You can learn a lot about someone by how they respond to a crisis. Do your relationships survive the “zombie apocalypse test” – or would they break apart under pressure?
The “Zombie Apocalypse Test” is a fun thought experiment to help test the strength of your relationships.
Imagine you are at home with a friend, family member, or loved one – and you hear on the news that a zombie outbreak has happened in your local area.
How would you and your friend respond? What happens when the zombies start breaking down your door and bursting through the windows?
Do you guys keep your cool, cooperate with each other, work together, plan ahead, and survive?
Or do you lose your minds, argue with each other, break apart, act irrationally, and perish?
The “Zombie Apocalypse Test” isn’t just about whether or not you’d survive an actual crisis together, it also says a lot about the strength and compatibility of your relationship as a whole.
This may sound like just a fun thought experiment, but it touches on a deeper and much more important aspect of human nature.
During a crisis, humans depend on trust, cooperation, and working together to survive. In fact, disasters can bring out the best in people and bring people together in unprecedented ways.
However, disasters can also bring out the worst in people too. Groups that are less cooperative and less trustworthy will end up breaking apart during times of crisis. Instead of working together, people will end up competing and fighting for food and resources.
A crisis can bring out both the “best” or “worst” in a person depending on their character and personality.
This is true for all types of disasters: war, famine, poverty, pandemics, etc.
You can use the “Zombie Apocalypse Test” to analyze any type of relationship: a friend, family member, coworker, or life partner. You could imagine it with groups too – your entire family, your close circle of friends, or the company you work for.
You can also analyze this “Zombie Apocalypse” scenario through the Drama Triangle Framework.
For example…
- Who is most likely to become a Savior?
- Who is most likely to become a Victim?
- Who is most likely to become a Persecutor? (or Antagonizer?)
When you ask these types of questions, you start to see how certain people would naturally fall into different roles during times of crisis.
And don’t forget the most important question: How would YOU respond to a Zombie Apocalypse? What role would you fall into? Would you take a “me”-perspective or “we”-perspective?
If you’re discussing it with friends, you can have some fun with it too. Who would be the first to die? “Oh yeah, Jimmy would definitely be the first person to wander out of the house looking for Doritos and get eaten by a Zombie!”
What strengths or skills would each person bring to the table? What about their weaknesses?
Would that person ultimately be a benefit or cost during a Zombie Apocalypse? Would you want them around or would they be dead weight?
Of course, there are always people in our lives who we need to take care of and take responsibility for.
Taking care of a child or sick loved one would still be a priority for someone during a Zombie Apocalypse, even if that person may not be able to contribute or help much during a crisis.
The “Zombie Apocalypse Test” isn’t meant to be the ultimate answer on whether a relationship is healthy or not, but it is an interesting scenario to play out in your mind to gain more insight about the person.
Think about it. Would your relationships survive?
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