sheep mentality
Following the crowd
Sheep mentality is the tendency to follow the crowd without independent thought, mimicking what others do or believe simply because they're doing it.
The image comes from sheep moving as a flock, each animal following the one ahead: Social media creates a sheep mentality where everyone shares the same outrage.
The term is always disparaging, implying weakness or intellectual laziness.
Also called herd mentality.
- herdGrazing animals together
- flockAnimals gathered together
- pack behaviorGroup social dynamics
- conformityAdherence to norms
- social conformityAdopting group norms
groupthink · hive mind · follower · blind · obedience · crowd · masses · follow the crowd · lemming · bandwagon · go along to get along · copycat · submissive · docile · compliant · hivemind · sheeple · drink the Kool-Aid
- conformityconformity, conforming, conform, conformist, conformism
- social conformityconformist, peer pressure, groupthink, follow the crowd, fit in
- social psychologysocial behavior, conformity, social influence, attribution, groupthink
- herd behaviorbandwagon effect, conformism, peer pressure, following the crowd, mob
sheep mentalityindividualism
Doctrine of personal independence
nonconformity · autonomy · self-reliance · contrarianism · self-determination
sheep mentalitycritical thinking
Objective evaluation of information
skepticism · discernment · analytical thinking · intellectual curiosity · due diligence
sheep mentalitytrailblazing
Being the first through
pioneering spirit · moral courage · bucking the trend · standing alone · leadership
sheep, mentality, sheepish, sheepishly, sheepishness, shepherd, sheepdog, mental, mentally