Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, the crab-in-a-bucket mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, describes the mindset of people who try to prevent others from gaining a favorable position, even if achieving that position does not directly affect those trying to stop them. It is often summarized with the phrase: "If I can't have it, neither can you." ⁠ ⁠ The metaphor comes from anecdotal stories about the behavior of crabs in an open bucket: if one crab starts to climb out, others will pull it back down, ensuring the group's collective failure. A similar idea in human behavior is that members of a group will try to undermine anyone who succeeds beyond others out of envy, jealousy, resentment, spite, conspiracy, or competitive feelings, to stop their progress.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #psychology #science #humanbehavior #behavior #crab