Editing Bandwagon effect (section)

{{Short description|Societal phenomenon}}
{{About|the behavior|the concept in international relations|Bandwagoning|the fallacy|Argumentum ad populum}}
{{Redirect|cultural trends|the academic journal|Cultural Trends (journal)}}

{{Behavioural influences}}

The '''bandwagon effect''' is a psychological phenomenon where people  adopt certain behaviors, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|jstor=24507550|last1=Kiss|first1=Áron|last2=Simonovits|first2=Gábor|title=Identifying the bandwagon effect in two-round elections|journal=Public Choice|year=2014|volume=160|issue=3/4|pages=327–344|doi=10.1007/s11127-013-0146-y|s2cid=155059990}}</ref> More specifically, it is a [[cognitive bias]] by which [[public opinion]] or behaviours can alter due to particular actions and beliefs rallying amongst the public.<ref>{{Citation|last=Schmitt-Beck|first=Rüdiger|title=Bandwagon Effect|date=2015|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc015|encyclopedia=The International Encyclopedia of Political Communication|pages=1–5|publisher=American Cancer Society|language=en|doi=10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc015|isbn=978-1-118-54155-5|access-date=2021-04-25|url-access=subscription}}</ref> It is a psychological phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, [[fads and trends]] increases with respect to the proportion of others who have already done so.<ref>{{cite book |first=Andrew |last=Colman |title=Oxford Dictionary of Psychology |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofpsyc00colm_0/page/77 77] |isbn=0-19-280632-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofpsyc00colm_0/page/77 }}</ref> As more people come to believe in something, others also "hop on the [[Argumentum ad populum|bandwagon]]" regardless of the underlying evidence.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Following others' actions or beliefs can occur because of [[conformism]] or deriving information from others. Much of the influence of the bandwagon effect comes from the desire to 'fit in' with peers; by making similar selections as other people, this is seen as a way to gain access to a particular social group.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=van Herpen|first1=Erica|last2=Pieters|first2=Rik|last3=Zeelenberg|first3=Marcel|date=2009|title=When demand accelerates demand: Trailing the bandwagon|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45106190|journal=Journal of Consumer Psychology|volume=19|issue=3|pages=302–312|doi=10.1016/j.jcps.2009.01.001|jstor=45106190|issn=1057-7408|url-access=subscription}}</ref> An example of this is [[fashion trends]] wherein the increasing popularity of a certain garment or style encourages more acceptance.<ref name="LongFox2007">{{cite book|author1=D. Stephen Long|author2=Nancy Ruth Fox|title=Calculated Futures: Theology, Ethics, and Economics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82SruCvd69UC&pg=PT62|access-date=30 August 2013|year=2007|publisher=Baylor University Press|isbn=978-1-60258-014-5|page=56}}</ref> When individuals make [[rationality|rational]] choices based on the information they receive from others, economists have proposed that [[information cascades]] can quickly form in which people ignore their personal information signals and follow the behaviour of others.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Bikhchandani |first1=Sushil |last2=Hirshleifer |first2=David |last3=Welch |first3=Ivo |year=1992 |title=A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades |journal=[[Journal of Political Economy]] |volume=100 |issue=5 |pages=992–1026 |doi= 10.1086/261849|jstor=2138632 |citeseerx=10.1.1.728.4791 |s2cid=7784814 |url=http://www.dklevine.com/archive/refs41193.pdf }}</ref> Cascades explain why behaviour is fragile as people understand that their behaviour is based on a very limited amount of information. As a result, fads form easily but are also easily dislodged.{{fact|date=December 2022}} The phenomenon is observed in various fields, such as [[economics]], [[political science]], [[medicine]], and [[psychology]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Bandwagon Effect - Overview, Economics and Finance, Examples|url=https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/trading-investing/bandwagon-effect/|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Corporate Finance Institute|language=en-US}}</ref> In [[social psychology]], people's tendency to align their beliefs and behaviors with a group is known as '[[herd mentality]]' or '[[groupthink]]'.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Linda|date=August 11, 2017|title=The Bandwagon Effect {{!}} Psychology Today Canada|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/stronger-the-broken-places/201708/the-bandwagon-effect|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Psychology Today|language=en}}</ref> The '''reverse bandwagon effect''' (also known as the [[snob effect]] in certain contexts) is a cognitive bias that causes people to avoid doing something, because they believe that other people are doing it.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=The Bandwagon Effect: Why People Tend to Follow the Crowd|url=https://effectiviology.com/bandwagon/|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Effectiviology|language=en-US}}</ref>