Herd behavior is a term used to describe the frequency of individuals to think and act as a group. This action can also be correlated with social pressure. Herd behavior is often the result of social pressure and can affect someone in multiple ways. Social pressure is caused by the society and people around you, such as parents, peers, teachers, coaches… When there is social pressure, we tend to want to do and live up to the expectations of others which causes us to follow “herd behavior”. Herd behavior can be good and bad in many different ways, but the most important part is that no matter if the scenario is good or bad, when someone follows the crowd, they lose their own sense of individuality.
In the eyes of humans, being accepted by society and fitting in like others is something we all worry about desperately trying to accomplish. Society has many standards that pressure us to live upon. The desire to fit into the crowd is only because we all want to be liked and accepted. And this desire is so strong that sometimes we are willing to fit into a group even if it goes against our own will. This can only be explained psychologically on why our brains decide these things. It is believed that Adolf Hitler used this psychological technique to gain followers. He made his soldiers stand in his crowd during his speech and cheer so the crowd, wanting to fit in and be accepted, would cheer. This then would be broadcasted on TV and make it seem like he had a lot of followers. Being accepted and wanting to be liked by others is the natural behavior of human beings. However, the effects of it aren't always good. Acceptance by society often leads to herd behavior which can be good or bad.
Thinking for ourselves is always harder than letting others think for ourselves which can lead to one letting others make decisions for them. People tend to “follow the crowd” and/or “go along with the group” simply because it is simply easier than having to use our own brains. Say there was a fire in the building. Thinking of your own escape route is probably harder than following everyone else trying to escape. When people panic in a crisis situation like this, they abandon their own thinking and form a group and demonstrate herd behavior. Another example of not thinking for yourself and demonstrating herd behavior is when finding a restaurant to eat. Herd behavior often causes us to not think for ourselves, but to go to a place where there are the most people, assuming that the food there is the best. Social pressure also causes us to go to the “popular looking” restaurant in order to fit in like others. Social pressure and herd behavior takes away/shuts down someone’s individuality which can cause one to not think on their own.
Copying someone because you think they’re doing the right thing or because it’s trendy and popular is an example of a mixture of herd behavior and social pressure. Have you ever gone online to search something and found that selected searches were “trending”? This simply means that a crowd of people decided that it was worthy to search this and influenced others to do the same. Something could be trending, but are you doing it because others say it is right and it is popular, or are you doing it because you think it is right? Parenting can be an example of this. Parents all rushing to buy the Tickle Me Elmo’s for their kids? That’s because it is “trending” and others decide it is right. We cannot let society decide for us what is right and what isn’t. Sexting is another example. More and more teens these days are exposed to sexting because friends do it and say it is right. What everyone else says is right isn’t always right and we need to think for ourselves before we decide and act.
Herd behavior isn’t something you can blame someone for because it is the natural instinct of many people. Herd behavior is a psychological phenomenon in which people do something primarily because others are doing it, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override. Herd behavior is also the result of social pressure. Society pressures us to do what is trending and what others are doing. Under pressure, one is more likely to do what others are doing when desperately trying to fit in. We are humans, and as humans, our feelings of self-worth are often tied to the approval of society. Herd behavior, however, isn’t the solution to this. Herd behavior can be both good and bad, but either way, it takes away our individuality. Is our individuality really something we are wishing to trade for the acceptance of others? Social pressure and herd behavior can influence an individual in many ways and can result in many different outcomes.
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