Psychologyspeaking topic
The bandwagon effect: once something becomes popular, why do we lean toward it regardless of whether it's true? Where does the assumption 'everyone's doing it, so it must be right' break down?
— bandwagon effect
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- Groupthink: why does a harmonious group accept bad decisions without criticism? In a room where everyone stays silent to avoid being the dissenter, how does the truth get lost?
- Decision fatigue: the more small decisions we make through the day, the more our willpower drains, and the worse our evening choices get. Is it a coincidence that judges hand down more rejections in the late afternoon?
- Affective forecasting: why do we overestimate how happy something will make us once we get it? When we finally reach what we wanted, why does the expected joy fade so quickly?
- Status quo bias: why do we say 'leave it as it is' even when change would be better? Not choosing is also a choice, so why do we mistake standing still for safety?
- Even when you read silently, the speech muscles twitch faintly; reading 'in your head' is whisperless speech. If the mouth is thinking along even in total silence, how pure can thought ever be, and how independent of language?