the inborn tendency to associate with others and follow the group's behaviour
herd instinct in American English
noun
the impulse or tendency toward clustering or acting in a group, esp. the presumed instinct toward or need for gregariousness and conformity
Word origin
[1905–10]This word is first recorded in the period 1905–10. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Expressionism, cadre, persona, stabilizer, thiamine
Examples of 'herd instinct' in a sentence
herd instinct
They have no clue about his guilt or innocence but simply follow their herd instincts to condemn him.
The Sun (2014)
Is this shift of investor focus just another case of the irrational herd instinct?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Our herd instinct complicates the notion of privacy.
The Times Literary Supplement (2016)
Wrong behaviour cannot be excused by herd instinct.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
A basic herd instinct, for example, can push us into selling low and buying high.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Even without such pressure, 'group think' has rightly acquired the negative connotation of a complacent expression of herd instinct.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Its executives are masters of managing the human herd instinct, driving us daily through what a farmer would recognise as a cattle crush.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Indeed, surprisingly for an age of rampant, selfie-driven individualism, it often seems to be herd instinct which makes nudges work.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Most investors actually do the exact opposite of buying low and selling high because of our herd instinct.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Markets are notoriously prone to the herd instinct; and when the herd feels fear, it stampedes.