herd mentality
Following the crowd
Herd mentality is the tendency to adopt beliefs or behaviors because others do, rather than through independent thinking.
Like animals moving together for safety, people follow the crowd—in fashion trends, stock market panics, or political movements.
The term is usually critical, implying thoughtlessness: Social media amplifies herd mentality.
Also called mob mentality or groupthink.
- deindividuationLoss of self-awareness in groups
- groupthinkConformity-driven poor decisions
- echo chamberSelf-reinforcing information environment
- conformityAdherence to norms
- follow the crowdAdopt majority behavior
peer pressure · keeping up with the Joneses · going along · collectivism · group polarization · emotional contagion · social proof · imitation · pack behavior · swarm · stampede · uniformity · masses · tribalism · mass hysteria · social contagion · safety in numbers · social influence
- ___ mentality
- conformityconformity, conforming, conform, conformist, conformism
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
- influenceinfluence, persuasion, sway, clout, leverage
- mindsetsgrowth mindset, fixed mindset, mindset, abundance mindset, scarcity mindset
- social conformityconformist, peer pressure, groupthink, follow the crowd, fit in
herd mentalityindependent thought
Self-directed reasoning
critical thinking · freethinking · individualism · autonomy · skepticism
herd mentalitynonconformity
Rejection of prevailing norms
individualism · nonconformism · independence · contrarianism · iconoclasm
herd mentalityoriginality
Novel creative quality
innovative thinking · trailblazing · pioneering spirit · thought leadership · trendsetting
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