Raafat Ramsey M, Chater Nick, Frith Chris
Cognitive, Perceptual and Brain Sciences research department, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Trends Cogn Sci. 2009 Oct;13(10):420-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.08.002. Epub 2009 Sep 11.
Herding is a form of convergent social behaviour that can be broadly defined as the alignment of the thoughts or behaviours of individuals in a group (herd) through local interaction and without centralized coordination. We suggest that herding has a broad application, from intellectual fashion to mob violence; and that understanding herding is particularly pertinent in an increasingly interconnected world. An integrated approach to herding is proposed, describing two key issues: mechanisms of transmission of thoughts or behaviour between agents, and patterns of connections between agents. We show how bringing together the diverse, often disconnected, theoretical and methodological approaches illuminates the applicability of herding to many domains of cognition and suggest that cognitive neuroscience offers a novel approach to its study.
群体行为是一种趋同的社会行为形式，大致可定义为群体（人群）中个体的思想或行为通过局部互动且无集中协调而达成一致。我们认为群体行为有着广泛的应用，从知识时尚到群体暴力；并且在一个日益相互关联的世界中，理解群体行为尤为重要。本文提出了一种综合的群体行为研究方法，阐述了两个关键问题：个体之间思想或行为的传播机制，以及个体之间的连接模式。我们展示了如何将多样的、通常相互脱节的理论和方法结合起来，阐明群体行为在许多认知领域的适用性，并表明认知神经科学为其研究提供了一种新方法。
