One day, a leader sheep accidentally fell into the dye vat, and when it struggled to climb ashore, it found that its coat had turned red. He was amazed, and at the same time thought it was pretty, so he wandered around the grassland, showing off his new clothes to the other sheep.
Soon, the other sheep also spotted the red leader, and they all expressed their admiration, thinking that the red color was really very fashionable and eye-catching. So, one sheep after another began to jump into the dye vat, wanting to dye themselves red, thinking that in this way they could keep up with the trend and not be ridiculed by other sheep.
Soon after, the sheep all over the grassland turned red, and they jumped and ran happily, feeling that they were the most beautiful scenery on the grassland.
A flock is a very scattered organization, and they tend to blindly rush left and right when they are together. However, once one sheep starts to act, the other sheep will follow without thinking, forming a tendency to act collectively. The behavioural characteristics of this flock are very similar to the psychological behaviour of people who tend to follow the decisions of others in certain situations, such as when faced with uncertainty and lack of information.
The herd effect, also known as herd behavior and herd mentality, refers to the fact that people are often influenced by the majority and follow the thoughts or behaviors of the masses, which is also known as the "herd effect". This effect manifests itself in the fact that an individual's perceptions or behaviour change in a direction consistent with that of the majority as a result of real or imagined group influences or pressures.
The herd effect is a non-linear mechanism of collective irrational behavior caused by the rational behavior of individuals, which usually occurs in uncertain situations where people adopt the same behavior or opinions as most people due to lack of information or lack of understanding of information. 
In the experiment, a fence was set up, and when the leader sheep jumped over the fence, the sheep behind followed suit. Even if the fence is removed later, the sheep behind will still jump when they walk there, as if the fence is still there. This experiment vividly illustrates the herd effect of the pattern of people blindly following others.Causes and characteristics of the herd effectThe main causes of the herd effect are as follows:
Information asymmetry or incompleteness:When individuals lack sufficient information or judgment, they tend to extract information and reduce uncertainty by observing and mimicking the behavior of the people around them. In this case, people's decisions are more likely to be influenced by others, resulting in a herd effect.
The need to pass the buck:When individuals are faced with risk or stress, they may be inclined to follow the choices of the majority in order to avoid their own responsibilities or consequences. This psychological need is also an important reason for the herd effect.
The need for compensation, reputation or collectivity:Individuals may align themselves with others because of external incentives or constraints. For example, in a team, in order to maintain consistency or avoid being isolated, members may choose to follow the decisions of the majority.
The herd instinct of human beings:As social animals, human beings have an innate herd mentality. This psychology makes people more susceptible to the influence of others, creating a herd effect.
The characteristics of the herd effect are mainly manifested in:
Blindness:Individuals in the herd effect often lack the ability to think and judge independently, blindly following the actions or opinions of others.
Infectiousness:The herd effect is highly contagious, and once a certain idea or behavior is sought after by some people, it will soon trigger more people to follow.
Irrational:Since the herd effect is a collective irrational behavior caused by individual rational behavior, it often leads to problems such as misallocation of resources and market volatility.
Vulnerability:The herd effect is susceptible to interference and influence by external factors, such as **, etc. These factors may amplify or narrow the impact of the herd effect.
The impact of the herd effect on people's actual lives
Reading cured my mental internal friction When a topic or event starts to receive attention on social media, its click-through rate, ** rate, and discussion degree will gradually increase. This upward trend will attract more users to follow and participate in the discussion, forming a positive feedback loop. This cycle further boosts the popularity of the topic or event, making it a hot topic on the hot search list.
In this process, the herd effect plays an important role. Many users are influenced by the actions of other users when they choose to follow or discuss a topic. They observe which topics are getting a lot of attention, which ones have a lot of discussion and, and then tend to choose these hot topics to participate in. This pattern of behavior of mimicking and following has led to the further spread and popularity of trending topics.
In addition, social platforms often recommend relevant content based on users' interests and behaviors. If a topic is considered to be of interest to users, the platform will recommend it to more users. This recommendation mechanism also exacerbates the herd effect, making hot topics easier to reach and discuss by a wide range of users.
How to avoid the herd effect
Enhance the ability to think independently: in the face of various information and choices, we must learn to think independently and not be swayed by the external world and trends. Expand information channels and knowledge reserves: Knowing more information and knowledge will help us understand things more comprehensively and objectively, and reduce the possibility of blindly following trends. Stay rational and calm: During the decision-making process, stay rational and calm, and not be swayed by emotions. Walter Lippmann said, "When everyone thinks the same thing, probably no one is really thinking." This quote reminds us to think independently and not blindly follow the thoughts and actions of others to avoid falling into the herd effect.