Herd mentality

Herd mentality is when people in a group copy the actions, opinions, or behavior of most others.[1] They often do this without thinking carefully about their own choices. It happens when people are strongly influenced by those around them. This makes them act the same way as others, even if they would have chosen differently alone.[2] It can happen in both small and large groups. People often follow the group because they want to be accepted, fear standing out, or think the group knows better. Examples include picking a busy restaurant instead of an empty one, buying products because others are buying them, or laughing at a joke they do not actually find funny.[3]

Psychology, sociology, and economics study this idea because it affects decision-making and markets. In finance, herd mentality can cause bubbles. Investors buy overpriced assets simply because others are buying them. Prices rise far beyond real value before crashing.[4] It can also affect voting, as some people choose a candidate just because polls show they are popular.[5] Other examples include fashion trends, where people wear something because many others do, and viral challenges, where millions join without asking if it is safe.[6] Herd mentality is linked to “groupthink,” where people avoid disagreement to keep peace,[7] and “social proof,” where people copy others to decide what’s right.[8]

Herd mentality can be helpful or harmful. It helps groups act quickly in emergencies, like following others to safety during a fire.[9] It can spread good habits fast, like seatbelt use or vaccination.[10] But it can also cause stampedes, mass panic, or spread false information. Another danger is “information cascades,” where a few early choices influence many others, even if the first choice was wrong.[11] It is not just a human thing. Animals show it too, and in animals it is often called herd behavior.[12] Birds in flocks turn together by reacting to neighbors.[13] Fish in schools quickly change direction to avoid predators. This can help survival, but it can also make the group head into danger.[14]

Today, technology makes herd mentality stronger. Online platforms spread trends, opinions, and rumors to millions in hours.[15] Social media “likes,” trending tags, and influencer promotions all create signals that push people to follow.[6] Understanding herd mentality can help predict group actions, improve decisions, and avoid harmful group mistakes both offline and online.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Raafat, Ramsey M.; Chater, Nick; Frith, Chris (2009-10-01). "Herding in humans". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 13 (10): 420–428. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2009.08.002. ISSN 1364-6613. PMID 19748818.
  2. ↑ Banerjee, A. V. (1992-08-01). "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 107 (3): 797–817. doi:10.2307/2118364. ISSN 0033-5533.
  3. ↑ Asch, Solomon E. (1955-11-01). "Opinions and Social Pressure". Scientific American. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1155-31. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  4. ↑ Shiller, Robert J. (2005). Irrational exuberance (2nd ed.). New York: Currency/Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-7679-2363-7.
  5. ↑ Goeree, Jacob K.; Großer, Jens (2007-04-01). "Welfare Reducing Polls". Economic Theory. 31 (1): 51–68. doi:10.1007/s00199-006-0082-x. ISSN 1432-0479.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Berger, Jonah (2016). Contagious: why things catch on (1st ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-4516-8658-6.
  7. ↑ Janis, Irving L. (1982). Groupthink: psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-31704-4.
  8. ↑ Cialdini, Robert B. (2009). Influence: science and practice (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-205-60999-4.
  9. ↑ Helbing, Dirk; Farkas, Illés; Vicsek, Tamás (2000). "Simulating dynamical features of escape panic". Nature. 407 (6803): 487–490. doi:10.1038/35035023. ISSN 1476-4687.
  10. ↑ Bicchieri, Cristina (2017). Norms in the wild: how to diagnose, measure, and change social norms. New York (N.Y.): Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-062204-6.
  11. ↑ Bikhchandani, Sushil; Hirshleifer, David; Welch, Ivo (1992). "A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades". Journal of Political Economy. 100 (5): 992–1026. doi:10.1086/261849. ISSN 0022-3808.
  12. ↑ Couzin, Iain D.; Krause, Jens; Franks, Nigel R.; Levin, Simon A. (2005). "Effective leadership and decision-making in animal groups on the move". Nature. 433 (7025): 513–516. doi:10.1038/nature03236. ISSN 1476-4687.
  13. ↑ Ballerini, M.; Cabibbo, N.; Candelier, R.; Cavagna, A.; Cisbani, E.; Giardina, I.; Lecomte, V.; Orlandi, A.; Parisi, G.; Procaccini, A.; Viale, M. (2008-01-29). "Interaction ruling animal collective behavior depends on topological rather than metric distance: Evidence from a field study". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (4): 1232–1237. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711437105. PMC 2234121. PMID 18227508.
  14. ↑ Krause, Jens; Ruxton, Graeme D. (2008). Living in groups. Oxford series in ecology and evolution (Reprinted ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-850818-2.
  15. ↑ Vosoughi, Soroush; Roy, Deb; Aral, Sinan (2018-03-09). "The spread of true and false news online". Science. 359 (6380): 1146–1151. doi:10.1126/science.aap9559.
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