Expert: Austin Cline - 10/4/2004

Question
(I have to set up first before I ask question :P )

I've never been religious or anything in my life 'cause of my ethnic background and all (native american)  don't get me wrong, I don't follow those beliefs as well.  I guess I've never "caught" on to it.  Here's a good example of how I am.  You know when there is a math problem you can't just about get but the answer doesn't come to you and you are sitting there,  with the answer within your grasp? You know it but it dances away from you.   That's how I am with religion,  ok, anyways, back to my question.  I'm no pro or anything so when I hear someone talk about the Lord,  I think, "Why do people like that need a crutch to get through life? I know life is hard and it sucks when it doesn't go your way.  I get by fine knowing that one day I'll die and become dust eventually in the ground and I'll have to do what I can now.  ANYWAYS, I don't want to bother you with my innane ramblings.  :P   My question is:
Why are the weak easily influenced?  I have some ideas but ideas from another is what I need.  Can you give me your views?

Answer
I would say that your question is prejudiced by the use of the label "weak." In point of fact, *everyone* is easily influenced because that is the default state (for at least two reasons). Extracating oneself from that is difficult, never entirely successful, time-consuming, and of dubious survival value. Thus, the real question is not "why are so many people easily influenced" but, rather, "why are some people able to be less influenced and how much value do they derive from it?"

As to the two reasons... First, it's absolutely necessary that we start out as children being easily influenced. We know far too little about a world that is far too dangerous. Unless we are able to uncritically absord everything around us, we won't learn fast enough how to survive. Yes, children are natural skeptics and question-askers, but mostly in the sense of trying to get even more information to absorb. Give them a half-way reasonable-sounding explanation and they'll often buy it.

Second, such influence is how social group work - and survive. We are social animals and that means absorbing the influence of other community members around us. The more a social group and think and act as one, the better it will be able to survive in relation to its neighbors. Imagine a tribe on the plains or savannah... which stands the best chance of surviving, the one where everyone is always questioning and doubting the ideas of the leader or the one willing to follow the leader merely based upon some ancient notions of lineage? The latter will attack and eliminate the former while the former is still debating (because they will always be debating). Enough of that ensures that doubts and skeptics are kept to a minimum in any group because having a few can be helpful - but not too many!

Read up on psychological and sociological studies of how groups can influence individual thinking. It's the norm for groups to have tremendous influence.