Following the Herd, is it the Nudge We Need?
In their book Nudge — Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein discuss the many nudges that influence our everyday lives without us noticing. The nudge I want to write about is known as “Following the Herd.” While it may sound complex, it is quite straightforward. Following the Herd quite literally means following the people around you and basing your own decisions or beliefs on the decisions and beliefs of others. In the case of our community project, following the herd was beneficial to students. It allowed them time and space to decompress and relax. Even outside of our project, following the herd can be good. Someone may feel more inclined to post about a cause when they see their peers doing it and we see this in many movements that have occurred in the last five years. There is no denying that following the herd can be quite beneficial to us all and can even push us outside of our comfort zone; however following the herd isn’t always the best thing for us.
While reading the book and coming upon this concept, I questioned how destructive following the herd could actually be. I’ve dedicated more than half of this semester to writing about sexual assault so it is no surpise that I immediately connected sexual assault to this nudge. It sounds crazy, right? How could I connect something like sexual assault to a concept like following the herd, especially if its being framed as something helpful to our lives. Well, allow me to explain. From a young age, we are susceptible and will most likely follow the herd. At no point in our lives will we deviate from this nudge, in fact, some could argue that in trying to deviate from this nudge, you are actually participating in following a herd. So how does this connect to sexual assault? If someone is sexually assaulted, they may feel inclined to report it. However, if that person becomes aware of someone else being assaulted and not reporting it, they may feel even more inclined to stay quiet. It is no secret that women have been silenced in the past, not only by their abusers, but by other women as well. Some women might be unaware of their participation in silencing other women, not realizing that by staying quiet, women around them will most likely follow the herd and do the exact same thing. This isn’t to say that following the herd is always destructive, in fact, in recent years following the herd has done a lot for women who have been sexually assaulted.
One great example of how following the herd has powerfully impacted women is the Me Too Movement. It took down abusers, such as Harvey Weinstein, while creating a safe space for women all around the world to step up and speak about their experiences. The Me Too Movement would not have been as successful had it not been for the concept following the herd. It gained its momentum through people following the herd and mirroring the acts of posting on social media, going to marches, and spreading awareness. So, while following the herd has some cons, in fact more than we like to admit, it overall spreads awareness to causes that would have ruined a woman’s life less than a decade ago. If we keep following the herd for things that matter, things that can make a change, then this is the nudge that we all need in our lives.
