Why are people stupid in groups?

It occurred to me yesterday that when I was going around looking for parties with some friends of mine that everyone I was with was being stupid. People were just following people and were just going places no matter what. When I actually got to the party I saw that people were just talking to random strangers, and they were just trying to have a good time. Having a good time isn't what makes people stupid at parties. It's the fact that they don't think rationally or logically.

Now, I didn't go into the party because it was packed, but the average party goer is really stupid when they are in party mode. It's like their mind is stuck in one mind frame: partying. They don't think of anything else. Their previous commitments to relationships go out the picture. Why does it seem that people are willing to forget all their responsibilities and all their intellectual capabilities when they just want to go and get wasted? People seem to just want to have fun at all costs. I really don't understand it.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


That's what most parties are for, isn't it? To forget the stressors of life for a little while, and let down your rapunzel hair.

Sounds like you were in a different mood than your friends last night.

As far as the big picture....groups of people can feed off one another's stupidity, and cruelty. It's a phenomenon
methinks.

Well I don;t know if I agree witht his answer but I asked someone else because you know I had my thoughts on this, but I got a second opinion. She said people are stupid in groups because they want to fit in. It is not cool to be intellectual.

Now I don;t know If I agree with that go back to socrates time. They would have have gatherings sometimes for the express interest of intellectual conversation and debate, and sometimes they would even let the wine flow. So it might be a cultural thing that takes effect over time.

Society is full of alcoholics. There is a wide spectrum of them they come in many forms and shapes.


If you look at your social activites you will see how much of it revolves around booze.

Booze opens people up , and lets them unwind. They can use the "i was drunk " excuse later on to explain there starnge behavoir


We have become custom to this as normal .

Society has been shaped this way with years of booze abuse and making so many social activities revolve around it .


People act a fool because they can . and just can blame the booze later on . Its easier then caring and taking responsiblity

reply to post by Frankidealist35



Are they stupid or are they having fun? Maybe the problem is just you. Just saying.

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


Maybe. No, I was kind of in the same mood as my friends were. I was looking around to have a good time. It's just that I was surprised how people weren't thinking. The guy that pretty much knows the parties around the college that we were following was trying to get into the football party and he was like if anyone asks who we knew he said to tell them that we knew his girl-friend. And we kind of kept walking in circles, because we thought he knew where he was going.

I just felt that like we should have said something or done something... but like even still, aside from that we were IDd by the cops (I think it was illegal what the cops did) and we told other people that there were undercover cop too, but that didn't deter them from doing what they were doing. It's like people just do whatever the heck they feel like. IDK. I mean yeah, you go to a party to have a good time but that doesn't mean that you forget your rationality.

As for the exploitation process of which one group feeds off another-- I have been devising a strategy to exploit the average party goer .

I think stupid can be relative to different people in some situations.
For example, was the party people stupid for having fun and living life or were you stupid for being a 'bah humbug' and coming home to complain about it on your computer?

There is a crowd mentallity whereby the collective behavior is reduced to the lowest common denominator. In the case of financial markets it is the "extra-ordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds."

reply to post by zerotime


No. It wasn't just me. It's just weird how people can act completely different when they are trying to go and get wasted. I don't think that other people were thinking very much though. I personally think people are at auto-pilot when they go to parties and things.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


I don't get it either. I see people with boyfriends/girlfriends fooling around with other people at parties, then the next day act like nothing happened and like they are still in love with their partners. I don't get it.
I was watching Wild Sex the other day on either NatGeo or Animal planet and realized that what separates us from animals is that we are able to rationalize.
Seeing people get their jollies at whatever cost blows me away. [they] weren't always like that. Something happens getting older. I wonder what pops loose in [their] heads.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Because sometimes those who talk the Loudest aren't the Smartest.
Peace!

People in groups will attune themselves to the strongest signals.

Women who hang out together a lot will start synching in their periods due to hormonal cues.

People in groups attune to both hormonal signals and ,,,ummmm, I guess energy signatures, is the best way to put it.

Sort of like a tuning fork. Most people will attune to the strongest signal present. Try it sometime: be a tuning fork. Decide on attitude you wish the group to adopt and project it through your demeanor, voice, and spirit. If you project strongly enough you'll find that others begin adopting it to join you, eventually a cascade effect will take over most of the group.

Be careful with it though, and don't project bad stuff...that can get out of hand in a hurry.

Well I can say for a long time now I have made parties(more on the electronic music scene) a big part of what I do and I can say there are always gonna be stupid people when groups gather but some of the smartest and most interesting people I know I met at "parties"...Plus it's nice when the only worry is how to get more beer after the bar lol

I remember seeing a video of this. Probably a video from a previous discussion here on ATS!!!! A video of a study where there was a group of people who were part of the study and then the person being studied. The group of people were all taking consensus on things whether it be facts or whatever and a majority of the time the person being studied would always agree even though it would be something stupid ( I don't know maybe something like 'would you jump off a bridge for a 100 dollars' and then everyone would say yes and they would get the person being studied to say yes too). People will follow the herd no matter how stupid the consensus is.


If anyone knows of the video I am talking about then link it!!!

Take the lowest IQ of the dumbest member in the group and divide by the number of people in the group to get the average IQ of the members of the group.
Then divide by the number of holy books in the group
and then multiply the result of that
by the number of FEMALE virgins who actually own copies of said holy books in the group...

This will give you a number that indicates the amount of times out of I million when a question could be asked of the group.

goodluck

reply to post by apacheman


Wow! I never thought about it that way. I guess when you are in a group you exert a certain energy on the group and it can be positive or negative or indifferent. The way that you interact with the group will depend on how you are received and how you act will affect the group. Maybe if I decide to exploit the other people in the group who are partying I should do it more in a mutually positive way than a negative way. But yeah, that was really good insight. Thanks.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Why not just be straight with folks. Don't bother to respond, I'm already gone

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Like attracts like.
It is the very simple law of attraction.

reply to post by rusethorcain


I COMPLETELY disagree. Often times when dealing with friendships or relationships with other girls the other girl that might like me might have a completely different personality from me and that's why we're able to get along well.

mob mentality plays a role in how stupid we can be. It's quite interesting, how people can just jump on the bandwagon, whether it's witch hunting, protesting, thuggery, or even joining a good cause