This study undertakes an empirical test of the "bandwagon effect"—individuals rallying to the majority opinion. The study is done outside the electoral context on two issues: abortion and the constitutional future of Quebec. A panel is used, as well as an experimental design in which respondents are told the state and direction of public opinion. Three methodological criteria are used as minimal requirements for a satisfac tory test of the bandwagon thesis. "Underdogging," as well as opinion movement due to factors outside the experiment, are both accounted for. Though the reasons for a bandwagon remain unclear, the authors demon strate that a bandwagon effect of 5-7 percent existed on both issues.

Relative strengths of the bandwagon (or rally‐around‐the‐winner) affect and its converse, the underdog effect, were tested. Study 1 was conducted with registered Republicans during 4 days immediately prior to the first major Republican primary of 1996. Bogus poll data showing Dole leading Forbes (or Dole trailing Forbes) were presented to voters who then voted their preference for Dole, Forbes, or neither. Findings showed a significantly greater tendency to vote for Dole over Forbes when the bogus poll showed Dole leading Forbes than when it showed Dole trailing. Thus, results supported the bandwagon effect and, furthermore, showed it as explaining 6% of the variance in voter preferences. In Study 2, participants were given bogus poll data on 2 personally relevant issues and were then asked to vote their preferences on the issues. Participants had extremely strong consensus preferences on one issue and were not influenced by bogus poll data. On the second issue that involved moderately strong consensus preferences, bogus polls significantly affected votes, supporting the bandwagon effect. Bandwagon effects were stronger for women compared with men, and for 2 of 3 PAD (Pleasantness, Arousability, Dominance) basic temperament factors; that is, for individuals with more arousable and less dominant temperaments. Implications for other personality variables were noted.

The potential influence of perceived popularity of political parties or candidates on individual vote choice is most commonly studied in terms of a ‘bandwagon effect’. However, there is confusion over exactly what the bandwagon effect is. In this article, I seek to remedy this confusion by providing a clear definition and typology of bandwagon effects, grounded in a review which reappraises existing scholarship. I argue that the bandwagon effect is a distinct social phenomenon involving an individual-level change in vote choice or turnout decision towards a more or increasingly popular candidate or party, motivated initially by this popularity. I then break this down employing a typology which draws on distinctions made in the literature between static and dynamic, and conversion and mobilisation effects. This conception of the bandwagon effect leaves it open to the operation of a variety of possible underlying processes. Scholars should apply such clear concepts as are proposed here in bandwagon research, to situate and clarify their contributions theoretically and offer a more nuanced understanding of whether, how and why bandwagon effects occur across different political contexts.

Bandwagon effects explain an individual’s tendency to conform to and follow other people’s opinions. Drawing on bandwagon effects, this study explored the relative influence of two different bandwagon heuristic cues in an online comments section (quantitative vs qualitative) on changes in news readers’ opinion. Study 1 revealed that qualitative cues have a stronger effect than quantitative cues in changing news readers’ opinions. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 and showed that people change opinions in the same direction as perceived public opinion, providing empirical evidence of online bandwagon effects. The findings offer theoretical insights by explicating the process of opinion change via perceived public opinion as well as practical insights into public opinion formation in online environments.

During recent years our society has often been exposed to coherent information waves of high amplitudes. These are waves of huge social energy. Often they are of destructive character, a kind of information tsunami. However, they can also carry positive improvements in human society, as waves of decision-making matching rational recommendations of societal institutes. The main distinguishing features of these waves are their high amplitude, coherence (homogeneous character of social actions generated by them), and short time needed for their generation and relaxation. Such waves can be treated as large-scale exhibitions of the bandwagon effect. We show that this socio-psychic phenomenon can be modeled based on the recently developed social laser theory. This theory can be used to model stimulated amplification of coherent social actions. “Actions” are treated very generally, from mass protests to votes and other collective decisions, such as, e.g., acceptance (often unconscious) of some societal recommendations. In this paper, we concentrate on the theory of laser resonators, physical vs. social. For the latter, we analyze in detail the functioning of Internet-based echo chambers. Their main purpose is increasing of the power of the quantum information field as well as its coherence. Of course, the bandwagon effect is well known and well studied in social psychology. However, social laser theory gives the possibility to model it by using general formalism of quantum field theory. The paper contains the minimum of mathematics and it can be read by researchers working in psychological, cognitive, social, and political sciences; it might also be interesting for experts in information theory and artificial intelligence.

The bandwagon effect – a psychological phenomenon where people embrace particular behaviours, purchase products or support trends simply because many others are doing the same – is emerging as an important concept in marketing literature. This study aims to investigate the role of parasocial interactions (PSI) in generating the bandwagon effect, using the parallel mediation of vicarious expression and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Framed within the context of parasocial relationship theory, this study used a purposive sampling method to collect data from 488 social media users who actively followed at least one tech YouTube influencer and one brand fan page on a social media platform, with a specific focus on the online retail sector. The collected data was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and a multigroup analysis based on gender. The results demonstrate that PSI with social media influencers significantly enhances mechanisms like vicarious expression experiences and eWOM, both of which emerged as key drivers of the bandwagon effect. Vicarious expression positively shapes consumer attitudes, while eWOM amplifies product and brand discussions within social networks. These mechanisms fully and parallelly mediate the relationship between PSI and the bandwagon effect. This study offers various insights for brands, particularly those that operate online and/or are newly launched. The study showcases how the bandwagon effect for products and brands can be generated through the integrated influence of parasocial interactions with influencers, vicarious expression and eWOM. This study uniquely identifies PSI, eWOM, vicarious expression and consumer attitude as key antecedents of the bandwagon effect, with vicarious expression and eWOM parallelly mediating the association between PSI and the bandwagon effect. It offers fresh insights into leveraging PSI with YouTube-based tech influencers to enhance vicarious product experiences and brand associations through engaging video content, highlighting its strategic potential for marketers.

When a bandwagon consumption trend of luxury fashion products appears, potential consumers tend to conform to the trend. The conformity behavior is enhanced by social media because it makes bandwagon trends more visible. However, no research has explored the drivers of fashion trend conformity in the social media age and the underlying mechanisms. Our empirical research demonstrates that fashion trend conformity is a socially directed type of behavior driven by trend perception and reference group pressure, which represent the informational and normative social influence stimuli, respectively. In addition to the direct impact, we also examine the mediating roles of demand amplification and the urge to buy impulsively (UBI). Demand amplification and UBI, respectively, reflect the rational cognitive reaction and irrational emotional reaction to stimuli of fashion bandwagon consumption. However, our results show that only the cognitive reaction path works, but the emotional reaction path does not. Put simply, trend conformity behavior is largely the result of consumers' rational reactions rather than irrational reactions to the social influence stimuli of bandwagon consumption. Our study contributes to the research on luxury fashion consumption by introducing three new concepts, i.e., fashion trend conformity, trend perception, and demand amplification, to describe and theorize the characteristics of consumer behavioral patterns for luxury fashion products and new drivers and novel underlying mechanisms of consumer behaviors in the social media age. Our findings offer practical insights for retailers and manufacturers to promote fashion trend conformity behavior.

The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon where people adopt certain behaviors, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so. More The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon where people adopt certain behaviors, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so. More specifically, it is a cognitive bias by which public opinion or behaviours can alter due to particular actions and beliefs rallying amongst the public. It is a psychological phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends in The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon where people adopt certain behaviors, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so. More specifically, it is a cognitive bias by which public opinion or behaviours can alter due to particular actions and beliefs rallying amongst the public. 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. As more people come to believe in something, others also "hop on the bandwagon", regardless of the underlying evidence. Following others' actions or beliefs can occur because of conformism or deriving information from others. Much of the influence of the bandwagon effect comes from the desire to 'fit in' with peers; making similar selections as other people is seen as a way to gain access to a particular social group. An example of this is fashion trends wherein the increasing popularity of a certain garment or style encourages more acceptance. When individuals make rational choices based on the information they receive from others, economists have proposed that information cascades can quickly form in which people ignore their personal information signals and follow the behaviour of others. Cascades explain why behaviour is fragile as people understand that their behaviour is based on a very limited amount of information. As a result, fads form easily but are also easily dislodged. The phenomenon is observed in various fields, such as economics, political science, medicine, and psychology. In social psychology, people's tendency to align their beliefs and behaviors with a group is known as 'herd mentality' or 'groupthink'. The reverse bandwagon effect (also known as the snob effect in certain contexts) is a cognitive bias that causes people to avoid doing something, because they believe that other people are doing it.