Trends in Cognitive Sciences
ReviewHerding in humans
Introduction
Cognitive psychology generally focuses on the individual as the fundamental unit of analysis [1]. Nevertheless, we are all embedded in a complex system of social structures, which ground and organize much of our behaviour [2], ranging from national identity to religious affiliation. Here, we consider one of the many bridges that link agents and the social structures in which they are embedded: a form of convergent social behaviour termed ‘herding’. Herding can be broadly defined as the alignment of thoughts or behaviours of individuals in a group (herd) through local interactions rather than centralized coordination. In other words, the apparent central coordination of the herd is an emergent property of local interactions.
Herding is an influential and well-documented feature of human behaviour in a number of domains, particularly economics and finance 3, 4, 5. Although the current economic turmoil has revealed the depth of herding among financial institutions and individual investors 6, 7 (and by implication the agents responsible for their decisions), this concept also has much broader relevance beyond the economic arena. Examples of phenomena that have been described as involving herd behaviour are diverse and varied, ranging from stock market bubbles and financial speculation to zealotry (e.g. the 2002 Gujarat mob violence [8]), political choice [9] and consumer preferences 10, 11. The concept is well known in ethology, where for example the biologist William Hamilton illustrated how herd behaviour can emerge from the uncoordinated behaviour of individuals engaged in predator avoidance [12]. The process has also been investigated in social psychology and terms such as Fad, Fashion, Mass Hysteria, Bandwagon Effect, Groupthink and Herd Instinct have entered common parlance.
Whereas the concepts behind herd mentality and herd behaviour have a rich history (Table 1), the methods, techniques and approaches currently used to elucidate them are relatively recent. In this article we review the extensive range of theoretical frameworks for describing herding. Similar ideas and explanations have emerged in many fields, albeit with different emphases, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of the concept. We propose a framework with which to organize these diverse approaches, which is based on a distinction between the mechanisms of transmission of a particular thought between individuals and the patterns of connections between individuals. We also distinguish between two main types of transmission: automatic contagion and rational deliberation. We suggest that cognitive neuroscience can reveal the mechanisms underlying the transmission of information, which can in turn help elucidate patterns of herd behaviour.
Section snippets
Models of herding
As indicated above, herding among individuals has been studied within a number of diverse domains. As a result, a number of different mechanisms and approaches have emerged across these domains in order to explain herding behaviour. It is therefore important to develop a conceptual framework within which the different approaches and models can be described, one that also permits the highlighting of common features. We propose that understanding how members of a group become aligned by ‘local’
Pattern-based theories/models of herding behaviour: structure sets the herd?
Pattern-based explanations treat individuals as units with certain simple, well-defined properties and modes of interaction (Figure 2, left branch). The terminology used in this class of models, such as ‘critical mass’, ‘self-organized criticality’ and ‘epidemics’, is inspired by models in either particle physics or epidemiology and shares a similar structure. Such models often come under the rubric of econophysics models of herding and are prevalent in finance [15].
Pattern-based approaches
Transmission mechanisms in herding: how do we broadcast?
In contrast to the focus on patterns of interaction, the complementary transmission perspective seeks to unify and identify mechanisms of transfer of information in herding (as illustrated in the split within the right branch of Figure 2) by concentrating on the role of cognitive and affective components, particularly the effortless human capacity known as ‘mentalizing’ (the ability to explain and predict the behaviour of others by attributing to them independent mental states) [33]. A number
What can social neuroscience say?
A point of interaction between these two levels concerns the biological mechanisms that underlie herding. Social neuroscience is ideally positioned to connect these levels. Social structures may be emergent organizations beyond the individual, yet these emergent organizations require biological systems in the individual to create them 66, 67. Furthermore, there is a large body of work on imitation [68]. Mirror neurons (nerve cells that fire when we carry out an action, or watch someone else
Concluding remarks and future directions
The concept of herding has been evoked in many different contexts, ranging from mass hysteria in neurology [56] to the diffusion of innovations in economics and to the propagation of ideas [80]. These appeals to collective behaviour all imply that certain forms of behaviour go beyond the individual, but different disciplines yield somewhat dissimilar accounts of the mechanisms of herding. To discern structure within this array of approaches requires a broad integrative viewpoint. The framework
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