3 Lessons We Can Learn From Netflix's 'Squid Game'

Netflix's 'Squid Game' can teach us a lot about the highs and lows of human behavior. Here's three of the most fascinating insights it teaches us.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | January 27, 2025

The phenomenal success of the South Korean Netflix series Squid Game offers us a unique take on the human experience. The show follows a group of financially desperate individuals invited to compete in a series of beloved childhood games—with a deadly twist—for a massive cash prize. As the stakes rise, players confront the brutal consequences of their choices, revealing the darker side of humanity.

Through its intense narrative, Squid Game peels back the layers of human nature, revealing uncomfortable truths about survival instincts, group dynamics and moral decision-making.

People find the show so compelling that its themes have extended beyond fiction into reality, even creating a real-world competition inspired by the series—minus the deadly consequences.

It's the kind of show that keeps you wondering—what would I do in the same situation? Most of us would like to believe that we'd valiantly take on the role of Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, the show's protagonist and martyr, but behavioral patterns are more complicated than that.

Here are three things Squid Game can teach us about human behavior.

1. Morality Doesn't Always Trump Survival

Most people like to believe that they have a strong moral compass. That is probably true when faced with the relatively "normal" challenges of day-to-day life. Many of us find it easy not to steal or hurt the next person for our gain, because our needs are likely already met.

The situation changes significantly when your life depends on betraying others. In Squid Game, participants face this gut-wrenching dilemma repeatedly. While it's easy to hate characters like Thanos "the rapper"—season two's self-proclaimed bad boy—for his questionable actions and choosing his well-being over others, psychological research suggests that most of us would probably do previously unimaginable things when our survival is at stake.

A comprehensive study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology found that severe stress alters cognitive and emotional function. This means that when faced with extreme circumstances, we have trouble thinking straight and controlling our emotions. These extreme feelings will likely cause many people to prioritize self-preservation over other people's well-being, as we are wired for survival—usually at any cost.

Squid Game does a masterful job of illustrating this through characters who must navigate increasingly complex moral mazes. Each decision point forces them—and us as viewers—to confront uncomfortable questions about morality.

Watching the hero keep his cool and put everyone's needs before his own makes for good television, but most of us would likely struggle to uphold a high moral standard when facing the game's horrors.

2. Mob Mentality Is Dangerously Powerful

After each game, participants can vote on whether to continue or leave. After witnessing the brutal and senseless deaths of their peers, one might assume the choice would be obvious. However, Squid Game powerfully illustrates the influence of mob mentality, showing how collective pressure can override individual judgment.

The truth is that most of us make very different decisions when a collective is involved. Squid Game presents this phenomenon in its rawest form. We, as the audience members, watch as participants are bullied, coerced and even threatened to stay in the game. It shows how people can lose their sense of choice when part of a group, leading to actions they would never consider alone.

Gustave Le Bon's book, The Crowd & The Psychology of Revolution, discusses how group dynamics can influence individual reasoning. The author suggests that large crowds can be made irrational, often due to charismatic leadership, and shows how most people choose to go with the grain.

Group decisions can also reduce a sense of personal accountability as people find solidarity in what the masses want. In the show, this plays out as alliances form and dissolve, with characters making increasingly brutal decisions when backed by the "mob."

3. Human Motivation Is Complex

Money might get people through the door, but what keeps them playing? The show depicts how individual motivation can evolve. Initially, all participants enter for financial gain—a classic example of extrinsic motivation. However, as the games progress, we also witness a shift toward intrinsic motivators like redemption, pride and personal relationships.

This is an important part of the show, because most people are willing to do many things for money, but without the drivers of internal motivation, no amount of money would be worth such a risk to ourselves and to others.

Squid Game, in both its fictional and reality show formats, does more than entertain—it holds up a mirror to human nature under extreme conditions. Through its brutal games and complex character dynamics, we gain insight into how people navigate moral dilemmas when truly pushed to their limits.

Do you know what you would do if you were in a dire situation like that of Squid Game? Take this test to find out: Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire

A similar version of this article can also be found on Forbes.com, here.