Bandwagon Effect
A phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends increases the more that they have already been adopted by others.
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Origin
The phrase originated in 1848 American politics when entertainer Dan Rice used a literal bandwagon—a wagon carrying a live music band—to drum up support for President Zachary Taylor's campaign. The metaphorical usage emerged as political scientists studied voting behavior in the 1940s. The concept gained formal academic recognition as an independent phenomenon in psychology and business in 1973, with Solomon Asch's 1950s conformity experiments providing influential empirical grounding.
Updated February 22, 2026