Bandwagon Fallacy
🧠Psych - 108 / 200
Hey,
It’s the First of September.
We will today be talking about Bandwagon Fallacy.
What is it?
When one asserts that because something is popular, it must be right or the correct thing to do.
Examples -
Everyone is selfish; everyone is doing what he believes will make himself happier. The recognition of that can take most of the sting out of accusations that you're being "selfish." Why should you feel guilty for seeking your own happiness when that's what everyone else is doing, too?
Harry Browne, "The Unselfishness Trap", from How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World (1973).
Where does it occur?
Bandwagon Fallacy is a part of Logical Fallacies aka Appeal to Popularity.
Appeals to the majority opinion are extremely common almost anywhere, whether they are used by accident or deliberately for someone’s advantage.
Why do I need to know?
This is a type of informal fallacy i.e. where arguments contain irrelevant evidence that renders the conclusion incorrect.
They stem from an error in reasoning rather than from an error in the logical structure of the argument.
Takeaways: -
Slow down the reasoning process, learn to assess things clearly and with a bit of precision. Maybe the minority is correct over the popularity?
References & Studies: -
https://fallacyinlogic.com/bandwagon-fallacy-definition-and-examples/
I made a compilations of such similar biases. See the psych handbook!
Looking for previous issues? Take a look at the Archives.