The term “herd behavior” comes from the behavior of animals in herds, particularly when they are in a dangerous situation such as escaping a predator. There was once an interesting experiment on the herd effect: a wooden stick was placed horizontally in front of a group of sheep. The first sheep jumped over, and the second and third sheep also followed suit. At this point, the stick was removed, and the sheep behind still jumped up like the ones in front, even though the stick that blocked the way was no longer there. This is the so-called "herd behavior", also known as the "herd mentality". Herd behavior also refers to an individual's behavior that is influenced by the behavior of an external group and exhibits a behavior that is in line with public opinion or the behavior of the majority in their perception, judgment, and understanding. When people are facing pressure and danger, herd behavior will inadvertently appear, and it invisibly affects people's choices and decisions in various aspects. Its impact on people also has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Herding behavior can also be referred to as group psychology, and there are many factors that contribute to it. However, nowadays, social pressure is an important factor that causes people's herding behavior. Herding behavior usually describes a large number of people acting in the same way at the same time. It usually has an irrational connotation, as people's behavior is driven by emotions rather than thinking about a situation. Experiments have shown that only a small number of people are able to maintain independence and rational judgment in the face of stress and danger. However, most people blindly follow the crowd when facing pressure, which reduces their ability to think independently and make judgments. For example, in recent years, with low global employment rates, many young people are unwilling to choose traditional financial, legal, and other professional industries. They are following Jack Ma's example and choosing to work on e-commerce platforms that have already become surplus (such as Taobao and Tik Tok). People naively believe that following the leader can easily achieve success. The more under social pressure, the more afraid they make choices by themselves, so they give up their right to judge and blindly follow others' choices. But in fact, the sheep that joined the group later cannot eat grass, and e-commerce platforms with excessive personnel have started large-scale layoffs. People should still make choices that are suitable for themselves based on their own characteristics.
“Herd behavior” can easily lead to blind obedience without rational thinking which often leads to harm. Another herd experiment showed that once one of the leading sheep in the flock moved, the other sheep would also rush forward without thinking, disregarding the possibility of wolves ahead or better grass not far away. Similarly, when people are facing tremendous pressure, they will reduce their rational thinking ability and objective judgment ability, and they are prone to blindly following the trend, always thinking that following the judgment and action of most people will not be wrong. In fact, on the contrary, blindly following the trend can easily lead to harm. Another commonly cited example of human herd behavior is the phenomenon of stock market bubbles. Many people have no common sense about stocks, and when they see others investing in stocks, they follow the trend and buy or sell stocks. But once the stock market starts to fluctuate and the stock price starts to decline, many ordinary people without professional investment talents are worried that under the pressure of fear, they will blindly follow the selling of stocks. Greed drives mass buying frenzies, and fear drives crashes. Blindly following the trend and investing in stocks can easily result in losing everything. Therefore, people still need to see things rationally and not let herd behavior affect their judgment ability, blindly following the trend.
Herd behavior constantly affects people's daily lives and various decisions. Herding behavior does not always bring harm to people. When people gather with friends and need to choose a restaurant, they often choose a restaurant that gathers many people and is very popular. Because the food in a restaurant that can be chosen by so many people for dining must be very delicious and acceptable to the public. For another example, when people purchase household appliances, they unconsciously choose products with high sales rankings, because many people have already purchased and used products, and buying them on their own will not easily cause problems. Herding can be subtle in this way; it simply involves people’s tendency to follow a crowd rather than carve out an individual path in many situations.
In conclusion, many times, people have to give up their personality and "follow the trend", especially when under the influence of pressure and danger, people often give up the right to make choices and judgments, hoping to follow the trend and follow successful leaders to avoid making mistakes in their judgments and choices. I believe that herd behavior has a subtle impact on people's choices or decisions. If you only choose which restaurant to eat or which flavor of ice cream to choose, then following the trend is also good. However, when it comes to choices and making important decisions, people should not blindly follow the trend. The path that suits others may not always suit you. Therefore, we should still analyze rationally and make our own choices and decisions with caution.
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