Why does it matter who wins the South Carolina primary next week? Why, after votes in only two other states, would a win for Mitt Romney make him the prohibitive favorite? It’s an interesting psychological question that reaches far beyond politics.
People want to vote for the person they think other people in their situation, with their beliefs, would vote for. People also want to work for the company they think other people would work for in their situation. They want to buy the clothes, the cars, the vacations, and the houses they think people in their circle would have bought. They want to send their kids to the schools their friends would send their kids to, if they could. How much of this is conscious and how much is subconscious doesn’t really matter. It still works out this way.
People have an overwhelming desire to fit in. Even in America, where we have this narrative about rooting for the underdog, most of us do so because everyone else is doing so. If you were born and raised in the Bronx, you don’t root for the Padres or the Marlins when the Yankees face them in the World Series. Even if you don’t give a shit about baseball, everyone in your circle is cheering for the Yankees, so you cheer for the Yankees.
If you do any sort of sales or marketing, this is important to recognize. If you look like the one that everyone else picks, you’ll likely end up being the one everyone else picks.
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