Joel Best, professor and chairperson of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, talks to the Messenger about fads. He has conducted research on the subject and is author of the book Flavor of the Month: Why Smart People Fall for Fads.

So, why do smart people fall for fads?
Part of the reason is that nothing ever seems like a fad while its popularity is growing. It’s seen as the way of the future, a genuine innovation that will help solve a big problem.

How do you define a fad?
It’s a short-lived enthusiasm, which follows a three-part cycle of emerging or beginning, then surging in popularity, then purging or collapsing. That’s different from a genuine innovation that surges to its peak of popularity but then, instead of dropping abruptly out of favor as a fad does, levels off and remains in common use.

There’s the perception that fads are silly or trivial, like the Hula Hoop or Cabbage Patch dolls, but I think it’s mistake to think of them that way. In my book, I focus on what I call institutional fads, such as business management or educational methods, which are short-term enthusiasms in serious institutions. Those types of fads can cost a great deal in terms of time and money, so you can’t consider them trivial.

What are some examples of institutional fads?
In the corporate world, we’ve had fads such as quality circles, which were supposed to solve U.S. management problems by using methods that were similar to those that had been successful in Japanese businesses. Companies embraced quality circles in the 1980s, but they then fell out of favor.

In education, there’s been a cycle in which children were taught to read using phonics, then educators abandoned phonics for a whole-language approach, and later they returned to phonics.

Is there a way to tell if a newly popular item or idea is a fad or a true innovation that will last?
No. During the surge in popularity leading up to the peak, both a lasting innovation and a fad look the same, and you can always convince yourself that what you’re seeing is going to stick around. You have to wait and see what happens, maybe over a period of a few years.

If a new idea seems effective, doesn’t that mean it’s likely to last? Don’t fads lose popularity because they don’t work?
Not really. All sorts of factors are at work.

For example, there are a lot of different diet plans that will help you lose weight, but after the initial enthusiasm, people get bored or have other problems sticking to them. Low-calorie plans get replaced by low-fat, then by low-carb, then by something else. Each of these plans probably does work if you stick with it, but it still falls out of favor.

Are Americans particularly susceptible to fads?
Yes, American society has a strong belief in progress and perfectibility, and that makes us vulnerable to any idea that promises both of those qualities. Cultures and institutions that are more controlled by tradition and ritual are less susceptible to fads.

But progress is a good thing, isn’t it?
Of course it is, but progress doesn’t always come in a single, sudden breakthrough that gets lots of attention from the media and the public.

For example, U.S. traffic fatalities have declined significantly in the last 40 years, but that’s due to a series of initiatives that nibbled away at the problem—not any single change.

It’s not that progress or even perfection is out of our grasp, but we need to find a middle ground between refusing to change and seizing on every novelty that comes along.

How can we avoid being taken in by fads?
Fads can fool us, but the best way to become fad-proof is to insist on persuasive evidence and be skeptical about astonishing claims. Also, avoid focusing on the fear of being left behind if everyone else is embracing a new idea.

What’s going on now that we’ll someday see as fads?
I can’t pinpoint any current enthusiasm as definitely being a fad. A lot of people thought that tattoos and body piercing would be fads because they seemed so outlandish, but it’s been a number of years now, and they’re still popular.

However, I will say that I’d be very surprised if, 10 years from now, we still are placing such a strong emphasis on standardized testing as the way to solve the problems in education.

Have there been fads in which you jumped on the bandwagon?
In the summer of 1958, my parents bought my brother and me Hula Hoops. By the end of that year, 25 million had been sold—one for every seven Americans—so that was an enormous fad.