AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In psychology, the false consensus effect, also known as consensus bias, is a pervasive cognitive bias that causes people to “see their own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances”.

Detailed explanation-2: -Examples of the false consensus bias People believe that the political candidate they support has more support among other people than they really do. In relationships, people assume that the other person wants the same things as they do. Racist people believe more people are racist than will admit to it.

Detailed explanation-3: -Ross et al. (1977) coined the term the false consensus effect (FCE) to describe the tendency to “see one’s own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances while viewing alternative responses as uncommon, deviant, or inappropriate” (p. 280).

Detailed explanation-4: -n. general agreement among the members of a group, especially when making an appraisal or decision. In tests of person perception, a consensus that a target person has a certain trait can act as a standard against which to compare the self-related biases of those who disagree with the group view.

Detailed explanation-5: -Students who agreed to the unusual request believed that a clear majority of other students would also agree to do so. But students who refused to carry the sign around campus believed that a clear majority of other students would also refuse. This tendency is known as the false consensus effect.