What is the herd feeling called? "Psychology of the crowd", "herd mentality": the power of energy-informational parasites

Any society is always more or less like a crowd.

There is such a concept - crowd psychology. The crowd is always more aggressive than the individual people who make it up, it always easily gives in to emotions, it is not able to soberly assess the situation. The crowd never talks, and therefore it is easy to push it to some kind of mass actions - protest, condemnation, and simply to rebellion. It costs nothing to raise it to battle, to the barricades. This property of the crowd has always been used and is being used by numerous leaders, politicians, who are striving for power and already ruling, “throat leaders”. They learned how to easily turn the crowd in the direction they need, pulling it by the “strings” of emotions, slightly pressing on sore spots ...

There are no individuals in the crowd and there is only a multi-headed, but at the same time brainless creature, an energy monster, acting "at the request" of prudent "singers".

Strange as it may seem, but even with very intelligent people, it happens that things that are inexplicable at first glance happen: once, for example, at a rally, they suddenly, succumbing to the general mood, together with everyone begin to chant: “We demand! .. We protest !" Then, left alone and slightly coming to his senses, such a person suddenly realizes in horror that he has absolutely no idea who these “we” are, on behalf of whom he so resolutely demanded and protested. After all, he has his personal "I" - and this personal "I" just does not want to demand or protest.

Many people know what "herd feeling". This is when, having seen people running, a person passing by on his own business suddenly, unconsciously, for no reason, joins them. This means the same thing: he falls under the influence of someone else's program and something like the following is imprinted in his subconscious: everyone is running, which means I need it too. There were cases when a person in such a state, without having time to come to his senses, jumped into a train that was completely unnecessary to him, and then gnawed at his elbows, not knowing how to get home now. And in the days of general queues (which we all happily forgot about), there were more than once situations when people stood in line for hours to buy things they absolutely did not need, just because they “took everything”.

The psychology of the crowd, subordination to the energy of a large number of people is a direct road to illness, the development of anger, negativism, as well as to false aspirations, to a meaningless pastime and to a thousand more human misfortunes. The scheme for the development of the disease in case you succumb to someone else's programming is very simple. Elderly people often fall for this bait, for example. For example, someone strongly inspires such a far from young man that there are only thieves in the government. He did not have the opportunity to verify this personally, but for some reason he believes in the word of the one who said this. He believes - or rather, is forced to believe - because he was consciously coded, programmed. And it was done like this: from the lower chakras of the inspiring person, this hypnotizing information was thrown into the upper chakras of the “processed” citizen. The information received meets an emotional response from the old man, these negative emotions begin to not only splash out on other people through his upper chakras, but also distort the normal energy flow of his own body. He, succumbing to suggestion, begins to get nervous, angry - and gets a heart attack.

Here's another example: you got rude in transport. You answered the same, that is, you were rude in response. What have you done? That's right, again worked on someone else's program. Ham only needed to arouse your anger, move you to an outburst of emotions in order to "eat" your energy. And you obediently "fed" boor, did what he expected from you (energy vampirism...). He brought you under his influence. And you dutifully succumbed, thereby recognizing its significance, its ability to influence people, to evoke emotions in them.

Accustomed to answer rudeness to rudeness, you, in turn, “turn on” the emotions of other people in the same way. And you yourself do not understand why you always get involved in some kind of squabbles, why you meet only boors and rude people on your way, why do you always have to swear with someone? Yes, because already you yourself, being infected with someone else's boorish energy, amplify this impulse and you start a new cascade of reactions in a circle, you begin to splash out the charge sitting in you into the surrounding space. And at this time, at the level of consciousness, a clear program is being formed in you: all people are boors. And this program is already creeping out of your lower chakras, forcing those around you to scatter in fear, because they feel that you see enemies in them, or, conversely, those around you begin to perceive you as an enemy and attack.

This is how anger at the whole wide world can arise. A person begins to see everything in gloomy colors. He does not see the good but sees only evil in everything. In the end, such a person simply chokes on this stream of evil, not noticing that he himself amplifies this stream many times over. The normal flow of energy stops. A person breaks away from the energy of the Cosmos and the Earth, begins to “cook” in some harmful emissions and finally depletes himself. The result, as a rule, is an incurable disease and death.

Why can even the most inveterate teetotaler become an alcoholic if he gets into a drinking company? For the same reason: when everyone drinks, it is difficult for one to resist everyone, the energy of the desire to drink overwhelms him too. Drug addicts also often become "for the company." You now know how it happens - this very company catches a person in energy networks, subordinates, against his will, to his desires.

And how many times does it happen that we do not want to go on a visit, but we go because we are being dragged there? And then we sit all evening, toiling with these people of no interest to us from longing, angry with ourselves that we are wasting time (after all, we were going to spend it on another, much more important thing for us). Usually people attribute such inexplicable actions to weakness of will, infirmity of character. People do not know that the energy networks of other people's desires, aspirations, thoughts, emotions can be so strong that even a strong-willed person, if he does not know how to consciously get rid of it, can find it very difficult to cope with them.

Incredible harm is done to personal karma, for there is nothing worse than false, externally imposed desires. Children suffer the most - as not yet well-established creatures, not yet able to resist the influence of the crowd. Children's drug addiction has become so widespread not because teenagers want to go into a drug frenzy from the hopelessness of life, but because the same herd feeling works: everyone has already tried it, but am I red or not as cool as they are? It is in adolescence that the desire to be like everyone else is very strong. And of course, a teenager easily falls into the harmful networks of energy connections with a mass of his own kind, because his own energy-informational essence still speaks very quietly, and the demands of his own kind sound authoritatively and rudely, like an order.

That is why teenage gangs spring up so easily. Teenagers instinctively feel that, having united, they form a new animate energy structure, which will have much greater power than each of them individually. Alone, it is difficult for them to cope with difficult life situations, with difficult conditions of existence, it is difficult to resist the community of adults, which is also thoroughly permeated with pathological connections. Therefore, in order to somehow exist, they huddle together in packs and, like pack animals, lose their individual mind and gain a collective mind. At the same time, they feel that while they are together, everyone will be afraid of them, they will get away with everything. After all, they are a single organism, a monolith, an energy monster. Therefore, they believe that they can behave aggressively, arrogantly, bully passers-by. And if you try to approach, you will fly away, hitting this powerful energy wall.

Teenagers, of course, do not suspect that at the same time they spoil their karma, life and destiny, abandon their own energy-informational essence, completely subordinating themselves to someone else's programs, emotions and desires imposed from the outside. And if we deprive them of the "flock", divide the powerful energy structure, which is the gang, into its component parts, then there will be no trace of this force and only miserable, weak and downtrodden creatures will appear before our eyes.

Why do people have a herd mentality?

The expression "herd mentality" is figurative, not scientific. It is, strictly speaking, in itself exhaustive. If we want to say that people behave like animals in a herd, we say that they have a herd mentality. This must be understood in such a way that if they did not have a herd mentality, they would behave differently and be less like animals in a herd.

Anyone who bothers to type the phrase “herd mentality” in an Internet search engine will instantly find the same text about the “5 percent law” posted on dozens of sites and in many blogs. This indicates that empirically the law works: the network herd behaves like a herd, repeating stories about the herd. This, in fact, could have ended, but some ambiguities remain.

First of all, we do not know well enough, at least in terms of social science, whether animals in herds are subject to the same herd mentality that we assume in humans. Of course, there are many surprising cases of synchronization.

There is such a thing as auto-sync.

The bottom line is this - if in some community 5% percent perform a certain action at the same time, the rest of the majority begins to repeat. The theory can also be called DOTU - A fairly general theory of management.
If in a peacefully grazing herd of horses you frighten 5% of the individuals and “put them to flight”, then the rest of the herd will break away; even if 5% of the fireflies accidentally flare up simultaneously, then there will be a flash of the whole meadow right there.
This feature is also seen in humans. Recently, British scientists set up an experiment: they invited people into a large, spacious hall and gave them the task "move as you like." And some were given a clearly defined task of how to move and when. Thus, it was experimentally confirmed that 5% of people moving with a specific goal can make the whole set move in the same direction.
How to understand - a herd society or not?
Let us imagine a certain number of people who are together and act together. I say “acting” because we can only observe actions, and we can only guess about the experiences and feelings that accompany them.

So, we see people together, but is it always a “herd”? A hundred people sitting in a cinema hall or a waiting room at a railway station is a herd? And the same hundred people who were accommodated in the cabin of the aircraft? - Not? “What if the plane is shaking and they are terrified?” And if they landed safely, but crowded at the exit, not listening to the exhortations of the staff? But what about the rallies that have attracted so much attention in our time? Do those who take part in them have a herd mentality? - I'm afraid the answer to this last question depends on the political position of the observer, who is ready to deny the ability of reflection, intellect and civic consciousness to those who are unpleasant to him.

“The desire of people to multiply has always been strong. However, this word should not be understood as a simple desire to be fruitful. People wanted more of them now, in this particular place, at this very moment. The large number of herds on which they hunted, and the desire to multiply their own number, were peculiarly intertwined in their soul. They expressed their feeling in a certain state of general excitement, which I call a rhythmic or convulsive mass.

“But how do they compensate for the lack of numbers? It is especially important here that each of them does the same as the others, each stomps in the same way as the other, each waves his arms, each makes the same head movements. This equivalence of the participants, as it were, branches into the equivalence of the members of each. Everything that is mobile only in a person acquires a special life - each leg, each hand lives on its own. Individual members are reduced to a common denominator.

For example, a performance in a theater or a movie in a cinema has begun - latecomers are met with slight hostility. Like an orderly herd, people sit quietly and endlessly patient, and no one will make a remark to a latecomer, because this is at least a “thankless task”. But everyone is well aware of his separate attitude towards the one who interfered with his lateness and his lack of punctuality. But time passes, everyone quietly sees the action of the picture from the stage or on the screen. And at some point, from the seen funny scene of the actors, a comic situation is created, people begin to smile and laugh.

It is important to understand that each person's humor is different, or rather the perception of humor.

But most of the people in the hall, one way or another, will start laughing and smiling along with everyone else. About herd feeling and herd society in this case, you can use "with caution."

The above example is proof of this. Especially if you are in the company of friends, and one of your acquaintances told a “not very funny” anecdote or story, he himself laughs and you smile - not from herd feeling, but because you don’t want to offend or embarrass your friend. comrade.

Consider schools and universities. Do not make groups of more than 20 people. 20 people / 100% * 5% = 1 - this unit is the leader, while an increase in the number of people entails a loss of control. In a classroom with 30-40 people, it will be very difficult for the teacher to set the tone of the lesson and constantly keep the attention of the group. This law can be applied to other situations, try it, but you should not completely rely on it. Nothing is absolute.

Often, a lot of people use this phenomenon for selfish purposes, launching rumors, for example, that in a couple of days some goods will disappear and 5% of those who are frightened and run to buy these goods will be enough to stir up the rest and after a while the shelves will really become empty. 5% percent of provocateurs will be enough for a peaceful rally to turn into a massacre.

Each of you can feel this fine line and find masses of examples of herd behavior of people in society. And it is very important not to confuse.

Launches the Question to the Scientist project, in which experts will answer interesting, naive or practical questions. In the new issue, Doctor of Sociological Sciences Alexander Filippov talks about the “herd mentality”.

Why do people get
herd feeling?

Alexander Filippov

Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Head of the HSE Center for Fundamental Sociology, Editor-in-Chief of the Sociological Review journal, specialist in the history of sociology

The expression "herd mentality" is figurative, not scientific. It is, strictly speaking, in itself exhaustive. If we want to say that people behave like animals in a herd, we say that they have a herd mentality. This must be understood in such a way that if they did not have a herd mentality, they would behave differently and be less like animals in a herd. Anyone who bothers to type the phrase “herd mentality” in an Internet search engine will instantly find the same text about the “5 percent law” posted on dozens of sites and in many blogs. This indicates that empirically the law works: the network herd behaves like a herd, repeating stories about the herd. This, in fact, could have ended, but some ambiguities remain.

A hundred people sitting in a cinema hall or a waiting room at a railway station is a herd?

rhythmic synchronization of applause. But it was not about the herd feeling: animals do not suit applause. However, this is not the most difficult. The bad thing is that "herd mentality" can be both a qualifying sign and an explanatory principle.

Let us imagine a certain number of people who are together and act together. I say “acting” because we can only observe actions, and we can only guess about the experiences and feelings that accompany them. So, we see people together, but is it always a “herd”? A hundred people sitting in a cinema hall or a waiting room at a railway station is a herd? And the same hundred people who were accommodated in the cabin of the aircraft? - Not? - And if the plane is shaking and they are terrified? And if they landed safely, but crowded at the exit, not listening to the exhortations of the staff? But what about the rallies that have attracted so much attention in our time? Do those who take part in them have a herd mentality? - I'm afraid the answer to this last question depends on the political position of the observer, who is ready to deny the ability of reflection, intellect and civic consciousness to those who are unpleasant to him.

It was in relation to the mass that it was tempting to talk about the herd mentality, but the scheme did not work out. The fact is that "herd", in relation to the intellect, is not just "animal" in relation to the human, but also evolutionarily lower in relation to the higher. And if so, it required a rejection of evolutionism, that is, from the idea that historical development is ascending, towards an ever greater rationality of individuals. But if such a conception of linear evolution is not suitable, then the understanding of the "herd" as inferior and condemned is also difficult to maintain as a value judgment. And if one adopts the point of view of a "transition to a mass society", then in a number of cases it will be appropriate to speak (as Erns Jünger did in the early 1930s) about the decline of the masses.

Is it possible to see, nevertheless, any sense in reasoning about the herd? - Apparently, yes. For example, Elias Canetti in his famous book "Mass and Power" made many important remarks on this subject. I will quote a few of them. Here is the first: “The desire of people to multiply has always been strong. However, this word should not be understood as a simple desire to be fruitful. People wanted more of them now, in this particular place, at this very moment. The large number of herds on which they hunted, and the desire to multiply their own number, were peculiarly intertwined in their soul. They expressed their feeling in a certain state of general excitement, which I call a rhythmic or convulsive mass. Canetti further explains this with the example of movements in a general dance: “But how do they compensate for the lack of numbers? It is especially important here that each of them does the same as the others, each stomps in the same way as the other, each waves his arms, each makes the same head movements. This equivalence of the participants, as it were, branches into the equivalence of the members of each. Everything that is mobile only in a person acquires a special life - each leg, each hand lives on its own. Individual members are reduced to a common denominator.

However, the herd is not only mobile: “Everything is set in advance: a play being performed, busy artists,

start time and the very presence of spectators on the ground. Latecomers are greeted with mild hostility. Like a well-ordered herd, people sit quietly and endlessly patient. But each is well aware of his separate existence; he counted and noted who was sitting next to him. Before the start of the performance, he calmly observes the rows of assembled heads: they evoke in him a pleasant, but unobtrusive sense of density. The equality of the spectators consists, in fact, only in the fact that everyone receives the same thing from the stage. (Quotes are given in the translation of L. G. Ionin: Canetti E. Mass and power. M .: Ad Marginem, 1997, according to the online version) . Descriptive precision should not obscure explanatory complexity from us. The co-presence of many fundamentally identical, in this case, bodies, the transition from fear of contact with strangers to some bodily self-identification with others, the rhythm of movement and the peace of togetherness allow us to speak of the current and predictable characteristics of this gathering as a herd. This is exactly how the logical construction of the events taking place here is arranged for the observer. But the question of feeling is still open. As for me, I would use the word “herd” itself with caution, and I would not use the combination “herd feeling” at all.

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:

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 church dogma, condemns such concepts as homosexuality, lesbianism and other types of sexuality that do not ultimately lead to the conception of a child.
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.
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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:

Portal for the student. Self-training

Why do people get herd feeling?