Herd mentality (also known as mob mentality) describes a behavior in which people act the same way or adopt similar behaviors as the people around them — often ignoring their own feelings in the process. Group decisions lack the creativity and accuracy that might otherwise be found in an individual's decision making. Instead of a child being creative and choosing their own toy, or an investor being accurate and researching the market before making an investment, humans are more likely go simply go with the crowd, even if it's not objectively the best or wisest decision. Social groups do not tend to respond well in changing environments, as individuals within that group are too preoccupied with following everyone else to make their own informed and considered opinions. This is generally true even when the group contains individuals who would otherwise make well-reasoned choices on their own. That's why groups will generally make poor decisions, while individuals can make much better ones.
