Biology of Business

Selfish Herd Effect

TL;DR

Group living explained as selfish behavior: each individual positions to place others between themselves and predators, making central positions safest and periphery most dangerous.

By Alex Denne

W.D. Hamilton's 1971 'Geometry for the Selfish Herd' explained why animals aggregate: each individual attempts to reduce its own predation risk by putting other individuals between itself and predators. This creates the 'domain of danger' concept - the area around each individual where a predator attack would target them. Moving toward conspecifics reduces your domain of danger; being central means others absorb predator attention first.

Business Application of Selfish Herd Effect

Raising organizational alarms creates collective response that protects the alarm-raiser. Employees who speak up about threats benefit when the organization responds collectively, even if speaking up seems risky individually.

Related Mechanisms for Selfish Herd Effect

Related Organisations for Selfish Herd Effect

Related Organisms for Selfish Herd Effect