how would you define crab mentality

Philippines
October 11, 2006 9:03am CST
i used to think that crab mentality is pulling others down because you simply don't want them to succeed. but now, i believe that crab mentality is pulling others down so as to get to the top first. so it's not about jealousy or envy or whatever --- it's about competition and winning. what do you think?
2 responses
@tentwo67 (3382)
• United States
22 Oct 06
I think that both options are valid, but I would lean toward the first. I don't think the crab mentality really lends itself toward the desire for success. I think that it's about not wanting anyone to do better than you are doing, and if you yourself are doing badly then you have a drive to keep the others in the bucket too.
@mridig (202)
• India
8 Jan 07
Jealousy typically refers to the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that occur when a person believes a valued relationship is being threatened by a rival. The word jealousy stems from the French jalousie, formed from jaloux (jealous), and further from Low Latin zelosus (full of zeal), and from the Greek word for "ardour, zeal" (with a root connoting "to boil, ferment"; or "yeast"). Jealousy is a familiar experience in human relationships. It has been reported in every culture and in many forms where researchers have looked. [1] [2] [3] It has been observed in infants as young as 5-6 months old and in adults over 65 years old. [4] [5] [6] [7] It has been an enduring topic of interest for scientists, artists, and theologians. Psychologists have proposed several models of the processes underlying jealousy and have identified individual differences that influence the expression of jealousy. Sociologists have demonstrated that cultural beliefs and values play an important role in determining what triggers jealousy and what constitutes socially acceptable expressions of jealousy. Biologists have identified factors that may unconsciously influence the expression of jealousy. Artists have explored the theme of jealousy in photographs, paintings, movies, songs, plays, poems, and books. Theologians have offered religious views of jealousy based on the scriptures of their respective faiths. Despite its familiarity, however, people define jealousy in different ways. Some even mislabel it as being protective of something or someone, when the fact is, it's really simply possessive jealousy itself; and many feel they don't possess effective strategies for coping with this form of jealousy. [8]
• Philippines
11 Jan 07
thanks, but in your opinion, how would jealousy relate to crab mentality? care to share your views?