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social dynamics
You assume your opinions are more common than they are.
People consistently overestimate the extent to which others share their own beliefs.
Ross et al. found that individuals who agreed to wear a sign around campus predicted that most others would also agree, while those who refused predicted the majority would refuse. We use our own mental states as the default model for everyone else.
Disagreement often stems from the incorrect belief that others think exactly like you.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Ross, Greene, and House (1977)
- What the check found
- The cited study by Ross, Greene, and House (1977) is the foundational paper identifying the 'false consensus effect'. The provided reference material was irrelevant to this specific claim.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.