Running.
Screaming.
Terrified squeals.
Hoards of feet.
It’s the apocalypse.
You know this music, but science thinks we’ve got the tempo all wrong.
If the apocalypse hits… what would really happen?
Would we help each other out and become our best selves, or fall into horribleness and
lash out?
I mean, sure there’s Lord of the Flies, Walking Dead, and other apocalyptic horror
stories.
But they’re just that!
Horror stories!
In reality, tragedy and disaster brings out more kindness than cruelty.
One study said [quote] “most people respond positively and generously.”
For example, in a 1986 study of a theater fire they found, 44 percent of people didn’t
even think the fire was real.
In fact, even if they saw smoke most people took their time escaping the theater, and
would gather into groups to escape -- it wasn’t every human for humanself.
On top of that, many went back into the building!
What the heck!
Studies find cooperation is inherent to humans, and cooperation breeds benevolence -- the
idea that both the giver and receiver see a benefit (we’ll come back to this in a
second).
What you think will happen in horrible situations is running and screaming -- but what actually
happens isn’t literal fight-or-flight, but rather (according to studies) a seeking of
familiar persons or places.
This is definitely what I saw post-9/11.
In 2001, everyone called their loved ones.
Every.
One.
Not everyone had a cell phone, but students (who paid by the minute) shared phones with
strangers to help them reach out.
This is rooted in attachment theory.
In the 1950s and 60s two psychologists Ainsworth and Bowlby discovered humans crave social
attachment.
I know, right?
They felt children should experience “warm, intimate and continuous” relationships to
thrive... which was the opposite of what people thought at the time.
It was a surprise that attachment breeds comfort and happiness… that social interaction keeps
us calm.
We’re getting through this together.
And this is reflected (anecdotally) after disasters...
way more than antisocial behavior.
Sure, panics and negative behavior happen, but it’s not like everyone (or even a large
percentage) start being all Game of Thrones.
People help each other waaay more, and LOTS of reports show this.
Post- 9/11, and the 7/7 bombings; post-tsunami in Asia, even after the most recent attack
in Manchester -- people band together.
Humans volunteer, donate, and help their fellow humans.
After hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, hotels and strangers took in homeless families.
Local volunteers came to clean up.
People put power strips on sidewalks, businesses gave free food, and neighborhoods held social
events to improve morale.
After 9/11, homicides in Manhattan dropped by as much as 60 percent according to USAToday.
What increased?
Blood donations, first time donors increased drastically.
And after the San Francisco earthquake in ‘89, blood donation increased 200 percent.
And remember benevolence?
Blood donation doesn’t just support the receiver, it also gives the donor a sense
of doing good -- maybe hearkening back to social attachment?
And sure, some of this could be anecdotal, there are some people who are antisocial and
you see them on the news.
Antisocial societal breakdown gets ratings!
People like those stories.
But the perpetrators are a tiny subset of the population.
Most humans are calm, caring, and want to be with their people.
And a recent study supports this even more.
When researchers followed 80,000 people through an apocalyptic scenario in a video game -- expecting
panic and breakdown they found [quote] “most players exhibited prosocial behavior such
as strengthening existing social relationships and forming new ones” as the apocalypse
set in.
Plus, remember, out here in the land of the real, you don’t get a second life.
There are no 1-Ups.
And they still behaved prosocially.
Their apocalypse was calm and friendly, without a single spiked bat to be seen.
Ours probably would be too.
Turns Out “Keep Calm and Carry On” is Scientifically Accurate.
Next time you call your mom after a tragedy, take solace in the fact, that you’re not
alone -- on so many levels.
And look, whether or not the apocalypse happens, people need donations.
Will you still get help if you’re a donor?
(Yes, you will) What exactly happens to your organs after you give them up?
Find out everything in this video!
Who would you call if you found out an asteroid would destroy earth next month?
What would you do?
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