22 September
Worse than jumping on the bandwagon is being thrown under it.
- J Edward von Hegner
Today's term from psychology is the Bandwagon Effect.
To "jump on the bandwagon" means to do something because it's popular, regardless of your own beliefs or desires. Over the years the meaning of the term has been extended to mean believing something because everybody else does. These days it's also known as the Herd Mentality, or Groupthink.
The expression dates back to the presidential election of 1848, when an infamous circus owner and clown named Dan Rice supported Zachary Taylor in his bid for the Presidency. Rice invited Taylor onto his bandwagon to parade through town and meet potential voters.
Legend has it that other members of Taylor's political party realized the publicity this could provide, and joined him on the bandwagon. Other politicians soon began parading in their own campaign bandwagons, and by the 1890s, jumping on the bandwagon meant attaching yourself to a winner.
Most people feel a certain degree of safety and security by going along with the majority. If everybody's right, we're right too. And if everybody's wrong, at least we're not the only one who's wrong. We are, in effect, hiding among the herd to prevent ourselves from being singled out as an object of ridicule.