue, but turn on the logic, then interesting facts emerge. Society is wary of those individuals who cannot reproduce offspring. There is a stereotype that a person must necessarily continue the race and give a new citizen his own set of chromosomes. However, with a strong desire to have a child, people often forget that orphanages exist. Psychologists believe that the reason for such fear is in associating oneself with the animal environment. In any herd, a barren female automatically becomes the lowest link among the animals. For the same reason, society, with the help of the dogmas of the church, condemns such concepts as homosexuality, lesbianism and other types of sexuality that do not ultimately lead to the conception of a child.
  2. Social cliché about jealousy. Another stereotype is the opinion that this is a manifestation of love for your sexual partner. Experts say that the voiced feeling has nothing to do with passion and the desire to always be close to a certain person. They consider the fear of losing their rank in the herd hierarchy to be the basis of jealousy.
  3. stereotype of monogamy. Some researchers believe that this model of the institution of marriage was created by people who were afraid of competition from males and females of a higher herd rank. According to sexologists, the idea remained a waste of time: representatives of the herd hierarchy can still afford to have a harem. Sexual freedom is unrealistic among people with a herd instinct. Whether it is good or bad, it is up to each person to decide, based on his views on life and morality.

political herd instinct


To some extent, influential persons in this sphere of human activity are able to give odds to even the most dexterous religious manipulators. The herd instinct in politics has 4 types, which are as follows:
  • Patriotism. Such a social feeling is inherent in people who love their homeland and the population that lives in it. It was this political principle that helped many peoples to repel the attacks of the enemy encroaching on their lands. However, it is quite dangerous when it develops into fanaticism and hypertrophied leavened patriotism.
  • Nationalism. This ideology can be civil, ethnic and cultural in nature. The manifestation of the herd instinct can develop into aggression with extreme nationalism, because it begins to resemble extremism.
  • Racism. Such a system of views has no place in a civilized society. At one time, the herd instinct played a cruel joke on the planters of the southern states of America, who had black slaves. The policy of racial discrimination can call for both the deprivation of the rights and freedoms of people from another system of the human population, and their complete destruction.
  • Religious strife. This intolerance towards representatives of other faiths and its propaganda is punishable by the Law. However, quite often the herd instinct kicks in when the crowd is turned on by an experienced manipulator.
Exclusively patriotism within its reasonable limits can be called an adequate manifestation of one's consciousness. The rest of the voiced factors ignited many wars that claimed a large number of human lives.

Advertising herd instinct


It is no secret to anyone that the videos with an element of propaganda that flooded the airwaves affect the human psyche. Numerous corporations have seen a real bonanza in the factor of the herd instinct.

Quite often, children are the targets of advertising. It is important for them to get a fashionable toy that does not leave the TV screens. Moreover, classmates have it, but you need to be like everyone else and not yield to them in anything. The child will prefer the advertised and rather harmful sweetness, but will not ask his parents to buy a high-quality domestic product.

Some adults are not far from their children and seek to take possession of the branded item. They reason on the principle that if everyone takes it, then this is a profitable and rational acquisition. Such people are magnetically affected by slogans like “do as we do; do it with us."

Politicians also skillfully use the psychology of the herd instinct. Quite often, the advertisement of their party looks like a leader in the foreground, behind which is a whole crowd of his like-minded people. After the communist videos, war veterans feel like an important component of the party, which reminds them of the times of their distant youth.

Herd instinct in art


In this case, we will again talk about stereotypes. If you want to pass for an aesthete, then you must like the La Gioconda and you must freeze in admiration at the sounds of Bach's organ music. So it is necessary, because it is accepted in society and approved by the majority of its members.

With a dislike for the theater, a label is immediately attached to a person who cannot understand the beautiful.

People themselves develop a herd instinct, obeying the opinion of the crowd. Any preferences in art are a matter of taste, but the resulting stereotypes are firmly deposited in the minds of the townsfolk.

Ways to deal with the herd instinct


People who have either a poorly developed desire to be like everyone else, or it is completely absent, find it difficult to adapt to society.

Society does not like "white crows", calls them crazy people. The grief of such personalities is precisely from their mind. With high intelligence, they do not want to blend in with the crowd. As a result, such people remain lonely rebels. It is quite difficult not to cause rejection of society and at the same time be an extraordinary person. However, even mediocrity does not always dream of becoming a small link in a single whole.

Psychologists advise to correct the herd instinct in the following way:

  1. Keeping calm in any situation. The energy of the crowd only acts on a person when he is emotionally overexcited. This is especially true for overly impressionable and exalted persons. Calmness is a powerful weapon against manipulators.
  2. Turning on the brain at 100%. A highly developed personality will never become a victim of the herd mentality. Pseudo-prophets don't usually associate with such people. The exception is the leaders of Scientology, on the hook of which John Travolta and Tom Cruise fell.
  3. Analysis of one's own behavior. It is recommended to deal with your inner "I", highlighting positive, negative character traits and existing desires. Having understood yourself, it is easier to develop a further plan of action. It is possible to allow ambitions to take precedence over prudence for a while, because they are the incentive to destroy one's desire to be like everyone else.
  4. Breaking stereotypes. It is not necessary to become a rebel and go against the crowd. However, people should understand that in front of them is a person with a clear life position and personal preferences. It is not necessary against your desire to watch a fashionable film and visit an advertised exhibition just because they caused a public stir.
  5. Raising self-esteem. Individuals with a herd instinct are most often not self-confident. They are hurt by criticism from the outside, and they try to stay in the shadow of the leader. You should love yourself and understand your individuality.
  6. Doing an interesting job. In the company of extraordinary people there is a reality and to learn something yourself. At the same time, one should not be afraid of the formation of a herd instinct in such a community, because such individuals do not copy each other's actions.
  7. Developing a sense of humor and communication skills. It is the voiced qualities that distinguish a person from the gray mass. To do this, it is recommended to read humorous books and watch funny talk shows.
  8. Life for yourself and family. It is necessary, first of all, to put your interests above all else, and not someone else's opinion, which is imposed by society. If this does not turn into selfishness, then such a line of behavior will not allow a person to merge with the crowd.
What is the herd instinct - look at the video:

Array ( => 184 => 90 => 93 => 95)

Niche: 18+ Online sex shop

Tools: Quizzes, customer generator

Results: Increase in sales from the site

Elena, owner of the online store Intimi Si

I met your service by chance when I took a free online sales course. It is led by the founder of your company, Alexey Molchanov. He talked so interestingly about all the tools and about the conversion that I wanted to try them on my site.

And you know, I'm very glad that I did!

In general, I have an online store, so to speak 18+. Adult goods store. And initially I had a chat and a callback on the site. But the chat did not bring any results at all, it was as if for show. I can say the same about the call button - customers did not order them at all. It was simply inconvenient for them to call and clarify some questions, to consult.

Therefore, they wrote mainly to the mail indicated on the site. But it had a bad effect on sales.
Firstly, the procedure for ordering goods was very delayed.
Secondly, this is how I lost a lot of clients. I didn't check my email, I forgot to check spam. And in general it is difficult to monitor mail during the day. And clients, not having waited for the answer in time, as a result "left".

And here is a miracle! I'm taking a course that talks about different services and how they affect the site visitor.
In fact, Envybox specialists helped me choose services for the site. It is immediately clear that they are professionals in their field!

Alexander works with me. He suggested that I install a client generator, quizzes, on the site.

And when I started testing these tools on my site, I was pleasantly surprised how well each of them does their job!)

The quizzes were made in a comic form, which helped to smooth out the atmosphere on the site a little, so to speak, to get rid of the atmosphere of constraint.

After installing your services on the site, the movement immediately went)) Sales increased! I am very pleased)
Thank you so much for making such cool website tools! They really do increase conversions.

“Insanely glad to meet and cooperate with Envybox”

Birman Alexander Commercial director and co-founder

prostoprelest.com.ua

Birman Alexander, commercial director and co-founder of the company. “Our online store specializes exclusively in professional cosmetics for face, body and hair care. We put the premise that we will sell only certified goods as the basis for the work of the store. And to this day, we adhere to this rule: a strict selection of brands, strict control of the expiration date of each unit and maximum attention to each client.

Envybox was known before it was so popular. We watched the service for a long time, but did not dare to connect it. As a result, on May 3, 2016, we implemented Envybox widgets and since then we have never disconnected from them. At first, we only had an Online Chat, but after a while we also connected the Client Generator with Stadny.

The most effective for us, of course, is Online Chat, because it is live communication with customers. The generator informs about promotions and discounts, Stadny performs the function of attracting, and through the Chat, direct contact with users is carried out.
For the convenience of our clients, our Live Chat is available 24/7. This increases the loyalty of consumers, and, accordingly, the sales of the company.

Envybox is developing dynamically and we really like it. Your team has developed such a service that you don’t even need to understand - everything is clear, simple and logical. All widgets installed independently and did not encounter any problems. It’s great that you didn’t need the help of your specialists when introducing products to the site. Envybox support is, of course, on top, but I don’t want to contact the guys with problems.

I was also very pleased with the results from the work of the service, which appeared within half an hour after its installation. However, we are not very fond of sharing numbers. I will say this - rather, the Envybox service did not directly increase sales from our site, but formed another channel for contacting customers, that is, it indirectly affected profits.

We are extremely happy to meet and cooperate with Envybox”

“We believed in Envybox from the very beginning and are happy that we were not mistaken”

Kapustin Yury Nikolaevich, CEO of Modernus

modernus.ru

“Our company is engaged in the manufacture and supply of designer furniture. Modernus specialists will help you choose unique, truly stylish and modern furniture, lighting and decor items for your house or apartment, study or office. Our online catalog presents furniture created by legendary world designers. We offer both modern developments and products that have already become furniture classics.

We have been using Envybox products for about two years. I found out about you when I monitored callback programs on the Internet. There are a huge number of such services on the Internet, but Envy will stand out from the competition. The site alone is worth something - stylish, structured, and most importantly accessible for understanding.

In general, we considered the products of the service, studied all the chips and decided to stop at your services. We believed in Envybox from the very beginning and are happy that we were not mistaken. Aleksey Molchanov, not in words, but in deeds, confirms the quality of the system. It's a sin to leave Envy for another supplier when everything is so cool here!

On our site we use Callback, Online Chat and Herd. The call button is the most effective for us. It helps to attract additional requests from the site and establish quick contact with the buyer. In general, we are satisfied with all Envybox products. Working with the system is convenient and productive. It's also nice that the integration of the service with our site was quite fast and without problems.

Our statistics are positive. The first results began to appear in the first week of using the service. As I said, most of the applications fall from the Callback. For a month we get 35-40 new hits from it. With Online chat and Herd, the indicators are slightly worse.
We ourselves like to call more than write. Questions and problems on the tube are solved much faster.

The advantages of the service include an increase in the conversion of the site. I did not find any cons, everything is fine.
Thanks to"

“The customer generator almost doubled the conversion of our site”

Sergey Pynzar, founder of the project

2builders.rf

“Our company is engaged in the construction of houses from Sip-panels. Sip-technology in the construction of suburban residential buildings has been successfully used in Russia for many years.

Sip-panel houses have a number of advantages and meet all the requirements for comfortable housing:
1. Constant savings. Owners of houses made of Sip-panels pay several times less for electricity than residents of houses built from other materials.
2. Large area of ​​premises. In houses built from Sip-panels, useful square meters are 30% more.
3. Durability of Sip-panels. Houses built from Sip-panels are able to withstand any, even the most severe climatic changes.
4. Soundproofing. Sound insulation in houses built using SIP technology is quite good, especially in terms of high sound frequencies.
5. Environmental friendliness. Sip panels are made from materials that are safe for human health.

We learned about Envybox not so long ago. Literally four months ago, our managers accidentally came to the services of your service. Employees were very impressed with Envy products, but we did not immediately start trusting an unknown service.
Some time later, a friend called me - your partner and convinced me that it is still worth testing these unusual widgets. I agreed and began to choose the most necessary tools from the list.

Now on our site we use the Callback button, the Client Generator and the Herd Instinct. All widgets work in approximately the same way - and calls come in, and requests to the Generator fall, and they click on Stadny.
We used another company before Envybox, and to be honest, your products work much better. We never had a generator at all, but due to it, the conversion of the 2builder.rf website almost doubled.

They did not dare to install the Envybox service themselves, although all the settings are clear and simple. We hired a special person, so there were no extra problems here.

In just three months, our website statistics have improved significantly.

Weekly stats:
1. Callback - 15-20 calls;
2. Client generator - 3-5 applications
3. Herd instinct - 5 clicks.

In general, we are very pleased with the results. Now it has become much easier for customers to contact us, and managers are happy to quickly connect with them.

I also want to commend your support team. Not so long ago I ran into the problem of inappropriate calls from the site, but I still can’t block unnecessary numbers on my own. The Envybox guys happily agreed to help me and did all the work themselves.

Thank you very much Envybox"

  • The herd instinct is the mechanism underlying the instinct of self-preservation, applicable equally to both humans and animals.

    The herd instinct shows how people or animals in a group can act collectively, without centralized leadership. As V. Trotter noted in his work "The Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War", it is pointless to look for the causes and derivatives of the herd instinct, since it is primary and cannot be resolved.

Related concepts

Cultural Dissatisfaction is a treatise by Sigmund Freud published in 1930, which was written a year earlier, during the initial period of his struggle with jaw cancer and on the eve of the rise of the Nazis. The author's conclusions are disappointing. In view of the presence in human nature of an attraction to self-destruction, to death, the aggressive impulses generated by this mighty force will always seek a way out, entering into an inescapable contradiction with libido and with civilization. The final reconciliation of nature and culture...

References in literature

Trotter leads the psychic phenomena observed in the masses from herd instinct, which is innate to man in the same way as to other animal species. Biologically, this herding is an analogy and, as it were, a continuation of multicellularity, and in the spirit of the theory of libido, it is a further expression of the tendency of all homogeneous living beings to unite into ever larger units. The separate individual feels incomplete if he is alone. Already the fear of a small child is a manifestation of the herd instinct. Contradiction to the herd is tantamount to separation from it, and therefore contradictions are timidly avoided. But the herd rejects everything new, unusual. Herd instinct - according to Trotter - something primary, further indecomposable.

Related concepts (continued)

Attraction to life - the concept of psychoanalysis, also denoted by the term "Eros"; a complex of drives, including sexual drives and the drive to self-preservation (the instinct of self-preservation), seeking to combine parts of the organic into a kind of unity.

Anti-natalism (ancient Greek ἀντί - "against", Latin natalis - "birth") - a range of philosophical and ethical positions that negatively evaluate reproduction and consider it unethical in certain situations, including a negative assessment of reproduction under any conditions (for example ., such is the position of the bioethical philosopher David Benatar). Anti-natalism must be distinguished from practical solutions to overpopulation and birth control policies, as well as childfree life choices, which are motivated primarily by...

Egoism (ancient Greek Εγώ, lat. ego - “I”) is a behavior entirely determined by the thought of one’s own benefit, benefit, when an individual puts his own interests above the interests of others. Altruism is traditionally considered the opposite of egoism, although modern psychology often considers such an opposition to be incorrect. There are also specific views on egoism - such as "reasonable egoism", "hedonism".

Instinct - a set of innate tendencies and aspirations, expressed in the form of complex automatic behavior. In a narrow sense, a set of complex hereditarily determined acts of behavior characteristic of individuals of a given species under certain conditions.

Aggressiveness (Latin aggressio - to attack) or hostility is a stable characteristic of the subject, reflecting his predisposition to behavior, the purpose of which is to harm the environment, or a similar affective state (anger, anger).

Animal rights (English animal rights), also "liberation of animals" (English animal liberation) - the idea of ​​the equivalence of the main needs of people and animals: for example, the need to avoid pain, to save one's life. Supporters hold different philosophical points of view, but all are generally unanimous that animals should not be considered as private property and used for food, clothing, in the entertainment industry and scientific experiments, and some rights, for example, the right to life...

Totem and Taboo is a book published in 1913 by Z. Freud, in which he develops his theory of the origin of morality and religion.

The nature and essence of a person is a philosophical concept that denotes the essential characteristics of a person that distinguish him and are not reducible to all other forms and kinds of being, to some extent inherent in all people.

Intelligence in animals is understood as a set of mental functions, which include thinking, the ability to learn and communicate, which cannot be explained by instincts or learning. It is studied within the framework of cognitive ethology, comparative psychology and zoopsychology.

The higher animals are a collective group of representatives of the animal kingdom, capable of modifying their instinctive behavior (instincts) with the experience gained during their life. Examples are all mammals, birds, many reptiles. The same example is a person in whom hereditary behavior plays a smaller role in decision making than life experience.

The false consensus effect (or false agreement effect) is the tendency to project your way of thinking onto other people. In other words, people tend to believe that everyone else thinks in exactly the same way as they do. This supposed correlation, not supported by statistics, gives the impression of a non-existent consensus. Such a logical fallacy affects a group of people or individuals who assume that their own opinions, beliefs and preferences are much more common ...

Postgenderism is a social, political and cultural movement whose adherents advocate the voluntary elimination of gender from the human species through the use of advanced biotechnologies and assisted reproductive technologies.

Jenkin's nightmare (“the swamping argument”) is a fundamental objection to Darwin's theory of the gradual formation of new biological species by preserving a favorable trait by natural selection, put forward by the English engineer Jenkin. According to him, a useful trait that accidentally appeared in a single individual in a group of organisms (populations) will gradually be leveled by crossing with ordinary individuals. This logical difficulty is overcome with the creation of a population ...

"Man descended from apes" is a popular thesis commonly associated with Charles Darwin and the Darwinists, but it has been said before him.

Morality (Latin moralitas, the term was introduced by Cicero from the Latin mores “generally accepted traditions”) - the ideas accepted in society about good and bad, right and wrong, good and evil, as well as a set of norms of behavior arising from these ideas.

Almighty control is a mental process that is classified as a psychological defense mechanism. It consists in the unconscious conviction of a person that he is able to control everything. A natural consequence of such a conviction is a person's sense of responsibility for everything around and the feeling of guilt that arises if something gets out of his control.

Shame is a negatively colored feeling, the object of which is some act or quality (philosophy) of the subject.

Asabiya, or Asabiya (arab. عصبية) is a term referring to social solidarity, where the emphasis is on cohesion and unity, group consciousness, a sense of common purpose and social unity. It was originally used in the context of "tribalism" and "clanism". In the modern period, this term is usually identified with solidarity.

Feral children (other names: wild children, feral children) are human children who grew up in conditions of extreme social isolation - out of contact with people from an early age - and practically did not experience care and love from another person, had no experience of social behavior and communication. Such children, abandoned by their parents, are raised by animals or live in isolation.

Cowardice is a property of character, the inability to overcome fear of personal danger. Cowardice is inextricably linked with action and the concept of duty: if a person must not take actions dangerous to him, then avoiding the threat is not cowardice, but common sense; a coward, out of fear, does not do what he should.

Lamarckism is an evolutionary concept based on the theory put forward at the beginning of the 19th century by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in his treatise Philosophy of Zoology. The views of Lamarck himself are quite difficult to understand, since they are based on a number of concepts of the 18th century that are completely uninterpretable within the framework of modern science (primarily created by God, matter as a passive principle and nature as order and energy for its implementation; the concept of five elements, of which the ether plays the most important role, in the form of thin...

The hunter and farmer theory is a hypothesis proposed by Tom Hartman to explain the causes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and ADD in adults, interpreting them as the result of adaptive behavior. Hartman notes that most or all of mankind have been nomadic hunters and gatherers for millennia. Then this standard gradually changed with the development of agriculture in most primitive societies and most people on earth became farmers. During...

Sexualization (instinctualization) is a protective mechanism that consists in attributing an erotic component to negative events, thus “turning” them into positive ones.

Psychological theory of the origin of the state - the theory of the origin of the state, developed by Lev Petrazhitsky. According to this theory, the state was formed as a result of the division of society along psychological lines: some are only able to obey and imitate, others can govern.

Altruism (lat. Alter - other, others) - a concept that comprehends activity associated with disinterested concern for the well-being of others; correlates with the concept of selflessness - that is, with the sacrifice of one's own benefits in favor of the good of another person, other people, or in general - for the common good.

Maternal deprivation (lat. deprivatio - loss, deprivation) - the process of emotional and psychological impoverishment of the child, due to separation of the child from the mother at an early age. The basis of this phenomenon is the complete or partial lack of attachment to adults in the child, undermining trust in the adult world.

Pseudo-aggression - actions that may result in damage, but which were not preceded by evil intentions.

Psychosocial development, theory - the theory of psychosocial development of the personality, created by Erik Erickson, in which he describes 8 stages of personality development and focuses on the development of the individual's Self.

Disgust is a negatively colored feeling, a strong form of rejection. Opposite emotion: pleasure.

Open individualism (English open individualism; short for an open individual view of personal identity) is a point of view in philosophy, according to which there is only one self-identical subject, which is all and to which all human bodies and all independent streams of consciousness belong. Open individualism requires a different understanding of eternalism. The phenomenological interpretation of open individualism is that I (as the only subject) constantly "discover...

Animal sexual behavior is a term used to refer to certain behavioral complexes, usually (but not always) associated with the implementation of a reproductive or copulatory function. Sexual behavior in animals takes many forms, even within the same species.

Interspecific friendship is a relationship that is formed between individual representatives of different animal species (as opposed to mutualism - a mutually beneficial relationship at the species level). An atypical occurrence in biology, however, numerous cases have been reported in both wild and domestic animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and combinations thereof. In many cases, pairs form those animals whose species usually do not get along in natural conditions, and sometimes one of the species even preys on the other. Among ...

Carnism (lat. carnis - meat, flesh) is a psychological concept, within which a statement is made about the existence of an ideology of the same name, based on a system of beliefs about the legality of consuming animal products, especially meat. The term "carnism" was coined by social psychologist Melanie Joy in 2001 and popularized in her book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cow Skins.

- a psychological force that calls a person to fight for survival. Seen as an important and active process of conscious and unconscious reasoning. It is especially pronounced in cases where a serious injury or illness threatens life.

The concept of "teenage reactions" was introduced by the Soviet psychiatrist A. Lichko. Some of the foreign authors single out the "teenage complex" as a number of psychological features characteristic of adolescents. In the event of serious behavioral and emotional disorders in a teenager, it is customary to speak of a “pubertal crisis”.

Cultural genesis is the process of the emergence and formation of the culture of any people and nationality, in general, and the emergence of culture as such in a primitive society. At the moment, there is no unified theory of the emergence of culture.

Superman (German: Übermensch) is an image introduced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in the work “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” to denote a creature that, in its power, should surpass modern man to the extent that the latter surpassed the ape. The superman, being, in accordance with the hypothesis of F. Nietzsche, a natural stage in the history of the human species, must personify the focus of the vital affects of life. The Superman is a radical egocentric who blesses life in the most extreme...

The organic theory of the origin of the state is the theory of the origin of the state, according to which the state is an organism that is born, lives, grows old and dies. Elements of this theory are found in the works of various authors. It has now been rejected by the vast majority of scientists.

Lookism (discrimination in appearance) is a designation of positive stereotypes, prejudices, choice of behavior in relation to physically attractive people, as well as to those whose appearance meets the cultural and social ideas and norms of a particular society. Warren Farrell coined the term "the celebration of the gene" to describe the adoration and praise of a person's physical beauty.

Model of the human psyche (eng. Theory of Mind (ToM). In the literature, you can find other translations of this term, for example: understanding of someone else's consciousness, theory of intentions, theory of consciousness, theory of mind, etc. (in the films "BBC "meets as a" theory of mind ") - a system of representations of mental phenomena (meta-representations), intensively developing in childhood. To have a model of a mental state means to be able to perceive as one's own experiences (belief ...

Our joy at the illusory resolution, by means of this formula, of the enigma of mass will be brief. Very soon we will be disturbed by the thought that in essence we have accepted the reference to the riddle of hypnosis, in which there is still so much unresolved. And now a new objection opens the way forward for us.

We have the right to say to ourselves that the extensive affective connections that we have noticed in the mass are quite sufficient to explain one of its properties, namely, the lack of independence and initiative in the individual, the homogeneity of his reactions with the reaction of all others, his reduction, so to speak, to the level of the mass individual. But when considering the mass as a whole, it shows us more: traits of weakening intellectual activity, unrestrained passions, inability for moderation and delay, a tendency to go beyond all limits in the expression of feelings and to completely withdraw emotional energy through actions - this and much more, which is so Le Bon vividly expounds, gives an undoubted picture of the regression of mental activity to an earlier stage, which we are accustomed to find in savages or children. Such a regression is especially characteristic of the essence of ordinary masses, while among highly organized, artificial masses such regression can be significantly delayed.

So we get the impression of a state where the separate emotional impulse and the individual intellectual act of the individual are too weak to appear separately, and must necessarily wait for confirmation by a similar repetition on the part of others. Let us recall how many of these phenomena of dependence are included in the normal constitution of human society, how little originality and personal courage are in it, and how much each individual is at the mercy of the attitudes of the mass soul, manifested in racial characteristics, class prejudices, public opinion, etc. Riddle suggestive influence grows if we recognize that this influence comes not only from the leader, but also from each individual to each other individual, and we reproach ourselves that we singled out the attitude towards the leader one-sidedly, undeservedly pushing into the background another factor of mutual suggestion. Thus learning modesty, we will heed another voice that promises us an explanation on simpler grounds. I quote this explanation from W. Trotter's clever book on the herd instinct, and my only regret is that it did not entirely escape the antipathy that resulted from the last great war. Trotter leads the psychic phenomena observed in the masses from the herd instinct, which is innate in man as well as in other animal species. Biologically, this herding is an analogy and, as it were, a continuation of multicellularity, and in the spirit of the theory of libido, a further expression of the tendency of all homogeneous living beings to unite into ever larger units.


The separate individual feels incomplete if he is alone. Already the fear of a small child is a manifestation of the herd instinct. Contradiction to the herd is tantamount to separation from it, and therefore contradictions are timidly avoided. But the herd rejects everything new, unusual. Herd instinct - according to Trotter - something primary, further indecomposable.

Trotter points out a number of primary drives (or instincts) that he considers primary: the instinct for self-affirmation, nutrition, sexual and social mischief. The latter is often in opposition to other instincts. Consciousness of guilt and a sense of duty are characteristic qualities of a gregarious animal. From the herd instinct, according to Trotter, also come the repressive forces discovered by psychoanalysis in the "I", and the resistance that the doctor encounters during psychoanalytic treatment. The meaning of speech was based on the possibility of using it in a herd for the purpose of mutual understanding; on it, to a large extent, the identification of individuals with each other is based.

While Le Bon described mainly characteristic fluid mass formations, and Mac Dougall stable social formations, Trotter concentrated his interest on the most common associations in which a person lives, gave their psychological justification. Trotter does not have to look for the origin of the herd instinct, since he defines it as primary and not amenable to further decomposition. His remark that Boris Sidis derives the herd instinct from suggestibility is fortunately superfluous for the bliss. This explanation follows a well-known unsatisfactory pattern; a rearrangement of this thesis, i.e., that suggestibility is a product of the herd instinct, seems to me much more convincing.

However, Troper, with even more right than others, can be objected that he has little regard for the role of leader among the masses; we are inclined to the opposite judgment, namely, that the essence of the mass without regard to the leader is incomprehensible. For the leader, the herd instinct does not leave any place at all, the leader only accidentally enters the mass, and this is connected with the fact that from this instinct there is no way to the need for God; the flock is missing a shepherd. But Trogger's theory can also be undermined psychologically, that is, one can at least prove probable that the herd instinct is not indecomposable, not exemplary in the sense that the instinct of self-preservation and the sexual instinct are reconciled.

What later manifests itself in society as a corporate spirit, etc., by no means denies its origin from original envy. No one should encroach on the nomination, each should be equal to the other and equally possess property. Social justice means that you deny yourself a lot, so that others would have to deny themselves this, or, what is the same, they could not lay claim to it. This demand for equality is the root of social conscience and sense of duty. Unexpectedly, this requirement is found in syphilitic patients in their fear of infection, which we have been able to understand with the help of psychoanalysis. The fear of these unfortunates corresponds to their violent resistance to the unconscious desire to spread their infection to others, since why should they alone be infected and lose so much, while others not? The same is at the heart of the beautiful parable of the Judgment of Solomon. If one woman's child dies, let the other not have a child. According to this desire, the victim is known. Social feeling is based on the change of initially hostile feelings into a connection of a positive direction, which has the character of identification. Insofar as it was possible to trace this process, this change seems to take place under the influence of a tender connection common to all with a person standing outside the mass. Our analysis of identification does not seem exhaustive to us either, but for our present intention it is enough to return to one feature, the insistence of the equation. In discussing both artificial masses—churches and troops—we have already heard of their premise that all should be equally loved by one person—the leader. But let's not forget that the demand for equality of the masses applies only to the participants in the masses, but not to the leader. All participants in the mass need to be equal among themselves, but they all want power over themselves alone. A multitude of equals who can identify with each other, and a single one who surpasses them all - this is the situation realized in a viable mass. So, Trotter's statement: man is a herd animal, we dare to correct in the sense that he is rather an animal of the horde, an individual led by the leader of the horde.

Recent section articles:

How to tell your child about the planets of the solar system
How to tell your child about the planets of the solar system

PLANETS In ancient times, people knew only five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, only they can be seen with the naked eye....

What is Nicolaus Copernicus famous for?
What is Nicolaus Copernicus famous for?

According to a brief biography of Copernicus, he was born in the Polish city of Turon in 1473. It is interesting that this city became Polish only for ...

Ways to determine the sides of the horizon
Ways to determine the sides of the horizon

In order to learn how to navigate, you need to be able to determine your location on the ground relative to the sides of the horizon. Geography is one...