How To Avoid Crab Mentality, Difficult Syndrome Seeing Others Succeed

Capture the Twitter screen (Source: Twitter.com)

JAKARTA - The story of a student who failed to pass a semester course went viral on Twitter social media yesterday. The problem was, his failure was not the result of his own actions, but because of the behavior of his friend who allegedly sabotaged his duties because he wanted to make friends so that they both did not graduate. This behavior is known as crab mentality syndrome or crab mentality. This syndrome is common not only on campus, but also in many other environments such as workplaces and even families. The question is, do all humans have this syndrome? If so, how can we avoid it?

That day, according to a story shared by the owner of the Twitter account @AREAJULID, a student was required to provide assistance and send assignments that determined his graduation. Reportedly, if he sent his assignment later than 2 in the afternoon and did not attend assistance, he would be declared not to have passed the course.

But something annoying happened. The student admitted that the cellphone contained in the assignment was hidden by his college friend. In addition, the assistance was reportedly carried out via the WhatsApp message application.

"You know, his cellphone was hidden by his friend, because his friend was not ready for the task and didn't want to fail himself," as written in the captured image shared by the @AREAJULID account.

It is said that the student initially went to breakfast with his friend. But after returning to his boarding house he didn't realize that his cellphone was lost. Then he admitted that his friend turned the cellphone off.

"Then suddenly his friend came back to his cellphone with the excuse 'uh your cellphone took me earlier, I also just checked.' Then when he cried for failing his matkul, his friend said, "You are not alone. I have failed too." From that we conclude that he did repeat it. Where is a dead cellphone, but when it is turned on, there are still 40 percent of the battery, "he wrote.

This social phenomenon does not only occur in the campus environment, but also in many places including the work environment. The owner of the Twitter account @dewojnrt_, for example, told his friend that he deleted a job interview invitation message when he borrowed another friend's cellphone.

"When my friend borrowed my friend's cellphone, suddenly there was an incoming interview invitation message. It was immediately deleted so that we were both unemployed," he wrote.

first when I borrowed a friend's cellphone, suddenly there was an incoming interview invitation message. Please delete it immediately so that you are unemployed

- United Nations (@dewojnrt_) March 15, 2021

From this case, it can be seen that both the student who hides the cellphone and the colleague who owns the @dewojnrt_ account are like someone who has crab mental syndrome. The signs are exact.

Loretta G. Breuning, a professor of mammalian brains from California State University, wrote in Psychology Today, explaining some of the characteristics of people who experience crab mentality. Among other things, feeling jealous of his friend's progress, feeling that he was being sabotaged by his family, and being unfriendly to colleagues who made achievements.

"If you've ever had any of these, there's a good chance you've got a crab mentality," he wrote. So what is crab mentality?

Dis! If someone wants to go forward, it's said to be "ambitious" or "not solid, you are" 🙏 pic.twitter.com/KY15zi1SGA

- AREA JULID (@AREAJULID) March 15, 2021

Nature

Breuning explained, crab mentality is a parable of behavior that resembles a crab. Because if we catch crabs and put them in the bucket, then they won't let any of their friends get out of the bucket.

When someone tries to escape either by themselves or taken by someone, the herd of crabs will pull them down. "Sharing joy in adversity. Similar behavior has been observed in humans, albeit under different circumstances."

Breuning, said, a crab actually does this unconsciously. Behavior is natural, says Breuning.

Indeed, according to Breuning, humans as mammals cannot be equated with crabs, which are crustaceans. For that it is important to understand how mammals can depend on other people.

Crab illustration (Unsplash / Ravi Sekhar)

By nature, mammals seek safety in large numbers of people to protect them from predators. Natural factors make the human brain produce the hormone oxytocin, which triggers pleasant feelings when a person finds social support. Conversely, the human brain will increase the production of a hormone that triggers feelings of badness (cortisol) when social support is reduced.

According to Breuning, living in groups can be interpreted as continuous competition for food and partners. "Naturally, the brain is designed to release the hormone serotonin when a person feels in a strong position, while alerting someone when they are in a threatened position characterized by the production of the hormone cortisol."

Humans, continued Breuning, are always unconsciously looking for a higher position. It is just as unconscious when someone is afraid to go downstairs. And when that process occurs our brains cannot process it into words, but other people can see these impulses through behavior.

Breuning said, humans struggle to feel comfortable with a brain that has good feelings to survive in nature. The better we understand how the mammalian brain works, the better decisions we can make.

Crab mentality can actually be controlled by recognizing how our bodies behave naturally. This syndrome may not be completely eliminated from the body, because it is a natural human feeling. But Breuning knows how to minimize the impact of crab mentality. The following include:

1. Persistence

Persistence is one of the ways to hold on to our position. When there are other people who give negative comments, there is no need to listen and still do what is right for us. That way, someone will not worry about other people's criticism or insinuation for what we do.

2. Develop yourself

In this case, we must continue to be enthusiastic in developing our abilities. So that our self-confidence will increase and not easily provoked by other people's comments.

3. Become a model for others

When we know that there is a purpose for our actions, it will be more difficult for someone to knock us down. By applying good habits to our lives, we can influence other people. These people who respect us serve as an extra encouragement not to be drawn back into unwanted states.

4. Survive failure

Failure is a necessity. Everyone must have experienced this.

BERNAS Others