The Herd Behaviour and the Comfort Zone
Following my previous post, I read an interesting view from Onishiroi on how, even after more than thousand years, humans keep following the allegory of the cave from Plato. (For more details check his blog in Brazilian Portuguese). This makes me think on what is called the Herd Behaviour and this is the theme of this post.
Everybody learned in the school at some point about packs, flocks, fish schools and so on. These are social groupings of animals, e.g. buffalos, birds, and fishes. What few people know is that humans follow the same behaviour.
A prank played by a Brazilian television channel exemplifies what I am talking about. In the prank a crowd arrives and someone shouts “Take care with the shooting” and in the sequence (after no shooting) someone shout “RUN!”.
When there is a crowd presenting a given behavior, the most basic reaction is to follow the crowd “just in case”. In this moment, before having the real view of what is going on, the natural reaction is go with the crowd, a “herd behavior”. The goal of the herd arrangement is to provide security for each individual by creating a body that is stronger than its parts. Another example is the experiment of the elevator, where everyone enter in the elevator but rather than face the door, they face the wall. What would be the behaviour of those entering in the elevator?
When studying the movements of birds, researchers discovered that herd behaviour could be simulated by three simples rules: separation, alignment, and cohesion. Separation is the rule that says a bird should avoid bumping into another bird while flying. If you stop to think, this is the same when you are in a crowd. If you just stop while the crowd is running, it is likely they will hurt you and you hurt someone else. The second rule, alignment, says you should move as those in your field of vision are moving. As in the prank, if everyone is going in one direction then probably that is the safest direction to go. The third and last simple rule is the cohesion that says you should be as closer as possible to those around you. Basically, those closest to you are the ones most able to provide you security.
The herd behaviour is a way to keep us safe when alone we may not make it. But as it provides comfort it also has some side effects: the creation of the famous “comfort zone”.
Consider the picture above. Who is more protected? The one in the middle or the one in the border? If a predator comes to attack, those in the middle are the safest ones. They do not need to be so scared as soon as they keep themselves in the middle. But the side effect is, they can only go where the herd goes. They have no choice where to go because according to the three rules, they should not bump in anyone, follow who is around, and stay close to their peers. As it may sounds interesting for survival purposes, we are humans and we do like to have choices.
The comfort zone is that place in the very middle of the herd. There is no choice where to go, if one like it or not, but there is a good feeling of safety. Whatever is out there will not arrive at you and this has everything to do with the allegory of the cave.
Whatever is out there (the shadows) will not catch you, as soon as you keep as you are. Stay in the safety. If the ones in the border want to leave the herd, don’t allow them to do that, it is unsafe for them out there and even more for you. As thinner the distance between you and the border as less safe it will be for you. Because soon or later, as the border disperse you will become the border, and this is not a good place to be. That is the comfort zone and this is the social pressure to keep anyone from leave the crowd and to stay exactly where they are.
I really like the simplicity of this model and I do believe we move in life as in herd, but there are two remaining questions. Who guides the herd when they change directions (as in the video below)? And, what is the role of the ones in the border (i.e. the outliers)? These are questions for another post ;)