Herd ment a l i t y是t he tendency for people's behaviour or beliefs to conform to those of the group to which they belong， 即“羊群心態”，亦稱“一窩蜂心態”。Herd mentality又稱mob mentality。 另一個較詳細的解釋：Herd mental i t y describes behaviour in which people act the same way or adopt similar behaviours as the people around them - often ignoring their own feelings in the process. Think of a sheep blindly(盲目地) following the flock no matter where they go just because that's what the herd is doing. Herd mentality又稱bandwagon effect(從 眾效應)：a psychological phenomenon(心 理的現象) in which people do something primarily because other people are doing it, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override。 大家怎樣想怎樣做就照跟就是所謂的“跟 大隊”，“跟大隊”不一定悲劇收場，但herd mentality缺乏獨立思考，以herd mentality作為 做決定和行事的基礎，後果通常不會好，尤其是 在投資之上，所以證監會的“羊生羊太”廣告，就 勸告市民投資前，要清楚所投資的是什麼，“人 投亦投”很可能血本無歸。 字典有這個例子：Owning a smart phone has become the trendy thing to do, so many people bought one out of herd mentality. (時興擁有智能手機，羊群心態作祟，很多人都 買一部。)當然這例子已過時，今時今日，smar t phone已變成必需品，不過不停換新機款卻仍 是herd mentality的表現。讓羊群心態牽着鼻子 走不是上策，為甚麼仍有這麼多人是這樣？原來 herd mentality有增加存活機會的效果。 增加存活機會 University of Essex學者Julia Coultas 解釋："For an individual joining a group, copying the behaviour of the majority(大多 數人) would then be a sensible, adaptive(適 應的) behav i ou r. A c o n f o r m i s t (遵奉習 俗 者、循 規 蹈 矩 的 人) tendency would facilitate acceptance into t he group and would probably lead to survival if it involved t h e d e c i s i o n , f o r instance, to choose between a nutritious or po i sonous food, based on copy i ng the behaviour of the majority." 我們的遠祖生活 的世界一點也不友善， 不“跟大隊”，隨時會 有殺身之禍：" I n o u r evolut ionar y(進化的) past, our ancestors(祖 先 ) w e r e u n d e r constant threat. Keen awareness of others helped our ancestors survive in a dangerous and uncertain world. Modern humans have inherited(繼承、經遺傳 獲得、沿襲) such adaptive behaviours." 明智與否，看來我們都很難完全擺脫羊 群心態的“魔掌”。Rob Henderson在" The Science Behind Why People Fol low the Crowd"一文中就指出："One lesson from social psychology(社會心理學) is the influence(影 響) others have on us. Research shows we do not have as much control over our thoughts and behaviour as we think. We take cues from our environment, especially other people, on how to act." Cue解提示；take cue from解follow the example or advice of，跟從範例或意見。 University of Sheffield心理學與認知科學教授 Tom Stafford指出，就算最懂得獨立思考的人， 都難以完全跳出自身文化的框框，例如我們不會 在面上刺青，但一些民族就覺得facial tattoo平 常不過，還是身分的象徵。 不過，這不等於我們的思想行為完全無法自 控︰ Al l the evidence is compat ible(一致 的) with the view that each of us, choice by choice, belief by belief, can make reasonable decisions for ourselves, not unshackled(去除 約制) from the influences of others and the past, but free to chart our own unique(獨特的) paths forward into the future. Cl yde Mohr的The Power of Social Influence: Ways to Avoid the Herd Mentality， 教我們如何避免做頭只懂跟大隊的“羊咩”。 Herd mentality完全扼殺free thought？ 教育 英文 CANADIAN CITY POST 文︰子慧 28 CANADIAN CITY POST 都市報 2022年9月2日
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