SMU School of Social Sciences Associate Professor of Psychology Norman Li shared his views on the reasons for Pokémon Go’s sudden, meteoric rise. He noted that the game banked on an evolutionary trait – herd mentality, adding that people do not like to feel left out. “If everyone is doing something, it’s probably something fun, something desirable and if you don’t do it, then you’re going to be left out, you’ll miss out on something,” he said.