Consider this scenario. During the early 2000s, the Midwestern United States experienced a drought, or lack of rainfall.

This ruined large amounts of the corn crop.
Tortillas, which are made from corn, became more expensive to make.
What would tortilla manufacturers have needed to do in order to make the same profit?

increase the price of tortillas
decrease the price of tortillas
decrease the supply of tortillas and keep the price the same
decrease the supply of tortillas and decrease the price

Not all members of the radio audience of orson welles' war of the worlds broadcast panicked immediately. indeed, some didn't panic until they looked out of the window and saw empty streets; others didn't panic until they saw streets full of traffic. it was after checking out the situation that these citizens decided that the martians had indeed invaded earth. this example illustrates that contagion can result when people look to others for the interpretation of ambiguous situations . can result when cultural norms reinforce people's most likely responses. occurs primarily because humans are by nature irrational creatures. is especially likely when people are motivated to make independent decisions.