Come to Your Senses, Don't Believe False Consensus

Question: Was there false consensus among college students?

Hypothesis: Ross, Green, and House believed that if the college students carried the sign, then they would think that the majority of people around them would also carry the sign because they believe that most people also think like them. This is same for the people who did not carry the sign.

Study Type: Testing

Ethical Issues and Problems: There were no ethical issues with this experiment, but there could be some problems. There could be a wide range of answers depending on who is asked, how intelligent the people are, the difference in age, and the difference in gender. It depends on how the people were sampled, and also if the people who were asked went with their gut feeling on the question or if they actually took the time to think about their answer.

Description of Study: Ross, Green, and House sampled college student on a campus. They asked students to wear a sign around campus saying ‘Eat at Joe’s’. They then asked the students if they thought that all the other students would also wear the sign. The students who agree to wear the sign believed that 62% of other students would also wear the sign (the majority). The people who disagreed to wear the sign, however, believed that 67% of people would not wear the sign (also the majority). Of course, the majority can not believe both, thus proving that false consensus was apparent at their campus.

Authors: Lauren Wickwire and Lauren Allen