Many tragedies are rooted in social and peer pressure. Some people feel pressured to follow the crowd, and that creates devastating consequences. Other people blindly step the same way as the majority, making accidents such as stampedes happen. Such phenomen has been called “Herd behavior”, and that has mostly negatively impacted our society. Humans’ urge to follow the crowd and to earn approval has been the seed to many problems. So why do people follow the crowd anyways? The answer lays deep in humans’ psychology, the urge to please others, and because of our fear of being called out.
Herd mentality, also called has the Bandwagon effect is a type of cognitive bias, and is rooted in human psychology. According to Robert C. Kelly, “People are biologically programed to be social and like to be part of a group.”. This is because of something called heuristics, shortcuts that the human brain uses to make more efficient decisions in a short amount of time. Because of this, humans tend to go with the easiest decision and go with the crowd. Another psychological phenomen behind herd behaviour is the Illusory Truth Effect. This effect states that the more a human being is exposed to a “truth”, a propaganda, an information, they will believe that more. So if one actually believes something different, but opposing views are constantly broadcasted towards them and shared by their peers and people in their entourage, with time, they will slowly become more and more believing of the originally “opposing view”. Psychology cannot be turned away when looking into the reasons for herd mentality.
Another more social reason to herd mentality is the natural urge to please others. As we all live in a society, it is only natural for us to want a good relationship with our surrounding peers. We want to be accepted, and well liked. For example, in statistics run by LoveToKnow, 75% of teens decided to try alcohol because of peer pressure. They did so because they felt more accepted and included by their friends if they did the same thing. Another whopping 90% of teens have felt peer pressure in various contexts, according to a survey ran by Centerstone. Some of the teens surveyed have stated that they have done actions that they did not necessarily agree with, and the sole reason they did it was to feel in place with their friends and not be ostracized. These statistics show that we as a society feel pressured to conform with the majority, but also confirms the fact that no one likes to be out of line.
No one likes to be told they are wrong, and this is another reason why herd behaviour is so persistent. As we live in a society, we are mostly somewhat aware of the social hierarchy. Usually, when a person opposes the majority and presents a wholly new idea that does not appease the crowd, they are excluded from the group and frowned at. According to Firewall’s statistics section, 30% of teens acknowledged that going with the group was their own way of moving up the social ladder and not being the outcast. Also, illicit activities are more likely to occur when a teen is egged on my his or her friends. A lot of those teens suffer of the Social anxiety disorder, which is one of the reasons why some people are influenced very easily. This disorder is characterized as the extreme fear of being judged by others at one’s workplace, school, and community. As human beings, we don’t want to be the odd one out or being called out as different.
In conclusion, herd mentality is a result of natural psychological phenomena, the urge to please others, and the fear of being called out. To avoid herd behaviour, one can give themselves time to reflect and keep an open mind. Being able to listen to dissenting viewpoints is also essential in combatting herd behaviour. Talking to diverse people with different point of views is also helpful. Being able to stand up for yourself and not waver because of peers is also a necessary first step in combatting herd behaviour. It is never easy to separate oneself from the comfort of the crowd, but everyone needs to make this step.
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