Gregariousness: the Bandwagon Effect and the Underdog Effect

Several psychological effects explain our tendency to want to emulate the behavior of others.

Human beings are gregarious by nature.. As such, he is subject to interaction with other people, who have their own views on the reality of the world around them. Therefore, the opinion of the community has always been a reference to guide one's own behavior.

Nowadays, one of the ways to be aware of the opinion of communities is through the media, which allow us to be informed through elements such as opinion polls of the beliefs and visions of citizens regarding specific issues. These opinions provoke various effects on those who receive them, including two opposing ones: the Bandwagon effect effect and the Underdog effect. 

Next we will see what they consist of, but first, let's see what exactly an opinion poll consists of.

What is an opinion poll?

A public opinion survey is considered to be is that consultation made to people chosen according to statistical principles, being an essential tool for the assessment of public opinion..

The functions of this type of consultation are to produce knowledge, to optimize decision making based on the opinions of others, to inform about the beliefs of our peers and to have the possibility of using them in a propagandistic way.

The results of the surveys will reflect different ratings depending on the topic they deal with; among these opinions there may be one that enjoys a clear popularity.

Bandwagon effect

It is in this context that the Bandwagon effecteffect, according to which people tend to support those causes that we consider to be winners..

The Bandwagon effect is based on the need to be consistent with the society as a whole, to be part of the group and to perform a personal reaffirmation by supporting what we believe is most likely to be successful. In this way, the individual feels like a winning party, reinforcing his self-esteem and his feeling of belonging to a reinforcing collective.

When does the Bandwagon effect appear?

Apart from its use as part of various persuasion techniques, studies indicate that this effect occurs when there is a very clear polarization in favor of one of the options for action or decision.

It occurs especially in individuals with a high level of extraversion and neuroticism, in circumstances where information on the issue in question is limited and biased by the dominant opinion. Individuals undecided as to which option to choose also tend to vote for the option that is presented as the winner unless other variables come into play..

However, it should be borne in mind that knowledge of the attitudes of the majority gathered by mechanisms such as opinion polls can bias individual freedom by causing a sort of learned helplessness and making the viewer believe that if his or her action or thinking is different from the majority it will have no repercussions. As a reaction to this, some people may become jaded and disenchanted with the majority position, which in turn can lead to a feeling of disillusionment with the majority position.In turn, a feeling of sympathy towards what we consider a losing cause may appear.

Underdog effect

The previously mentioned effect in which the opinion of the majority provokes a rejection and awakens a sympathy for the minority is the Underdog effect. In this effect, the decision taken will be the one that benefits the option that is perceived as less valued. Thus, the less valued option is considered as unfairly attacked or undervalued, which causes it to be defended.

The causes of the Underdog effect can be manifold, such as an attempt to differentiate oneself from the restThe causes of the Underdog effect can be multiple, such as an attempt to differentiate oneself from the rest, sympathy for the situation of the "lost cause" or admiration for the other's willingness to oppose the majority.

Their influence on social movements

Both the Bandwagon effect and the Underdog effect are guarantors of the emergence, maintenance and disappearance of social movements. It must be taken into account that the opinion of our peers is relevant when talking about attitude change.

While as a general rule, as studies have shown, majorities do not require a great deal of time or effort to direct the attitude of individuals, since subjects generally tend to try to reinforce their sense of belonging to society through conformity to social norms, minorities need a long period of time in which they need to maintain internal coherence and consistency in their demands in order to provoke a change of attitude in others.

First, some components of the majority group perceive that what is demanded is fair and change their perspective. Subsequently, this change causes others to follow their example and finally the previously minority opinion expands..

The case of the feminist and anti-racist movements

Examples of the phenomenon described above are the feminist movements, those in defense of the rights of the African-American population and, more recently, the movements in favor of the rights of the LGBT community.

These groups were initially opposed by the majority of the population. However, the internal coherence, constancy and consistency over time of their demands made some of the individuals who supported the some of the individuals who supported the dominant opinion to change their opinion (initially producing an Under (initially producing an Underdog effect). Over the years, the trend has been reversed, with the formerly disadvantaged attitudinal tendency becoming the majority and favoring, through a Bandwagon effect, the acceptance of the rights of collectives.

However, although, as we have just seen, these effects can be applied in a positive way, knowledge of their existence can also cause them to be used in a self-serving way.

Partisan political use

The knowledge of Bandwagon and Underdog effects has meant that in many cases attempts have been made to target them for very specific purposes. One of the dimensions in which the study of these effects is most often applied is in politics, where attempts have been made to use them in a propagandistic manner. In this area, attempts have been made to use both the media and opinion polls in a propagandistic way, since it is considered that knowledge of opinion is a key factor in the It is considered that knowledge of the opinion of others will modify behavior and beliefs in the desired direction.

Politicians are aware that, many times, when favorable polls are published and disseminated, the mood of their party's militants is strengthened, while the number of sympathizers increases.

To this end, the different political options will try to present opinion polls as favorable as possible to their proposal (given that it is easier for the population to subscribe to the majority opinion). (given the greater ease with which the population ascribes to the majority opinion), presenting them in the media in order to spread the view that their proposal is the one that is going to be the winner, or at least the one that is on the rise.

This fact could contribute to explain why, after the election results and regardless of what they are, all political forces claim to consider themselves winners before the media. Those who are not totally aligned with their positions are expected to change their attitudes in order to join in and feel part of the social majority. and feel part of the social majority.

Conclusions

As we have seen, throughout history the Underdog and Bandwagon effects have appeared and/or have been applied to influence the masses. In the case of the manipulative utilization of these phenomenaare usually applied through opinion polls with the purpose of taking advantage of their performative character (i.e., their ability not only to describe a fact but also to create it, since, as soon as the surveys are disseminated, they participate in the formation and change of attitudes), in order to direct public opinion towards a given objective.

However, it should be borne in mind that the fact that surveys can influence does not imply that they can influence public opinion. surveys can influence does not imply that they will do so in the intended direction.. Presenting an event as a winner may produce a rapprochement of others towards it, but depending on the way it is presented, it is likely to produce rejection. What polls change is the climate of the situation by giving a general impression of how the situation may work and whether we have any control over it.

Also, considering that we are currently in the information society and that through networks and new technologies we have access to a large number of visions and points of view, it is more difficult for these effects to have a great effectiveness; especially considering that society is increasingly critical and selective with the information it is offered, being more and more aware of the possibility of attempts to manipulate it.

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