Wikipedia says this of the Bandwagon Effect:
The Bandwagon effect, also known as social proof or "cromo effect" and closely related to opportunism, is the observation that people often do and believe things because many other people do and believe the same things. The effect is often pejoratively called herding instinct, particularly when applied to adolescents. People tend to follow the crowd without examining the merits of a particular thing. The bandwagon effect is the reason for the bandwagon fallacy's success.
The bandwagon effect is well-documented in behavioral psychology and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have already done so".[1] As more people come to believe in something, others also "hop on the bandwagon" regardless of the underlying evidence.
With today's technologies (texting, email, social networking, etc.) each of us has near instant access to someone. In times of need, particularly in our marriages, we feel the need to reach out to others for affirmation, opinions, justification, and previous experience. When we get multiple people on "our side" we can hop on the bandwagon and parade in front of our husbands with an "I told you to" mentality. If all these people agree with me - it must be so - I'm right, your wrong.
Today's Challenge:
In regards to your husband and marriage, for today, keep it within the confines of your marriage. If you can't feel like you can communicate with your spouse about your feelings - then keep it to yourself. Journal it if you must get it out, but avoid reaching out to your girlfriends. Give yourself time to mull it over, cool down, and begin to rationalize.
Love, Andrea
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