Peer Pressure: The Effects of Information Cascade on Clothes, Trends, and Drug Usage
Peer pressure is one of the most relevant examples of information cascade for high school and college students. As youth still searching for their place in society, teenagers try new things to fit in, find themselves, and make others like or accept them. Many of the decisions made are not because of the individual but rather because it is “trendy” or “in” at that time. This has been the reality for many decades, especially in America. In Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer and Welch’s paper, A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change as Information Cascades, they use the theory of information cascades to explain “not only conformity but also rapid and short-lived fluctuations such as fads, fashions, booms, and crashes” (994). This phenomena causes individuals to wear fashions that that they may not agree with because it is worn by friends or famous individuals.
An example of this would be an actress wearing the newest Gucci purse. Many individuals may admire this actress and trust her opinions on fashion. People who see the actress wear the purse would then want to also accept that fashion and buy the purse. The item would then disseminate as others see everyone begin to wear that purse. This is the case for many trends that sweep across America. This process is only aided by the internet, television, and other forms of media. Years later the same people say “I don’t know why I wore that” because of the fact that they ignored their own opinion and accepted the decisions of others.
The same is true for the consumption of alcohol. In Peer influences on college drinking: A review of the research they explain the increased drinking being because of “a pronounced shift in influence from parents to peers during college” and “the prevalence of alcohol-based social opportunities on campus” (Borsari and Carey 393). In Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer and Welch’s paper alcohol use is also spoken about as it examines the likelihood of cascades, the likelihood of the incorrect cascade, how fashion changes, and the effectiveness of public information. Overall the papers seeks to explain all the theories we have learned in class to explain the inner workings of trends in America.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899328901000980
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2138632.pdf?acceptTC=true