Cognitive Biases and Their Impact - 18 (False Consensus Effect)

False Consensus Effect The term "False Consensus Effect" was first introduced by Lee Ross and his colleagues in a 1977 study. They conducted a series of experiments where participants were asked to read about situations in which a conflict occurred and then to estimate the popularity of their own responses among other people. Consistently, they found that participants overestimated the extent to which others shared their opinions and behaviours, a phenomenon they labelled the "false consensus effect." "The False Consensus Effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when individuals overestimate the extent to which their beliefs, opinions, preferences, values, and habits are normal and typical of those of others. Essentially, it is the tendency to assume that others share the same or similar views, behaviours, and attitudes as oneself. This bias leads people to believe that their own personal qualities, characteristics, beliefs, and actions are relatively widespread ...