Journal of Consumer Research called ‘Social Defaults: Observed Choices Become Choice Defaults’ suggests that we are prone to being copycats.
Participants were asked to choose products. Rather than spending time learning about the product or asking questions, they simply mimicked the choices of the crowd.
This phenomenon is also known as herding bias.Herding bias is common mainly because as human beings, we have a natural desire of being a part of the herd.
Staying in numbers makes us feel safe. Following the crowd has helped us survive. During the Stone Age, if we saw a group of people running away from something, it would be a good idea to join the group and run with them, rather than explore the reason for their flight.