What happens when virtue signaling is taken to the extreme? Purity spirals: the phenomenon where groups become increasingly extreme as members compete to demonstrate ideological purity. The concept describes how communities can radicalize themselves through escalating demands for conformity to their core beliefs.

Crab mentality describes the behavior where members of a group will sabotage or pull down anyone who achieves success or tries to improve their situation.

The term comes from how crabs in a bucket will pull down any crab trying to escape, ensuring they all remain trapped together.