The Bandwagon Effect: How to Jump Off This Cognitive Bias!
The bandwagon effect is a phenomenon that can be seen all around us. A great example of the bandwagon effect occurred back in 2010. ‘Something’ occurred at a well-known U.S. organization due to the bandwagon effect, which caused them to fire 30 members of their sales staff because they were no longer needed. The reason? They sold out of everything they had to sell, so those employees weren’t necessary anymore.
Can you guess the organization I am talking about and what it is that occurred?
I will come back to that at the end of this blog post.
First, let’s discuss…
The Bandwagon Effect and It’s Origin
The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon where you engage in something simply because it’s popular and others are doing it. It may even cause you to override or ignore your own beliefs.
In other words, the popularity of ideas, fads, beliefs increases the more they are embraced by others. It is seen in politics, advertising, fashion, social media, and sports to name just a few areas.
As for the word bandwagon itself, it is “a wagon, usually large and ornately decorated, for carrying a musical band while it is playing, as in a circus parade or to a political rally.” 1 The phrase bandwagon effect comes from the idea or expression of jumping or hopping on the bandwagon.
A very famous circus owner (and clown) at the time, Dan Rice, was a supporter of then-presidential hopeful (and eventual U.S. president) Zachary Taylor. To provide support to Taylor’s campaign, Rice would invite him on his bandwagon and they would wind their way through town to meet the voters. The story goes that members of Taylor’s party witnessed how successful it was and they quickly jumped on the bandwagon. Soon, other politicians took notice and got their own bandwagons! According to author Rosemarie Ostler, “By the 1890s, jumping on, hopping on, climbing on, or otherwise boarding the bandwagon meant latching on to a winner.” 2
Examples of the bandwagon effect are all around us, and you may be familiar with some of…
The Most Common Examples of the Bandwagon Effect
And odds are that you are probably someone who has jumped on one these bandwagons yourself:
Reviews and ratings
Think about the last time you were on Amazon.com or another site which has reviews and ratings for products. If a book has a few 5-star reviews it doesn’t mean much, but a book with thousands of 5-star reviews can easily influence your purchase decision. Another example is Groupon where deals speed up even faster as more people buy. In fact, for the deal to become active, a certain number of people need to jump on the bandwagon.
Fashion trends
Seeing others wearing something makes people want to wear it.
Politics voting
Another example can be seen in politics where polls can create the bandwagon effect which can give an advantage to the top candidates. Or a political party has a big rally with music, cheering and being encouraged to bring others along for the ride.
Music
As more people start listening to a song or band, they start to grow in popularity and others start listening as well.
Investing
Stock market bubbles can also be the result of the bandwagon effect as people see others jumping into the market and don’t want to be left out. In fact, the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s where tech startups with no viable business plans or products still attracted millions of dollars in investment, due at least partially to the bandwagon effect.
Followers/Fans/Subscribers on Social Media
People or companies who have more followers/fans/subscribers on social media are seen as being more credible.
Celebrity endorsements and influencers
If so-and-so and all their friends are using product ABC, maybe I should use it.
Restaurants
Are you more likely to go inside the one that is full or the one that is empty?
Those are just a few examples of the bandwagon effect. I am sure you can think of many more instances where you and your family and friends have fallen victim to the bandwagon effect.
The question is…
Why are people influenced by the bandwagon effect in the first place?
There are several reasons that people are influenced by the bandwagon effect:
(1) Winners and being right – We all love winners and we all want to be right. It is simply human nature to want to follow and be involved with winners.
(2) Fear – The fear of being left alone or left out or missing out. Humans have a great desire to belong and be accepted by a group.
(3) Making decisions – Not being able to make a decision on the basis of our own cognition or understanding.
(4) Groupthink – Is a form of the bandwagon effect where seeing others do something makes you want to do it so that you are conforming with everyone else.
Now that we know what the bandwagon effect is and why it is so influential, the next questions are: (1) can we use it to our advantage? and (2) can we stop its influence on us?
First, let’s look at…
How We Can Use the Bandwagon Effect to Our Advantage
There are several ways we can use the bandwagon effect to help us:
In his book Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, author Robert Cialdini talks about testimonials, which are one application of the bandwagon effect. In order to decide what testimonial to show which person, you need to find a testimonial that is more similar to the person.
For example, “…a high school teacher trying to convince a student to come to class more often should solicit comments about the benefits of doing so not from students in the front row, but rather from students who are more similar to the target student.”
So, keep that in mind when trying to convince your kid or someone else to do something!
In business, one of the easiest ways to utilize the bandwagon effect is to simply show people utilizing your products. Whether that is in a video, on social media, or on images on your website.
Clearly, the more followers, likes, subscribers that you have may also induce the bandwagon effect. Sadly, however, it has also led to some shady practices in terms of people buying fake followers and likes etc.
Be a detective and try to figure out how others are using the bandwagon effect in their personal lives. There is no real need to reinvent the wheel, you just need to see how other successful people are doing it and copy what they are doing.
The next question is…
Can We Stop Its Influence on Us?
There are several things we can take into consideration when making decisions that may mitigate the bandwagon effect:
(1) Explore different alternatives – besides the one that everyone else is choosing, this can help decrease the appeal of that option.
(2) Take your time – between the time you encounter social cues and the time you make your decision. This may help you make a more conscious decision instead of following others.
(3) Minimize group influence – speaking of others, try to separate yourself from others when making a decision to decrease their influence on you.
(4) Think about why you are doing something – are you doing it because it is something you want to do or because everyone else is doing it? Does it jive with your values?
Before we go…
Were you able to guess what happened in 2010 that caused an organization to get rid of most of their sales staff because they had nothing to sell?
I’ll give you a hint…
Shortly thereafter, the Heat sold out of season tickets and fired most of their sales staff. They did apparently place the employees with a company to help them find a new job. The team’s average regular season home attendance shot up from 17,730 in 2009-10 to 19,778 in 2010-11.
Why? The bandwagon effect…everyone likes a winner!
Until next time, make sure you jump on the Prime Your Pump bandwagon and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick
Use It or Lose It
To stop its influence on us, some things we can take into consideration when making decisions are:
(1) Explore different alternatives.
(2) Take your time.
(3) Minimize group influence.
(4) Think about why you are doing something
When to Use It:
When you feel like you may be influenced by the bandwagon effect.
What Do You Think?
Have you ever been influenced by the bandwagon effect? Have you tried to counter it by using any of the strategies above or others? Please share in the comments below!
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References
https://www.statista.com/statistics/197541/nba-home-attendance-of-the-miami-heat-since-2006/
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/427538-miami-heat-fire-entire-season-ticket-sales-staff
1 https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bandwagon
2 Let’s Talk Turkey: The Stories Behind America’s Favorite Expressions By Rosemarie Ostler
https://psychologenie.com/psychology-behind-bandwagon-effect
3 Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stronger-the-broken-places/201708/the-bandwagon-effect
Interesting post! I always wondered how that expression originated. Thanks for sharing. I have gotten on the bandwagon for musicals, movies , books and fashion. I think most people have been vulnerable at one time or another.
Hi Eileen, Yeah I didn’t know where it originated either before doing some research, interesting for sure! No doubt we have all been vulnerable at some point or many times in our lives! Be good, Rick
Everyone else is doing it, therefore I must also. Some of the worst reasoning ever! The dot com fiasco is a perfect example. I knew at least four co-workers that got sucked up into that fiasco, quit working at a stable and long-term company and jumped to those get rich quick startups that were headquartered in a vacant store front in a strip mall. When the bubble burst, their previous jobs had been filled by new-hires at a lower pay rate, therefore they were unable to return and left out on the street. Bad mistake!
100% of all advertising is an attempt to generate an artificial bandwagon effect. The most used button on the TV remote has become the Mute button. I still wonder how such companies as Google and Facebook survive. What is their product? If I were to walk into Facebook headquarters and ask to purchase something, what would I be offered? A coffee mug? A mouse pad? A T-shirt? I use Google all the time for research – and guess what? It’s FREE.
The latest bandwagon item out here on the left coast has become solar power. A company installs solar panels on your roof and wires up your circuit box so that the electricity generated by the solar panels takes priority over that provided by the local power company. Yes, solar works and will lower the monthly electric bill. The neighbors across the street and next door have solar installed and rave about it. But…..you own the solar panels and associated equipment, and if something breaks, goes wrong, or damaged by hail stones, high wind, birds, rodents, or whatever….you pay for the repairs/replacement not the power company. The bandwagon looks good now, but what are the long term effects?
I sure would like to be the person that throws a bucket full of caltrops under the horse’s feet and causes the bandwagon to grind to a halt.
Hi Dave, the dot-com fiasco is a perfect example! Totally agree with your examples. Another one is cryptocurrency, people jumping on the bandwagon just because their friends are without knowing anything about it! Interesting on the solar power didn’t realize it was such a big thing in Cali. Thanks for the thoughts and great examples, Rick