Herd Behavior | Career Angles

During this time of Covid-19 and coronavirus, we hear a lot about “herd immunity,” but need to pause for a second to understand what a herd is.

Wikipedia offers a good basic description.

“When an association of animals (or, by extension, people) is described as a herd, the implication is that the group tends to act together (for example, all moving in the same direction at a given time), but that this does not occur as a result of planning or coordination. Rather, each individual is choosing behavior that corresponds to that of the majority of other members, possibly through imitation or possibly because all are responding to the same external circumstances.”

In other words, people choose to join a herd and imitate others.

Mixing a metaphor for a moment, they become sheep and imitate the behavior of the majority, surrendering their individuality to the group.

In sports, we tend to think of a team as being something similar. But team members have individual roles that, together, help to define a successful outcome for the group.

With herd behavior, the behavior of the majority of other members. Others join the herd to become a part of this group. This creates a degree of momentum because many people like to be part of something bigger than themselves.