A person's bad influence on society. The influence of society on a person

For the full development of personality, a person needs communication with other people. Otherwise social norms and value orientations established in society will not be perceived or will be perceived distorted. IN democratic society individual rights are sacred. The group allows a person to build correct self-esteem, because only with the help of an outside view can one correctly perceive and evaluate oneself. The influence of the group does not end with the assessment of the individual; with its help, you can change yourself - remove negative qualities and develop positive ones. The group reacts to personality changes, and a person can, with the help of feedback, receive information about the correct direction of his development.

A group is not a homogeneous mass; it contains people of different levels of development who have different knowledge, abilities, skills. By communicating with a group, a person gets the opportunity to communicate with those from whom he can learn something. Communication with those who are more developed forces one to reach a higher standard, sets a higher standard than that of a loner, and a person in a group strives for the best - after all, he knows that the best exists, but a loner has no idea about it suspects. The upbringing of a person can only be carried out by a group of people. Only direct communication in a group, personal contacts and achieving openness with other people give a person the opportunity to perceive someone else’s and convey his life experience. These include basic skills (for example, you need to wash your hands before eating), the use of speech, and moral values, and even the ability to various types activities. The variety of groups in which a person participates during his life provides a variety of opportunities and directions in development. Moreover, other group members are not only role models or a source of learning, but also an incentive for further development, the elimination of childhood complexes and the full formation of beliefs. The value of some groups lies precisely in the fact that they provide the necessary positive emotions, positive feedback which stimulates further development person in the chosen direction. It has long been noted that the group provides significant influence on the behavior of an individual. Some of the changes generated by the influence of the group disappear as soon as a person leaves the sphere of influence of the group, others continue to exist, leaving a noticeable mark on the personality and, under certain conditions, turning into personality traits.

Each of the groups makes its own contribution to the psychology and behavior of the individual, and this contribution is by no means clearly positive or negative. It is different, and this is primarily evidenced by the presence of many advantages and disadvantages in people, most of which they acquired while in groups. Only constant communication an individual with more developed personalities than himself, possessing valuable knowledge, skills and abilities, provides him with the opportunity to become familiar with the corresponding spiritual values. Almost every person has something to learn from other people, and in almost every group he meets such people. If a human child were born and raised not in society, among other people, but in isolation from them, he would never psychologically and behaviorally develop into a human being. This is evidenced by many facts described in scientific and popular literature, when, due to tragic life circumstances, human children found themselves from an early age deprived of the opportunity to communicate with developed, cultured people, living in physical or psychological isolation from them, in animal communities. In almost all of these cases, serious delays were noted in both the psychological and behavioral development of the children. In addition, society helps a person accumulate his life experience.

It has been noticed that the more life experience a person has, the more correctly he perceives and understands people. Is it true, we're talking about not about the quantitative expression of life experience, not just about a person’s age, but about how often to this person had to communicate with different people, for different reasons in different life situations. When we talk about knowledge of human psychology, we mean the following. There are people who, due to their abilities, due to their accumulated life experience, and because of their profession, know and understand people better than others. This is typical for those people who know how to empathize, sympathize with people, put themselves in their position, accept people as they are, and understand the motives of their behavior. These are people who, due to current life circumstances, often have to not only communicate with people, but influence them, convince them, attract them to their side, and encourage them to certain actions.

There are such types professional activities, which presuppose not only constant and active communication of a person with different people, but developed perception and correct personal assessment. These are, for example, doctors, teachers, psychologists, politicians, actors, directors and others.

When communicating with a person, a situation may arise in which he will show himself best. This will allow people watching him to more accurately and correctly perceive and understand him. You can consciously create situations in which a person will express himself in many ways, and carefully observe his reactions in precisely these situations. Such situations can, for example, be created directly in the process of communicating with a person, by addressing him with some premeditated words or by taking a conscious, purposeful action in relation to him, calculated for a certain reaction on his part.

Relationships between people that develop in groups teach a person to comply with existing social norms; they carry within them value guidelines, which are acquired by the individual; the group is the place where a person practices his communication skills; From group members, a person receives information that allows him to correctly perceive and evaluate himself, preserve and strengthen everything positive in his personality, and get rid of the negative and shortcomings. The group gives a person self-confidence, provides him with a system positive emotions necessary for its development.

In addition to the positive impact, a group can also have a negative impact on a person. This happens, for example, when the goals of a group are achieved by infringing on the interests of individual members to the detriment of the interests of the whole society. In psychology this is called group egoism.

Another possible negative consequence of group influence may be the impact that usually occurs on gifted creative personalities. Famous scientist V.M. Bekhterev, having conducted a series of individual and group experiments in which the indicators were compared creative work group and individual, found out that in creativity a group can be inferior to especially gifted individuals. Their original ideas were rejected by the majority because they were incomprehensible, and such individuals, being under strong psychological pressure from the majority, are restrained and suppressed in their development. History of Russia in the 20th century. I knew many examples when outstanding composers, artists, scientists, and writers were excluded from trade unions and even persecuted. Sometimes a person, in order to remain in a group, goes into internal conflict and behaves conformally, becomes a conformist. Conformal is the behavior of a person in which he, consciously disagreeing with the people around him, nevertheless agrees with them, based on some considerations. Also, because of the group, a person can acquire many bad habits. For example, under pressure from people he can start smoking, he can change himself and his character in a negative direction.

There are three ways a person can respond to group pressure. The first is suggestibility, when a person unconsciously accepts a line of behavior, the opinion of a group. The second is conformism, i.e. conscious external agreement with internal disagreement with the opinion of the group. The third way to respond to a group’s demand is conscious agreement with the group’s opinion, acceptance and active defense of its values, norms and ideals.

Here’s an article to think about, about your dependence or independence from society. The test at the end of the article will help you understand in more detail.

Modern man lives in society, and one way or another he is forced to participate in some kind of collective activity. It is physically impossible for a civilized person to be excluded from it. He is dependent on her. There can be no one-sided dependence. If this were so, modern society would disintegrate, and all people would disperse into different sides. Society includes a person’s entire environment, his family, friends, classmates, even the information that he receives in the process of life, this is also a kind of society. A person largely depends on society; his way of thinking, living and physical health. Society influences a person to a large extent. It is worth noting that a third of his life a person learns to live in the most difficult of existing worlds- in the world public relations. This process is called socialization.

Socialization begins in childhood, when approximately 70% of the human personality is formed. In childhood, the foundation of socialization is laid, and at the same time this is its most vulnerable stage, because During this period, a person begins to absorb information like a sponge; he also tries to imitate adults, taking from them not only good qualities, but also bad. And during this period, adults can impose their opinions, and the child at this moment is defenseless against the demands of elders, he will be forced to submit to them, which can affect the further development of a person as an individual.
The entire process of personality development can be divided into several stages in accordance with the age of the child:
· Early childhood (0-3)
· Preschool and school childhood (4-11)
· Adolescence (12-15)
· Youth (16-18)

The biggest influence on a person’s personality is the opinion of their parents. What a child acquires in the family during childhood, he retains throughout his entire subsequent life. The importance of the family as an educational institution is due to the fact that the child lives in it for a significant part of his life, and the foundations of the child’s personality are laid in it.
- IN preschool age The collective becomes another significant social group from the point of view of personal development. As a rule, this is the kindergarten team. The development of a child’s personality is influenced by his relationships not only with peers, but also with teachers. The child learns the norms of discipline and interaction with others. The child wants to be respected by his peers and to have many friends. In kindergarten he can gain life experience, because... he communicates with children of his own age, takes something from them, trying to imitate.
- IN adolescence Children often experience a crisis of personality development. The crisis of this age is characterized by a spirit of contradiction, the desire to do everything in one’s own way, to acquire one’s own experience of successes and failures.
- By the age of 18, as a rule, a child’s personality is fully formed. It is impossible to radically change an already established personality; you can only help the child correct his behavior. Therefore, it is so important to promptly instill in a child moral and ethical values, to teach him the norms of behavior and human relationships when the child’s personality is still developing. Youth completes the active period of socialization. At this age, important physiological changes occur that carry certain psychological shifts: attraction to the opposite sex, aggressiveness, often unmotivated, a tendency to take thoughtless risks and the inability to assess the degree of its danger, an emphasized desire for independence and independence. During this period, the formation of the foundation of the personality ends, its upper - worldview - floors are completed. Awareness of one’s “I” occurs as an understanding of one’s place in the life of parents, friends, and the surrounding society. Teenagers and young men are more susceptible to negative assessments those around you, especially when it comes to clothing, appearance, behavior, circle of acquaintances.

Dependent person is someone who has allowed another person's behavior to greatly affect her or him, and who is obsessed with trying to control that person's behavior. Addiction is associated with low self-esteem and a huge amount of negative emotions: fear, anxiety, lingering despair, anger, shame, guilt, etc. The lives of addicted people are full of long-term stress. In fact, it was stress, including strong feelings about another person, that created this type of personality in them. These people are capable of experiencing a lot, but, as a rule, are not able to act in the right direction, since negative emotions take away all their energy. Addicted people so involved in other people's lives that they feel insignificant without a relationship with someone. At the same time, of course, they try to drag others into their own lives, including their own. negative experiences. Dependent people become so accustomed to “taking care” of another that they often offer intrusive help even when the other person does not need it, or when this help is absolutely useless.

Independent person- this is also a self-sufficient, independent person who is aware of personal responsibility for his life. Signs independent person:
· Responsible.
· Material independence.
· Self-sufficiency.
· Lives his own life.

For the full development of personality, a person needs communication with other people. Otherwise, social norms and value orientations established in society will not be perceived or will be perceived distorted. Communication with those who are more developed forces one to reach a higher standard, sets a higher standard than that of a loner, and a person in a group strives for the best - after all, he knows that the best exists, but a loner has no idea about it suspects.

Only direct communication in a group, personal contacts and achieving openness with other people give a person the opportunity to perceive someone else’s and convey his life experience. Relationships between people that develop in groups teach a person to comply with existing social norms; they carry value guidelines that are internalized by the individual; the group is the place where a person practices his communication skills; From group members, a person receives information that allows him to correctly perceive and evaluate himself, preserve and strengthen everything positive in his personality, and get rid of the negative and shortcomings. The group gives a person self-confidence and supplies him with a system of positive emotions necessary for his development.

From all of the above we can conclude that a person will always depend and change for society. Because society can be taken as a small group of a person’s friends, as well as family, and since a person spends almost all his time with them, he depends on their opinions and decisions. Almost every person is in average dependence on society, i.e. a person thinks about what people say about him, every day he listens to people’s opinions and listens to them, acts as he was told.

What is society as a form of human life? At first glance, this question can be answered with a fairly obvious definition. Society is a collection of people, their total mass. However, this explanation is superficial. It does not affect those deep processes that occur within each society. Only by examining this phenomenon in more detail can one discover the reasons why people generally unite in such circles.

Concept of society

Historically, society as a form of human life arose at the very moment when the first representatives of the human race began to unite into groups. Hunters and gatherers began to live together for mutual benefit, to help each other survive in wildlife. Gradually, the patterns by which people lived began to form. Rules and prohibitions arose. Regulatory norms have made society a stable system.

This phenomenon has many definitions. Some of them appeared as the fundamental canons of one or another philosophical theory. But, one way or another, any point of view stipulates the functions of society. Such an association is created for adaptation, goal-setting, integration and self-preservation of people. Humanity appeared when it isolated itself from nature and began to live in artificial conditions (settlements, cities, etc.). Therefore, society is also a contrast to the wild state of the human race.

Personality in society

Human society as a form of human activity has been studied for several centuries. During this time, several particularly popular points of view about this phenomenon have emerged. The so-called “atomistic” theory is widespread. Its founder was this scientist who believed that society is not just a mass of people, but the totality of their unique actions.

That is, according to this theory, a person is recognized as an individual. It is the individual who gives rise to society, and not vice versa. This point vision appeared as a synthesis of the ideas of ancient philosophy and the Renaissance, when man was considered the center of the universe. Human interactions are born out of ambitions, desires and aspirations. Various motives encourage a person to make contact with his neighbor, co-worker, passer-by, etc. It is from these tiny threads that society is born as a form of human life.

Social groups

Another theory of the organization of society states that it is composed not of individuals, but of social groups. The founder of this idea was the Polish-American sociologist Florian Znaneski. He and his followers identified the term “society” with the term “humanity.” Social groups are formed according to a variety of characteristics. These can be like-minded people who are trying to bring their idea to life.

A social group is also built around representatives of the same profession or class. For example, the bourgeoisie influenced society XIX century, trying to develop capitalism and market relations in it. At the same time, workers created trade unions, defended their rights and defended their interests. These groups had different goals. They confronted each other. But it was the sum of their opposing efforts that gave birth to the foundations of society on which Europe and the United States began to live in the 20th century.

Signs of society

There are several key signs. The first of these is territory. It is the basis of the entire social space, in the vastness of which various interactions and relationships between people appear and develop.

The next sign is that society is a huge force that integrates humanity. It creates conditions for each new generation to be drawn into society through education and accustoming to norms. The child, and then the teenager, is gradually included in the system of human relations. Even if a person tries to avoid society, he will still be connected to it by culture, origin and language.

Autonomy of society

The laws of society are gradually changing. This indicates that the system is self-regulating. If new social ideas emerge and claim to become universal norms, they must be tested.

The course of history itself weeds out unnecessary and ineffective principles of human relations. Society norms are flexible - they adapt to changing conditions. In the process of social evolution, people gain historical experience, which they can then use to improve their own lives.

Human dependence on society

Modern life in society is such that society provides conditions for self-realization to its most diverse members. This characteristic multifunctionality did not appear immediately. It was born as a result of centuries-old evolution of society. Today a resident of every developed country there is an opportunity to take the “social elevator” and make your dream come true.

But a person not only receives certain prospects from life in society. The individual depends on society. Only within it can a person satisfy his needs and acquire everything necessary for his own comfortable life. The society provides young man or a girl has all the conditions to get an education and acquire new skills that will be useful to them in the future. Relations in society are structured in such a way that the system itself helps its members achieve their goals.

Society development

Can every modern society boast a perfect and efficient way of life? Of course, not all countries and nations can pass such a test. Society as a form of human life is in constant development. This system simply cannot be static and stand still, because the people of whom it consists carry out some kind of activity.

However, humanity is different times developed at the same speed. There is such a thing as progress. Such a process is characterized by forward development, a transition from simple to complex, improvement of science, technology, etc. The opposite phenomenon is regression. It consists in the transition from higher to lower, degradation. Society as a whole has never regressed. For example, scientific inventions, once they appeared, were never forgotten again.

But it may also happen that if it does not reverse, it will at least slow down. This process is called stagnation. In particularly acute forms, it leads to arrest of development. For example, European society stagnated for several centuries during the Dark Ages after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Paths of social progress

The development of society depends only on the people themselves. The French philosopher and scientist Jean-Antoine Condorcet believed that the main criterion of progress is the increase in knowledge. Today this point of view remains the most popular and widespread. On the other hand, one cannot fail to mention the moral criterion of progress, the supporters of which were the utopian socialists. Such a theory assumed that people would eventually organize themselves on the basis of the brotherly attitude of people towards each other. In socialist doctrine this state society was called communism - a certain point to which humanity should strive.

The German philosopher Schelling in his works proved the theory that the main factor of social progress is not the development of science, but the improvement of the legal system. Hegel emphasized the presence of freedom. Only a society freed from slavery and class prejudice can move forward, the famous thinker believed. In the 20th century, the development of society was associated primarily with industrialization and modernization of production.

They focus primarily on humanistic ideals. If people increase average duration life, health will improve and the level of education will increase, then society will begin to live more productive and happier.

Abrupt and gradual changes

If people are dissatisfied with the state of society, then the danger of revolution inevitably arises. This term means sudden change social guidelines and norms. As a rule, society and the people in it develop gradually, that is, in an evolutionary way. Sharp changes caused by popular discontent can only appear if there are deep contradictions in society.

To avoid revolutions and bloodshed, society must carry out reforms on time. Reorganizations and transformations are factors in the painless and effective development of humanity. If people go this way, they don't have to destroy the whole foundation social structure of your society.

Gradual development is sometimes referred to as “modernization.” It is also associated with progress in science and technology. The development of both society as a whole and the people who make it up in particular depends on them today. With the help of innovations, humanity improves its standard of living and makes society happier.

Your happiness and well-being should not completely depend on other people, regardless of whether they are close people or not. But the fact is that our environment influences us, affects our attitude towards the world and our attitude towards ourselves.

We become like the people we interact with. Choose your environment - no matter how unique we are, it still affects us - Robert De Niro

Many relationships with people may not help us at all, but can only be a burden. Such people do not fully support us and can even take away our energy, our strength, our motivation and our joy. The trouble is that we may not notice this until we clean up and change our social circle. We get used to the severity of such relationships, to constant daily discomfort.

Life is too beautiful and short to waste time on people who treat you poorly. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, make you happy and smile. People who will help you when you feel bad. People who don't take advantage of you. People who truly care about you. They are the ones who deserve to be in your life.

How to identify those people who do not benefit you? Those people who drag you down and don't allow you to develop? Those people who steal your happiness?

Here are some signs that you are in the wrong environment:

The influence of society on a person. Are you being told that you are not good enough for something?

Don't let other people's opinions of you ruin yours. inner rod- inner strength and spirit. Never sacrifice who you are and what you strive for just because someone else thinks differently. Sometimes even those you consider close and trust can casually crush your potential and not say a word. Your ideas may be smashed to smithereens, not provide the slightest emotional support, trying to convince you to give up your true essence, your new state, which you may never acquire if you follow the lead of such people.

In practice, just a few negative statements are enough to kill a person’s dream. Don't say such things to others, and don't listen to those who do. Don't let people stop you and listen when they tell you that you can't do something. If you have a dream and you are passionate about it, protect it. When others can't do something on their own, they say you can't do it either. This is a lie. Remember that people think within their own limitations.

Don't let the ignorant convince you that you aren't strong or smart enough. Surround yourself with people who strengthen your faith—those who see the greatness in you, even if you don't.

Those around you (close people) do not support your essence or, even worse, ridicule it.

We're all weird in some way. This difference may seem like a burden to us, but it is not. This is what makes us unique and unrepeatable. Our spiritual nature is perfect, and our oddities and differences are our “zest”.

Everyone has the right to be who they are. Everyone deserves love and respect, without conditions and without pretensions. Every person has the right to life and to live the way he wants. No one has the right to insult or harm anyone else. Every person has the right to be happy without feeling guilty. This applies to you too!

Always choose your truth, even if you risk the ridicule of others. Don’t “fake” yourself and don’t adjust yourself to the principles that are imposed on you. It's okay to do what you want to do. It's okay to be happy being yourself and living your life. It's okay to say no to others and yes own desires. Accept yourself and choose to surround yourself with those who value your decision.

There is no greater freedom than being who you are.

They respect you only when you live by their rules and do not make concessions.

True friends (and family) will always compromise. When there is disagreement, you will be able to make a decision that will be acceptable to both parties, in which the other person does not need to give up his motives, in which both parties will sacrifice something and give something in return. If they demand from you and don’t offer anything, you should think about it.

It takes courage to face your enemies, and even more courage to face those closest to you. Be conscious, watch how people treat you. If necessary, counteract them. Do whatever it takes to give yourself a chance to live the life your heart tells you to live.

Train your inner observer. Listen to inner voice. Try what you want to do, go where you want to be. Explore your intuition. Don't make false choices just because someone doesn't feel what you feel. Don't let others control your dreams and your future.

Do what you have wanted for a long time, but didn’t do because others didn’t believe in you. Don't listen to anyone, you deserve better.

The influence of society on a person. Your environment creates and fuels negative emotions within you.

It's not easy to stay well when you're surrounded by negativity. Don't let it get into your head. This is your life. You can't control everything the people around you do, but you can decide what you will do and how you will spend your time. You decide what to let into your mind and heart and what not. You decide who to take with you tomorrow and who to leave.

The more “right” people you have around you, the stronger you become.

They reinforce your belief that you are inferior.

Remember, if you are in the habit of telling yourself that you are not worthy, that you are inferior, you are doomed to failure. You will never be comfortable in relationships with people who reinforce such negative beliefs.

This applies to both internal and external manifestations, which is especially important for girls. We are led to believe that tanned blondes with blue eyes- this is the ideal. But in reality, originality is what is beautiful. Your eyes are beautiful, so is your skin, hair, smile, voice, laugh and overall personality. All this is your personal beauty of a unique unique essence.

If they tell you that your natural beauty inferior - worth thinking about.

They are not there when you need them most and ask for it.

Surround yourself with people who believe in you and are ready to support you, no matter how good or bad you feel. During the most difficult periods of your life, you will see the true colors of those people who say they care about you. Help other people, take care of your loved ones and realize your worth.

Be aware of your surroundings, some people make you lose energy while others bring joy to your soul. Don't chase after those who don't value you, don't try to force someone to accept you, love you and appreciate you if they don't meet you halfway.

SOCIETY
HERD
INSTINCT
INDEPENDENCE
HUMAN

The influence of society on a person. the herd instinct, embedded 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 in better side.

Automation of the process of transporting petroleum products
Calls technologies, features, application and effectiveness
Development of a model of an information system for the legal department for support and conclusion of enterprise contracts

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 outstanding personalities(obsolete).

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 like arrogance, 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 in this example 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 every person, the instinct of herd hierarchy is expressed in 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 kindergarten, school, teachers, friends. The media comes to their aid mass media), TV, Internet. And finally, neighbors and surrounding people (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Impact various factors to develop 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 learn a lot useful information and select 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.

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.

Mostly, large number 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 ease of control. a large number 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, 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 promotion online stores, which have a system for evaluating purchased goods. Previously, we looked at an example of how you can choose based on statistics and reviews required item, but it is worth considering that not only buyers, but also “dummy persons”, i.e., can give ratings and write reviews. 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 marital status, common interests, belonging to any 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 different situations can be seen 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 considered that the most important purchase from one client - 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 is of great interest to people. 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 detected. 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.

References

Criminal crowd. Experience of collective psychology / RAS. Institute of Psychology; comp. A.K. Bokovnikov. - Moscow: Publishing House of the Institute of Psychology, 1999 .- 320 p.
Psychology of crowds / comp. A.K. Bokovnikov; RAS. Institute of Psychology. - Moscow: Publishing House of the Institute of Psychology, 1999. - 416 p.
Social psychology: Reader / E. P. Belinskaya; O. A. Tikhomandritskaya.- M.: Aspect-Press, 2000.- 475 p.
Wikipedia website resources https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
A. N. Leontiev and modern psychology: Collection of articles in memory of A. N. Leontiev / ed. A. V. Zaporozhets. - Moscow: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1983 .- 288 p.
Kravchenko, A. I. Sociology in questions and answers: training manual/ A. I. Kravchenko. - Moscow: Prospekt, 2009 .- 240 p.