Excitement buzzes through the air like electricity, drawing others in like a moth to a flame.

Getting “hyped” is what can happen when a large amount of people get excited for something. Another way to describe this feeling is the idea of “jumping on the bandwagon.”

Often when we hear the phrase “jumping on the bandwagon,” it’s in reference to sports teams on winning stakes. When one team is particularly successful, many people often “jump on the bandwagon” and become instant fans.

Matthew Phillips, business management junior, said he may sometimes be inclined to do things he normally wouldn’t. Such as, listening to songs, that he may not typically be interested in, because his friends are listening to them, or he may wear certain clothes because they are thought to be in style.

“Normally when things get popular, they’re like that way for a reason,” Phillips said.

Phillips said people jump on the bandwagon, but sometimes actually take an interest in something related to whatever they jumped on for.

“Say someone jumps on the Chicago Cubs bandwagon since they won the World Series. That person chose to jump on the bandwagon, but now they are hooked on baseball,” Phillips said. “After time … they find out they just really like baseball.”

Researchers have done studies on people to see if this bandwagon effect relates to medical information and research. An example of this could be fad diets or medical anomalies.

According to Gary Schwitzer, publisher of the website HealthNewsReview.org and former professor at the University of Minnesota, said that people often get caught up in the medical hype as well. When they get caught up, they often buy into medical miracles and mysteries.

Schwitzer said the way medical research is described throughout the media often makes people feel hype for these new treatments.

He said often times media outlets do not discuss costs, evidence quality, alternative options and other medical-related costs, making medical hype much larger than the miracles and medical mysteries that one may be looking for.

Schwitzer conducted research by reviewing more than 500 articles about trending medical practices, and in his findings wrote, “Between 62 percent and 77 percent of stories failed to adequately address costs, harms, benefits, and the quality of the evidence.”

Schwitzer said the lack of addressing the costs, evidence quality, alternative opinions, and other medical-related costs, makes people often believe that medical procedures are more impactful or “amazing” than they really are.

David Crow, political science professor from the University of California Riverside, researched the overestimation in surveys about the winning presidential candidate. In his research, Crow found that in post election surveys, there is often a higher number of votes reported for the winning candidate than are actually cast. Meaning that the amount of people who say they vote for someone is higher than the amount of voters who actually do.

Crow said there are two things that could be causing this. First, people who vote for the losing candidate may wish to leave the question unanswered. Second, people may be lying about their actual vote for social impact.

Crow’s research suggested that people may have lied about their candidate, and suggests that future research is recommended to dive deeper into this idea.

Regardless, Yveshia Klingman, communication senior, said she sometimes gets caught up in the hype, but does not always follow suit.

When it comes to tests being pushed back and homework being cancelled, Klingman said she often feeds off of her classmates excitement.

“I get hyped off of other people’s excitement in school specifically,” Klingman said. “Even if it isn’t for a class I’m in, I feel like I have a connection to all students, regardless if we are in the same class or not.”

When it comes to pop culture, Klingman said she has no problem refraining from jumping on the bandwagon.

“I never waste my money on things I’m not interested in,” Klingman said. “Probably because I know I could be spending it on something I’m passionate about.”

Kimberlyn Beck, communication and occupational safety senior, said some of the reasons she has found herself getting caught in the hype are people with “pumped up personalities,” people who are passionate and have a plan, and people who use “we” statements that make her feel included.

One specific instance when Beck felt she jumped on the bandwagon, was joining student organizations.

Beck said it was the excitement and passion of others that really drew her in.