Embarrassment is a villain to be crushed. - Robert B. Cialdini

First, we seem to assume that if a lot of people are doing the same thing, they must know something we don’t.

it will be when prestige (both public and private) is low that we will be intent upon using the successes of associated others to help restore image.

In general, when we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct.