Bandwagon Effect (Cognitive Bias #1)

What is it?  The Bandwagon Effect is the tendency to do something, or believe in something, simply because lots of other people do. 

Literally, bandwagons are wagons that carry the band in a parade. Being on the bandwagon was a very convenient way to experience the parade since you got to listen to the music and didn’t have to walk. Since William Jennings Bryan used the phrase “hop on the bandwagon” during his 1900 presidential campaign, it has itself become a trendy term to express the naive adoption of popular trends simply because they are popular.

Why is it useful?  Like most biases, the Bandwagon Effect is useful because it outsources thinking.  Rather than have to think about a particular decision or problem yourself, you can assume that other people have already thought about it sufficiently and that you can trust the majority opinion.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  According to James Surowiecki and his book, The Wisdom of Crowds, the crowd is often smarter and more accurate than any of the individuals in the crowd.  Going with the crowd could ultimately prevent you from making mistakes that you might otherwise have made.  It will also prevent you from being alone if and when you make those mistakes.  As some like to say, we may burn in hell, but at least all of our friends will be there with us.

Not knowing why a decision was made also makes it difficult to defend the position should it come under attack... luckily, because you're with the crowd, you often aren't called on to defend the position.

How can it be harmful?  The reason this bias is harmful is because you do not know why the bandwagon decided to take the action or support the belief that it did.  Intentions are everything, and when you take advantage of the bandwagon effect's short-cut, your intention is essentially laziness.  You are in the wake of other intentions, and if you knew that everyone else had made a decision based on the same intention that you yourself did, you would probably decide not to hop on the bandwagon in the first place, right?  It is a short-cut to tangible results, at the cost of not knowing why those results are desired.  This is only harmful if truly nobody on the bandwagon thought out the problem more than you have, or if the people that did think it through have motives that you wouldn't stand behind should they be revealed.

Link: Bandwagon effect [Wikipedia]

Comments

[hubs]

is the bandwagon effect different than a mob mentality? if yes, how so? just an idea to explore.

[Josh Petersen]

It's a good question what the difference is between "mob mentality" and the "bandwagon effect". I think a lot of the time people talk about the "mob mentality" to describe the way violence, panic, or irrationality can sweep through groups of people. It often refers to a particular location of people (though with mass media, the import of location may be diminished). I think part of the power of the mob is the collective role it plays, and thus mob mentality diminishes the importance and accountability of the individual.

The bandwagon effect seems to be more about following a trend, rather than arriving at a decision reasoned on independent merits. Certainly mobs grow due to the bandwagon effect -- but the mentality they take on -- seems to be more about the difference between individual and collective action.

[hubs]

other ideas or terminology to discuss might include: hivemind, gang theory, groupthink, experiments in conformity, and collective consciousness.

[labbi]

What is the significance of a bandwagon effect.

[labbi]

What is the significance of a bandwagon effect.