Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
Sci Rep. 2020 Oct 21;10(1):17957. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-74951-8.
Herding is ubiquitous throughout all social life forms, providing beneficial outcomes. Here, we examine whether herding emerges spontaneously in human groups and whether it adheres to the core principles of herding observed in the animal kingdom. Using a computerized paradigm involving the movements of circles, we tested the emergence of spontaneous and intentional herding of 136 participants assigned into groups of four participants. Herding was assessed by measuring directional synchrony in the movements of the circles, level of cohesion, and separation between circles. We found that human groups tend to spontaneously herd, particularly in terms of directional synchrony, supporting the notion of a human herding instinct. We further asked whether individuals with high traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit differences in their herding tendencies. Results indicated that individuals with high ASD traits showed greater social separation from the group, compared to individuals with low ASD traits. Moreover, we found diminished spontaneous synchrony, but intact instructed synchrony in the high vs. the low ASD traits group. We contend that humans spontaneously herd with their group and suggest that the spontaneous tendency to synchronize with others is diminished in individuals with high ASD traits, though it is recovered when synchronization is intentional.
群居在所有社会生活形式中普遍存在，能带来有益的结果。在这里，我们研究了人类群体中是否会自发出现从众行为，以及它是否符合在动物王国中观察到的从众行为的核心原则。我们使用涉及圆圈运动的计算机化范式，测试了 136 名被分配到 4 人一组的参与者中自发和有意从众行为的出现。通过测量圆圈运动的方向同步性、凝聚力水平和圆圈之间的分离度来评估从众行为。我们发现，人类群体倾向于自发地从众，尤其是在方向同步性方面，这支持了人类存在从众本能的观点。我们进一步询问了具有高自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）特征的个体在从众倾向方面是否存在差异。结果表明，与具有低 ASD 特征的个体相比，具有高 ASD 特征的个体与群体的社会隔离程度更大。此外，我们发现高 ASD 特征组的自发同步性降低，但指令同步性保持不变。我们认为人类会自发地与群体一起行动，并提出在具有高 ASD 特征的个体中，与他人自发同步的倾向会减弱，但当同步是有意的时，这种倾向会恢复。
