False Consensus Effect

Description

We tend to overestimate how the degree to which our own behavior, attitudes, beliefs, and so on are shared by other people.

This may be because our friends and people we spend time with are indeed like us, and we use the Availability Heuristic to deduce that many other people are similar (our own beliefs, etc. are also very available). When there is limited information on which to base a good estimate, then what we believe is a fair alternative to a wild guess. We will use false consensus more when we attribute our own behavior to external factors as these are the same factors which presumed to affect others. False consensus also helps reinforce my own motivations.

False consensus is stronger when:

The behavior is seen to come from strong situational factors.

The matter at hand is seen as being important to the person.

When we are largely sure we are correct.

Example

Romantic relationships between people often start off with a glow as hormones and False Consensus overshadow real differences. However, the cloud-9 effect eventually wears off as the loving couple eventually discover that they are not, after all, that similar (and in fact often are amazingly incompatible!).

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False Consensus Effect

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Quick links

Disciplines

Techniques

Principles

Explanations

Theories

And