Do other people sway your decisions? You may be influenced by what others are up to. Find out more about this follow-the-leader phenom.(YOU YOU YOU)

You're no wannabe. But nevertheless, you've probably made some choices in life that were "inspired" by a friend or a celeb and not even been conscious of it. Maybe you chopped your hair because it was cute on your gal pal or paid big bucks for a Chloe Paddington bag like Jessica Simpson's. The reason we know this? We all do it. "People make so many decisions this way because we're wired to want to fit in with our peers and change with them," says neuroscientist Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, author of Satisfaction.

It's a phenomenon we like to call the domino effect, in which, one after the next, friends react to social influences and wind up making the same move. While it sounds odd, it's totally normal for cultures to work this way, and in fact, it often provides the push you need to make a positive change in your life.

The thing is, though, it can also steer you wrong. "Social pressure can be so powerful that if you're not careful, you may be swayed to make a huge decision that could derail your life," says Houston psychologist Bill Crawford, PhD. So how can you be sure that you're doing what's right for you and not just buying into the group mentality? Ask yourself these five key questions.

Do I like this change ... or just the person inspiring me to make it?

If your frumpy neighbor announces that she's getting engaged, you probably won't start pressuring your beau to propose. But if a handful of your good friends are sporting rocks--well, then you might feel the itch to get hitched. Why? Social trends are driven by a handful of exceptional people, set apart by how influential they are among their peers, says Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Tipping Point.

Your challenge is to separate the actual decision from the person making it. "To do that, remove your role model from the equation," says Patricia Farrell, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of How to Be Your Own Therapist. "Consider: 'If she weren't doing it, would I still want to?"

Maybe you idolize your altar-bound buddy, but in reality, you've always wanted to focus on career and travel, while all she wants to do is nest and have babies. "If your attraction to the choice seems to have more to do with wanting to identify yourself with this person rather than because it's inspiring some real desire in you, then you may just be instinctively jumping on the bandwagon," says Farrell.