“It’s easy to stand with the crowd. It takes courage to stand alone.” – Mahatma Gandhi
As human beings, we have a deep longing to fit in with the crowd. Evolution has programmed into us mechanisms to ensure that we keep with the group, for without the group, we would be in big trouble. Even in the comfort of the modern world, if an individual becomes isolated with no support, life can become very difficult for that individual.
We also have the biological capability to go against the group. However, in most circumstances, it requires a lot of conscious effort and willpower to take the risk of going against the group. This is because our emotional programming is designed to penalize us if we go against the group. Just looking at the cartoonish image at the beginning of this article probably gives you a feeling of discomfort. Everyone has experienced the feeling of loneliness and rejection that comes from group disapproval.
Since going against the group has emotional consequences, most people conform to the group in most scenarios. However, there is a very dangerous reality of group cooperation. If the group begins to degenerate and head in the wrong direction, the natural following of the group can lead to destruction of individuals within the group. Sometimes all it takes is one extremely charismatic leader to come along and hijack the direction of the entire group.
In this article, we are going to explore going against the group through the lens of philosophy, psychology, history, and biology. Then we will discuss why going against the group can be extremely dangerous while at the same time being crucial for the success of an individual.
The Powerful Force of Conformity
“When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.” – Eric Hoffer
“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.” – Bertrand Russell
Asch Conformity Experiments
There have been many great psychological studies showing the powerful effects of group influence on individuals. One of the most famous set of studies were the Asch Conformity Experiments conducted in the 1950s:
Asch conducted a series of experiments to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. Participants were asked to match the length of a line to three comparison lines in the presence of a group of confederates who deliberately chose the wrong line.
A significant proportion of participants conformed to the majority view, even when it was clearly incorrect, highlighting the power of conformity in group settings. This study showed that people will go against what they see with their own eyes in order to conform to the group.
Five Monkeys Experiment
Another famous experiment is the Five Monkeys Experiment. The exact details and validity of this experiment are somewhat ambiguous, however, they still serve as a great parable for the lasting effects and irrationality of group conformity:
Five monkeys are placed in a cage with a ladder in the center. At the top of the ladder, bananas are hung.
Whenever a monkey climbs the ladder to get the bananas, cold water is sprayed on all the monkeys, discouraging them from climbing the ladder.
Over time, the monkeys learn to avoid climbing the ladder to avoid the unpleasant spray. New monkeys introduced to the group are also prevented from climbing the ladder by the other monkeys, even without the cold water being used.
Eventually, all the original monkeys are replaced, yet the group continues to enforce the behavior of not climbing the ladder, even though none of the current monkeys have experienced the cold water themselves.
We see humans engage in similar behavior all the time. Throughout our lives, we receive reinforcement or punishment from the group based on the various behaviors that we engage in. We carry around with us rules and associations based on which behaviors led to reward or punishment in the past. We often enforce these rules and associations on others around us. However, the world is a rapidly changing place, so something that used to be punished in society may now be beneficial to engage in. Sometimes our brains make mistakes and don’t update our associations fast enough. This effect can be excasterbated by group conformity as seen in the five monkey’s experiment.
We see this effect in all sorts of systems in society. Companies often follow old practices just because “that’s how it’s always been done” even if the old practices are no longer effective. In education, it can take decades to correct outdated information that is still being perpetuated through group conformity. In religion, rituals that are no longer relevant for modern life are often continued due to the fear of disapproval within the religious community. In the legal system, laws are often upheld and enforced even when they have become outdated and ineffective.
Collective Disease
“When everyone is sick, we no longer consider it a disease.” – Naval Ravikant
“Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
As we discussed earlier, groups have the propensity to become diseased similar to the propensity of an organism to become diseased. This can happen in any group whether it be family, community, state, country, or religion. Many governments have become ideologically diseased throughout history leading to the deaths of millions of people. Sometimes, all it takes is one tyrannical leader to mold the group into something evil. Mao and Stalin were both examples of leaders that were possessed by ideologies that lead to the deaths of millions of people.
One of the scariest things that happens when groups become diseased is that they no longer recognize themselves as diseased. One of the most horrific examples in all of history was the holocaust. In Nazi Germany, large contingents of the population thought it was okay to ruthlessly persecute the Jewish population. They didn’t see this as diseased behavior, because the group as a whole was ideologically sick. In the modern day Western world, there is a new widespread acceptance of adverse health conditions like obesity. Many people now consider it to be normal and perfectly healthy to be overweight. Another example is with screen time and technological use. It is now considered normal to spend vast amounts of time on social media and the internet. Both of these behaviors have been linked to severe negative effects on human beings.
Paving Your Own Way
“Do not follow the crowd. Follow your own path.” – Buddha
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
It may not always be apparent, but there are forces in the world that are constantly putting pressure on individuals to be and do certain things. The culture that you grow up in puts immense pressure on you to behave in certain ways in order to fit into the culture. Your parents put immense pressure on you to behave and act in ways that align with their beliefs and principles. Other forces like religion and government also play massive roles.
With all of these forces attempting to lock individuals into predetermined templates, it can be very difficult for any one individual to break free and go against them. However, it is possible. Many of the most recognized individuals throughout history are so because they broke free of many of these group forces. It takes incredible strength and intelligence to go against such powerful forces.
Dangers
It can also be extremely dangerous to go against the group, especially in certain areas. In many of the communist regimes that have taken hold throughout history, if you went against the group, you were executed.
One of the best examples of someone paying the ultimate price for going against the group is the death of the greek philosopher Socrates:
Socrates was a prolific philosophical thinker that is credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He used critical thinking and questioning to develop novel ideas, many of which went against the established group ideas. This got him into trouble. He was charged with “corrupting the youth” and “not recognizing the Gods”. He was tried and eventually found guilty. His punishment was to end his life by drinking poison.
We also see the dangers of going against the group play out over and over again in “whistleblower” situations. Edward Snowden is a great modern day example of a whistleblower that went against the group and paid a great price for it. Snowden was working for the intelligence community in the United States. He became very concerned with their behavior in regards to spying on and collecting mass amounts of information on the American people. He leaked classified documents detailing the large-scale surveillance programs being conducted by prominent United States government agencies. The United States charged Snowden and he was forced to flee the country. He will most likely never be able to return to the United States.
Breaking Free
In order to pave your own way, you must break free of all of the forces that are trying to lock you into a predetermined path. This requires immense mental and physical effort. The first step in breaking free is continuous reflection.
Continuous Reflection
The following discussion was between Jim Rohn, a famous entrepreneur and author, and a child:
Jim: “What would happen if someone dropped sugar in my coffee?”
Kids: “You’d be okay!”
Jim: “What if someone dropped poison in my coffee?”
Kids: “Well you’d be dead!”
Jim: “Correct, Life is both sugar and poison, you’ve got to be careful. What if my worst enemy dropped in the sugar?”
Kids: “You’d be okay!”
Jim: “What If my best friend even by accident dropped in the poison?”
Kids: “You’d be dead!”
Jim: “Correct! Lesson two, watch your coffee! It doesn’t matter where you get the bad stuff, it’ll still do damage on your life”
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
We’ve already discussed the group forces that are acting on us, molding us and pushing us in certain directions. Now we must discuss how to combat these forces. The first essential step in combatting these forces is constant reflection. Constant reflection of our behavior and acknowledgment of which external group forces are influencing our behavior is an essential habit for breaking free of those external forces.
Andrew Tate, an extremely influential figure in the modern world speaks about the importance of reflecting on the ideas and beliefs that you possess:
“You need to analyze your beliefs. Why do you believe what you believe? Is it because you genuinely think it’s true, or because it’s what you’ve been told?”
“Most people believe what they’re told to believe. They don’t think for themselves because they’re conditioned by the media and society.”
Deep analysis of your ideas and beliefs ensures that the beliefs and ideas are constructive for the benefit of you as an individual. The reality is that the group does not always instill ideas and beliefs that benefit individuals. For example, slaves all throughout history have been fed ideas and beliefs that ensure they stay slaves. The lower classes of society have always been exploited and fed false beliefs by the group. This is one of the ways in which the powerful keep their power. Governments also engage in psychological operations where they attempt to destabilize nations by implanting destructive ideas and beliefs into the group. As individuals, we are always caught in the crosshairs of governmental operations. We must stay vigilant in order to avoid becoming collateral damage.
Strength of Will
“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” – Franz Kafka
Since external group forces are so powerful, we must apply a more powerful internal force to break free. The force that we can use to escape the external is the force of will.
As defined by the Oxford Dictionary [1], will is the ability to control your thoughts and actions in order to achieve what you want to do.
Will is an abstract but very real force within an individual. We refer to people that are able to overcome immense external pressure as people that have a strong will or an “iron will”. Will is something that is strengthened through action.
There are literal parts of the brain that are associated with will. The prefrontal cortex is associated with executive decisions making, planning, and self control. This is the area of the brain that allows us to make decisions that go against societal and group forces. Like any brain region, this part of the brain can be strengthened through continuous use. If we are to break free from external forces, we must strengthen our will on a daily basis.
Agreeableness
In psychology, agreeableness is one of the five major dimensions of personality, known as the Big Five personality traits. The Big Five traits are a widely accepted framework for understanding personality and are used to describe the dimensions of personality as measured by the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and other similar tools.
Individuals that are less agreeable are more likely to go against the group. So, to effectively go against the group, we must become more disagreeable. There appear to be biological mechanism involved in agreeableness. One of the best pieces of evidence for there being biological mechanisms involved in agreeableness is the fact that men, on average, tend to be less agreeable than women.
Studies such as “Testosterone and Dominance in Men” by James M. Dabbs and Marian F. Hargrove (1997) [2] link testosterone with disagreeableness. So, by increasing our testosterone levels we can become less agreeable and more capable of going against the group.
It makes a lot of sense why higher testosterone levels would make people more disagreeable. Testosterone is a biologically expensive hormone. It requires sufficient nutrients and energy to create. It promotes physical growth, especially muscle growth while simultaneously promoting sex-seeking, status-seeking, and competitive behavior. All of these three behaviors require great degrees of strength and disagreeableness. If you’re too agreeable and try to engage in those behaviors, you will be outcompeted by other individuals that are less agreeable.
We clearly see these effects of testosterone in young men. As their testosterone levels increase during puberty, they become more rebellious and engage in more risk-taking behavior. They do this regardless of what the group tells them is acceptable behavior.
Taking action to increase our testosterone levels will give us an added biological force to help us overcome the group.
Creating Your Own Value System
“Man is the creator of his own values. Let us not then believe in any morality which is based solely on an authority of some kind or another.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
In the modern Western world, many of the systems that used to provide us with values are breaking down and losing their power. As this is happening, individuals are finding themselves devoid of solid ideas and beliefs. This void has to be filled. Some of it is being filled with strange ideologies and political ideas. As an individual, you want to fill the void yourself to ensure that it doesn’t get filled with something detrimental. Developing your own set of values also allows you to go against the group with less internal resistance. Almost all great individuals throughout history were steadfast in their beliefs which gave them the courage to go against the crowd when they needed to most.
Developing your strength of will and engaging in continuous reflection will allow you to build and maintain a sturdy value system that you can live your life by. It’s essential to become a student and learn about the various religions, philosophies, and belief systems that have existed throughout human history. Drawing connections between all of these different systems will allow you to pull the most beneficial values and beliefs for building your system.
The Rewards
“The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before.” – Albert Einstein
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
Going against the crowd can be immensely rewarding if the crowd is heading in the wrong direction. If everyone in your group decides to end their life, like many cults have, going against them can literally save your life. This is an extreme example but still relevant to the topic.
Money and fame are two of the most common rewards that can come from going against the group. The nature of markets is that you get paid for differentiating yourself in beneficial ways. Individuals that go against the tide and create novel ideas are rewarded with immense sums of money if their ideas prove to be highly valuable to society. Think of Apple and Steve Jobs. They created a piece of technology that completely transformed the world and they became the most valuable company in the world in the process. They didn’t do this by following the status quo or the group. They went off in a completely different direction. Another great is example is in investing. Investors that go against the disposition of the crowd and are right are rewarded immensely. Early investors in Bitcoin have seen colossal returns on their initial investments.
The rewards are especially good if you are part of a diseased group like we talked about earlier. If everyone in your group is fat and unhealthy and you decide to go against them, you will become thin and healthy. If everyone in your group is addicted to technology, going against them will spare you from the dangerous addiction.
Conclusion
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Decisions to go against the group are often some of the most difficult decisions that we ever make as individuals. It takes great courage, willpower, and confidence to disregard what everyone around us is telling us. I created this article as a reminder of the importance of resisting blind group conformity and a mental framework for resisting the powerful forces of the group. It can be revisited at any time.
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