8 January

The most important fact about human behaviour is that humans imitate one another. Social conformity is the basis of all society. It starts from birth, continues through school, and into adult life. This is an obvious and confronting example. But the more subtle examples are even more interesting. For example, when picking your kids up from school, watch how often the parents who formed tight little cliques at school themselves, are still in those cliques as adults. And how their own kids repeat the same behaviour.