Editing Bandwagon effect

The '''bandwagon effect''' is a well documented form of [[groupthink]] in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as [[fads and trends]] clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion 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=77 |isbn=0-19-280632-7 }}</ref> As more people come to believe in something, others also "hop on the bandwagon" regardless of the underlying evidence. The tendency to follow the actions or beliefs of others can occur because individuals directly prefer to conform, or because individuals derive information from others. Both explanations have been used for evidence of [[conformity]] in psychological experiments. For example, social pressure has been used to explain [[Asch conformity experiments|Asch's conformity experiments]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Asch |first=S. E. |year=1955 |title=Opinions and social pressure |journal=Scientific American |volume=193 |pages=31–35 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1155-31}}</ref> and information has been used to explain [[Autokinetic effect|Sherif's autokinetic experiment]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sherif |first=M. |year=1936 |title=The psychology of social norms |location=New York |publisher=Harper Collins }}</ref>

==The concept==
In layman’s term the bandwagon effect refers to people doing certain things because other people are doing them, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override. The perceived "popularity" of an object or person may have an effect on how it is viewed on a whole. For instance, once a product becomes popular, more people tend to "get on the bandwagon" and buy it, too. The bandwagon effect has wide implications, but is commonly seen in politics,consumer and social behavior.{{cn|date=December 2012}} This effect is noticed and followed very much by today's youth, where for instance if people see many of their friends buying a particular phone, they could become more interested in buying that product.{{cn|date=December 2012}}

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 decide to ignore their personal information signals and follow the behavior of others.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bikhchandani |first=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 }}</ref> Cascades explain why behavior is fragile—people understand that they are based on very limited information. As a result, fads form easily but are also easily dislodged. Such informational effects have been used to explain political bandwagons.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lohmann |first=S. |year=1994 |title=The Dynamics of Informational Cascades: The Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig, East Germany, 1989-91 |journal=World Politics |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=42–101 |jstor=2950679 }}</ref>

==In MUDs==
Herd mentality and the bandwagon effect can be seen in [[MUD]] communities. Like in the real world, ostracising and judging one person helps individuals in the group make themselves look good and bond with each other. Often, the insulted person is a creative and unconforming [[Implementer|programmer]] or artist. The bandwagon effect in MUDs would thus be a form of anti-intellectualism. An explanation might be that programming, like all intellectual activities, requires to think outside the box, and herds tend to perceive such individual strength and novel ideas as threatening to the integrity of their community.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last=Goidel |first=Robert K. |first2=Todd G. |last2=Shields |title=The Vanishing Marginals, the Bandwagon, and the Mass Media |journal=[[The Journal of Politics]] |volume=56 |year=1994 |pages=802–810 |doi=10.2307/2132194 }}
*{{cite journal |last=McAllister |first=Ian |first2=Donley T. |last2=Studlar |title=Bandwagon, Underdog, or Projection? Opinion Polls and Electoral Choice in Britain, 1979-1987 |journal=[[The Journal of Politics]] |volume=53 |year=1991 |pages=720–740 |doi=10.2307/2131577 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Mehrabian |first=Albert |title=Effects of Poll Reports on Voter Preferences |journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology |volume=28 |year=1998 |pages=2119–2130 |doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01363.x }}
*{{cite journal |last=Morwitz |first=Vicki G. |first2=Carol |last2=Pluzinski |title=Do Polls Reflect Opinions or Do Opinions Reflect Polls? |journal=Journal of Consumer Research |volume=23 |year=1996 |issue=1 |pages=53–65 |jstor=2489665 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bandwagon-effect.asp#ixzz272aXkAwV Definition at Investopedia]

[[Category:Psychology]]