The false consensus effect is a cognitive bias in which people overestimate the degree to which other people share their own beliefs, opinions, values and habits, projecting their own outlook onto the general population. It leads people to see their own choices and judgments as comparatively common and appropriate, while viewing alternative responses as unusual. The social psychologists Lee Ross, David Greene and Pamela House gave the effect its classic experimental demonstration in 1977, in a study in which participants estimated how many peers would agree to wear a sandwich-board sign.
Facts
Core ClaimPeople assume their own beliefs, preferences and behavior are more widely shared by others than they actually are. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: False Consensus Effect
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
the false consensus effect, also known as consensus bias, is a pervasive cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the extent to which other people share their beliefs and views
Major theoretical approaches section
The principal claim of Leon Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory was that individuals evaluate their thoughts and attitudes based on other people.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The false consensus effect is a cognitive bias in which people overestimate the degree to which other people share their own beliefs, opinions, values and habits, projecting their own outlook onto the general population.
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