Why do we support opinions as they become more popular?

Bandwagon Effect

, explained.
Bias

What is the Bandwagon Effect?

The Bandwagon effect refers to our habit of adopting certain behaviors or beliefs because many other people do the same.

An illustration of a colorful sneaker labeled "TDL" with the text "Bandwagon Effect" above it and "Just Do It... Everyone Else Did!" written beside the shoe.

Where the bias occurs

Consider the following hypothetical: John is an avid fan of his local basketball team called “the Sharks.” His favorite team has always played well, and he loves attending their games with his friends every weekend.

One day, the league officials announced the formation of a new basketball team in the neighboring town named the “Fighters.” This underdog team soon rises to the top of the leaderboard, winning nearly all of their games that season. Their popularity skyrockets. Soon, people from John’s town are wearing Fighters’ jerseys and cheering them on at local bars. “Fighter mania” as it’s soon dubbed, spreads all across the region.

Meanwhile, the Sharks are not doing so well. John’s friends, who were also fans, slowly start switching allegiances to the more dominant and popular Fighters. Suddenly, John decides that he too supports the Fighters. After all, they have a shot at winning this year’s championship, he thinks to himself.

The next day, John cheers on the Fighters at his local bar—indistinguishable from the mass of other fans that form Fighter mania.

The snowballing popularity of the Fighters, and John’s subsequent decision to support them, is an example of the bandwagon effect. Yes, the Fighters are a good team, but the reason John began supporting them is because so many around him had already switched allegiances.

Related Biases

Sources

  1. Cherry, K. (2020, April 28). The Bandwagon Effect Is Why People Fall for Trends. Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895
  2. The Bandwagon Effect: Why People Tend to Follow the Crowd. (n.d.). Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://effectiviology.com/bandwagon/
  3. Cherry, K. (2020, April 28). The Bandwagon Effect Is Why People Fall for Trends. Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895
  4. Cherry, K. (2020, April 28). The Bandwagon Effect Is Why People Fall for Trends. Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895
  5. The Bandwagon Effect: Why People Tend to Follow the Crowd. (n.d.). Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://effectiviology.com/bandwagon/
  6. Sullivan, L. (Ed.). (n.d.). SAGE Reference - The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/behavioralsciences/n201.xml
  7. Bandwagon Effect. (n.d.). Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0113.xml
  8. Vitelli, R. (2015, December 30). Riding the Bandwagon Effect. Retrieved July 05, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/media-spotlight/201512/riding-the-bandwagon-effect
  9. Rikkers, L. (2002). The Bandwagon Effect. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 6(6), 787-794. doi:10.1016/s1091-255x(02)00054-9
  10. Kenton, W. (2022, April 3). What is an economic bubble and how does it work, with examples. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bubble.asp#:~:text=An%20economic%20bubble%20occurs%20any,change%20in%20behavior%20is%20debated. 
  11. Camero, K. (2023, June 21). How the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge made a lasting impact. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/als-ice-bucket-challenge-research-impact#:~:text=In%20the%20summer%20of%202014,media%20movement%20in%20medical%20history. 
  12. Chokshi, N. (2018, January 20). Yes, people really are eating tide pods. No, it’s not safe. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/20/us/tide-pod-challenge.html

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

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Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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