Have you ever clapped your hands for something you didn’t really like?

If you’ve ever been in a crowd, you’ve probably caught the clap...

While we associate a round of applause with a good performance, a new study says that’s not really the case. It turns out that clapping - or even NOT clapping our hands - is actually a form of social contagion. Researchers observed audiences in several different situations and analyzed the applause dynamics. They determined that we react to the sound of other people clapping more than the performance itself. All it takes is one clapper to infect those within earshot. Once a few more people catch it the clapping often spreads like wildfire through the crowd.

The study found the cessation or lack of applause is just as contagious. Most of us don’t want to be the last one clapping in the room and follow the clapping cue of the crowd. Even those with the urge to applaud for a job well done will often sit on their hands rather than make a clapping fool of themselves.