Tag Archives: group think
Sex crazed monkeys and the case against group think
In the prologue of Tom Wolfe’s “I Am Charlotte Simmons,” he outlines a fictional experiment that illuminates our inescapable drive to belong, and how it can drive catastrophic decisions.
Surgeons removed the amygdalas from 30 monkeys. This almond-sized portion of the brain regulates higher emotion. The monkeys were placed in a central area where they promptly became hypersexual. Meanwhile, a control group of monkeys, brains intact, watched from locked cages.
When a control monkey inadvertently mixed with the amorous group, it immediately hopped on the band wagon (so to speak). Wolfe’s point, which is borne out ad nauseum in history is that an individuals genetic predispositions and learning can easily be overcome by environment.
This may explain why groups sometimes bring out the worst in humans. And why group think is so dangerous and pervasive. The fact that “everybody’s doing it” doesn’t make it just. Just as the notion that communication, new products, or political concepts that test well with a group will necessarily lead to success. They don’t. Breaking out of the norm, getting noticed, a critical aspect of all communication, takes courage and a risk in social standing. But not to do so is to sacrifice the uniqueness of a brand. Just like the “daisy-chained” monkeys on the floor of Starling’s lab gave up their personal freedom for an orgy.