Bandwagon effect

[2] It is a psychological phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends increases with respect to the proportion of others who have already done so.

Much of the influence of the bandwagon effect comes from the desire to 'fit in' with peers; by making similar selections as other people, this is seen as a way to gain access to a particular social group.

[10] A literal "bandwagon" is a wagon that carries a musical ensemble, or band, during a parade, circus, or other entertainment event.

Some individual reasons behind the bandwagon effect include: Another cause can come from distorted perceptions of mass opinion, known as 'false consensus' or 'pluralistic ignorance'.

What happens is that a new concept gains a small following, which grows until it reaches a critical mass, until for example it begins being covered by mainstream media, at which point a large-scale bandwagon effect begins, which causes more people to support this concept, in increasingly large numbers.

This can be seen as a result of the availability cascade, a self-reinforcing process through which a certain belief gains increasing prominence in public discourse.

[20] Such a shift in opinion can occur because individuals draw inferences[clarification needed] from the decisions of others, as in an informational cascade.

They may strategically funnel these resources to contenders perceived as well supported and thus electorally viable, thereby enabling them to run more powerful, and thus more influential campaigns.

[12] American economist Gary Becker has argued that the bandwagon effect is powerful enough to flip the demand curve to be upward sloping.

[7] Second is liquidity holes: when unexpected news or events occur, market participants will typically stop trading activity until the situation becomes clear.

[4] This interaction potentially disturbs the normal results of the theory of supply and demand, which assumes that consumers make buying decisions exclusively based on price and their own personal preference.

Furthermore, Study 1 demonstrated that qualitative signals had a higher influence on news readers' judgments than quantitative clues.

People tend to want to dress in a manner that suits the current trend and will be influenced by those who they see often – normally celebrities.

Once a small group of consumers attempt to emulate a particular celebrity's dress choice more people tend to copy the style due to the pressure or want to fit in and be liked by their peers.