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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 17, 2025

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

Irrational herding persists in human-bot interactions.

Luca Verginer¹, Giacomo Vaccario^2,3, Piero Ronzani⁴

¹Chair of Systems Design, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. lverginer@ethz.ch.

Scientific Reports

|July 2, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Humans often exhibit herding behavior, even when aware of interacting with automated entities (bots). This study found that awareness of bots did not significantly alter human decision-making in a strategic game.

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Area of Science:

Behavioral Economics
Human-Computer Interaction
Social Psychology

Background:

Understanding human herding behavior is crucial in strategic interactions.
Distinguishing between irrational herding and rational self-interest remains a challenge.
The increasing prevalence of automated entities (bots) in human interactions necessitates studying their influence on decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate human herding behavior in a strategic setting involving interactions with bots.
To examine how awareness of interacting with bots affects human behavior and beliefs.
To differentiate between irrational herding and rational self-interest in a controlled environment.

Main Methods:

Conducted an online minority game with 1997 participants.
Divided participants into two groups: informed and unaware of playing against bots.
Rewarded participants for adopting the minority strategy.

Main Results:

Informed participants adjusted their beliefs about bot behavior but not their decisions.
A significant portion (30%) of participants exhibited herding behavior (following the majority) in both conditions.
Herding behavior persisted despite awareness of interacting with automated entities.

Conclusions:

Human herding behavior is robust and persists even when individuals are aware of bots.
Awareness of automated entities does not eliminate irrational herding in strategic decision-making.
Findings have implications for understanding human behavior on digital platforms with bot interactions.