Zombie Research Society
You’re not the type believe rumors and act on potentially false information, right? Don’t be so sure.
Nicholas DiFonzo is professor of psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology and author of The Water Cooler Effect, a study of the power and pervasiveness of false rumors. He writes:
“Rumors tend to thrive in situations that are ambiguous and/or pose a threat or potential threat— situations in which meanings are uncertain, questions are unsettled, information is missing, and/or lines of communication are absent.”
Sounds a lot like a zombie outbreak to us.
Difonzo concludes that misinformation is fundamental to human nature, and we are all often compelled to believe bad facts and pass them along–especially as part of a group setting. Once you join up with other survivors, you are naturally prone to be swayed by their beliefs and information, even if they’re clearly wrong.
Just another deadly threat pitfall that you will face in the coming zombie plague.
Alpha
While I admire your determination to keep your small group safe and secure. You seem to miss the bigger picture.
I am an avid fan of “The Walking Dead” but I disagree with one fundamental point of the latest half of the season. I don’t believe “Other people” or “Outsiders” will, in their entirety, be a threat. They just need a rally cry and a common enemy. (Hitler might have been a monster but he knew how to rally people on a common enemy)
Supplies might be low, but if you incorporate any stragglers into your group then that’s just that many more who can help you search for supplies and help protect the body of your group. Turning people away means that you are a smaller target for the zombies to wear down and tear apart. More people mean more mouths to feed and care for, but it also means more people to fight and more people for each watch rotation.
I know I’m an optimist who believes people are, basically, good if they are giving the chance to be. If they believe that people aren’t the enemy, but the zombies are, then they will learn to put aside (not give up mind you) any minor differences or issues and protect the species from extinction.
I agree and disagree with you Mark. I believe that accepting people into your group to increase your survival chances is absolutely necessary (some say more will draw more attention but I think that’s only a problem if your always on the move) the more people you have the more can be done to grow and gather food or fortify and guard your base.
What I disagree with is that you should accept everyone, every group has a category think of it like this you have a bunch of Donald Trump supporters who survive the zombie virus and then all of a sudden a Hillery Clinton supporter comes along; people who disagree that much would argue all the time and would cause more trouble than it was worse.
I also don’t believe all people are good and equally doubtful those that survived are. But if you have a strong leader who enforces harsh punishments to traitors and those who hide infections out of selfishness; than other groups and survivors will be to afraid to cross them and deal with the repercussions of their actions.
What people need to worry about at the beginning and well into the outbreak is false information for personal gain. How many products did people push because they claimed they helped kill/prevent someone from getting H1N1 Pig Flu. I know clorox ran a whole campaign how their spray killed it better than other brands. People will try to make quick cash off of you while it still holds value. After that people will spread false information for any number of reasons.
I would gladly tell someone there was a safe zone set up else where in order to get them out of my groups area. The sooner I can lie and get them to leave the more supplies that are left for me and mine.