Are autistic people as susceptible to herd behavior as NTs?

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Would that be a herd of steaks at the supermarket?

That's one of the functions a herd serves - to protect the collective. If not, why would anyone shout a warning in the first place, as opposed to just leaving themselves?

My point is that there is a negative connotation associated with the phrase "herd mentality", but there are many ways that we operate as a herd that are instinctual, outside of the OP's advertising and marketing examples.

Wait and see. Standing in everyone else's way.



I don't mind a herd of steaks, with a crowd of fries.

What annoys me about topics like this is the whole aspie vs NT mentality. No two aspies or NTs are the same. As such, either group is susceptible if they have the right characteristics (naive, easy to rile up, work well together in a group, not a leader role) which combines traits from both groups. Myself, I try to avoid people so I would say no.

I like herd behavior sometimes. I remember for instance when I was watching Arrested Development (when it was originally aired), I used to go to a website were we would all repeat the jokes and crack each other up again. It was fun, it made watching the show 10 times more fun.

Excellent example...I was thinking of something like a mall shooting, because I saw one reported on the news a few weeks ago. They asked a lot of people what they did when they heard the gunshots. Most of the people just ran for cover, on instinct, or because they saw other people running. Some were farther away so they weren't sure if the sound was actually gunfire or not and they waited a bit to see what other people were doing before they took action.

I thought about what I would have done, and what is typical for me is to be curious about what is going on, and slow to move or react.



No, that is EXACTLY what herd behavior is. Wild animals herd together so they can move quickly to evade predators or other dangers. That's a natural, instinctive purpose of herd behavior.

In humans it is a phenomenon called escape panic. The problem with humans having escape panic is that humans don't coordinate and synchronize their movements together the way animals do, so humans often get injured trying to escape from danger.



What exactly do you think is an example of herd behavior, in autistic people, or in people in general?

Thanks, dianthus! I, of course, agree with your points!

I agree with this.

There are so many more individuals classified as neurotypical in contrast to the minority diagnosed with ASD that naturally, it's going to appear as if neurotypicals are more prone to herding behaviours. Of the people I've known to have had Asperger's in real life, most actually followed the group as they didn't know themselves how to belong; the individuals with Asperger's copied the neurotypicals so that they would fit in more effectively.

Stating something such as sensory sensitivity preventing one from entering a crowd as an argument against susceptibility doesn't hold up, because you could just as easily take the typical introverted NT, who I can almost guarantee will not want to enter a crowd. The same applies for something like mass advertising. I read a post earlier in the thread that claimed something along the lines of autistics in general preferring comfortable clothes, and thus not buying into the fashions. In response to that, I may as well say that neurotypicals are less susceptible than autistics regarding mass advertising as if an autistic sees something related to their special interest on TV or the Internet, they are far more likely to buy it impulsively.

Last edited by Norny on 22 Feb 2014, 10:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Good points, Norny! My personal opinion is that if you say "we" to express feelings, beliefs, attitudes, etc, in any situation where you don't have personal knowledge of the perspectives of every individual covered by that "we", then you're susceptible to herd mentality.

Oh - and to your point Norny, I'm NT, but in my fire example, I would probably only retreat a bit, then watch to assess the danger myself. Everyone behaves on a spectrum.

Thanks.

I also want to clear up what I meant in that just because someone is susceptible to herding behaviour, they aren't necessarily going to follow the herd - the individual has a brain and personality of their own outside of their so called 'neurology', as shown in this thread. When I say that I believe an individual with Asperger's is just as susceptible to herd behaviour as an NT, I don't mean that simply because you have Asperger's, you're just as likely as the next person to have a stronger herd mentality. You aren't 'Asperger's', you have Asperger's. You are an individual with Asperger's. You have your own characteristics outside of the Asperger's.

I'm not sure why no one respects herd mentality anyway, it really is a good thing at times. It doesn't mean you can't think for yourself, though for whatever reason that seems to be strongly implicated.

Right, but as I said earlier, this is acquired, not instinctive, and it is usually a conscious, deliberate effort, so it is more obvious. Herd behavior is not deliberate, it is automatic.



This is impulsivity motivated by personal interests, not herd behavior. Buying something because you think a lot of other people are buying it is the herd mentality.

Individuals with Asperger's 'deliberately copy' others just as much as neurotypical individuals. If herd behaviour is truly automatic, then I fail to see how a person with Asperger's is less susceptible to it than a neurotypical. Where is the proof for this? Things like buying into fashion aren't automatic, they are conscious decisions. They are an effort to fit in, the very same as the decision the individual with Asperger's makes in that scenario.



You are right, though it still depends on the neurotypical who buys the clothes. I would assume that most people just want to look and feel good (most I know are like this), though there are many (mostly adolescents) that buy into the fashions for the sake of 'keeping up to date with others' or whatever it is. I don't think that 'preferring to wear comfortable clothes' is enough to warrant 'mass advertising' as a contributing factor to susceptibility however. At least in my life experience, the percentage of neurotypical individuals that buy into fashion purely because they see others dressing that way I consider to be quite low. I know a great deal of people that wear comfortable clothes out, and they aren't autistic.

I agree with Norny. We with HFA are so lost, that the only way we know to fit in is to follow some aspect of the group. What that aspect is might vary, but we are going to try to find something. For me, I tried to follow sports when I was younger. Later on, I tried to copy movements. We end up being followers not because we want to be, but because we need models to help us function socially.

Don't listen to him ^^^. He's crazy, he can't spell, and he needs someone to help him pick his nose. (He's also my friend. )

It is because autistic people, to quote Lorna Wing, lack the social instinct. Herd behavior is socially instinctive behavior, and it is more primal than things like buying into fashion. It is triggered by the very types of social communication that autistic people tend to have deficits in, such as noticing and understanding eye movements or body language. It is not a matter of making a conscious, deliberate decision to copy other people...though such a decision may be prompted by the herd instinct, it does not have to be. It can be motivated by personal desires or preferences.