False Consensus Effect: A Focused Review of Research
Categorization and social projection are important ways that people can more successfully navigate their social environment. People need to know that there are others in their in-group that share the same attitudes and behaviors as they do. If people are unable to determine how many people in their environment share their attitudes and behaviors, it would be more difficult to engage in social situations without offending or contradicting others. For this reason, false consensus is an interesting offshoot of this important idea. The false consensus effect refers to the fact that people have a tendency to over-estimate the proportion of the population that shares an attitude or behavior with him or her.
Much of the research on false consensus has demonstrated that people tend to over project how many members of their in-group are likely to share their attitudes and behaviors. This effect diminishes when comparing to an out-group. It is thought that this occurs because people feel that people who they do not consider to share a group identity with will likely have different basic attitudes and behaviors than they.
An important aspect of the literature is that the vast majority used college students as the primary subjects. While this is extremely convenient for researchers, it may not give us a clear picture about false consensus, in that it is possible that college students' limited "real-world experience" may be influencing their projections. Also, almost all of the behavior measures were taken by self-report. This is somewhat necessary, as many of the behaviors would be difficult to measure directly (e.g., drug use) without a breach of ethics. This too is a source of potential source of error, it is likely that the self-reports would under-estimate the proportion of the population that engages in a particular behavior.
The astute reader may notice that this review does not include any papers that did not find a false consensus effect. The reason for this is not that this paper is not representative of the literature, but rather, that it is. The uniformity of the literature suggests that the phenomenon is fairly common. Some interesting arguments as to why this is are motivational or cognitive in nature. The motivational premise is based in the idea that people are motivated to believe that they have a place in their social environment. This argument is a based in self-justification, in that if many people share a given belief or behavior, it makes it easier to justify that this attitude or behavior is either right, or not as bad as it might seem.
“Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids!” is what you might have heard repeated over continuously from commercials a few years ago for Trix products. In the commercials there would always be kids happily eating Trix’s yogurt or cereal. Then a white rabbit would appear with a fun and goofy voice and would always try to snatch the food away from them without success. But this fun line can be seen in another way, as in, Trix’s advertisements really do tick kids. As do many other fast food and processed food companies across the United States. Numerous people can say they have seen this flowing scene about to be described before. A parent and child are walking down the grocery store aisles and the child
President Andrew Jackson was a very controversial man. At times, he fights for the common man with a clear head and a sharp mouth, but at others, his rage blinds him from what is truly happening around him. Nevertheless, he fought valiantly for keeping the Union together and for the ordinary citizen's rights as an American. The "black mark" of his presidency was the forced relocation of Native American peoples, from lands which they had live for many generations. Andrew Jackson was a living oxymoron. As James Patron wrote in Jackson's biography, Jackson was "the most law-defying, law-obeying citizen. A stickler for discipline, he never hesitated to disobey his superior."
Andrew Jackson has been described as a great hero of his time and a man who was atrocious and would destroy the Union. Andrew Jackson accomplished a great number of things during his life but some of his actions were quite questionable. Looking from the present to the past gives insight into areas where the events can be examined more objectively. However, it is vital when examining past events to keep in mind the mindsets of the past. People had a different point of view and a different perspective than the current one. This must be kept in the forward part of the mind to understand the actions of those in the past. This paper will serve as a guide into the life of Andrew Jackson, his trials and tribulations, decisions and contradictions. From the beginning of his life, he was headstrong and that would lead him straight into the history books.
An extraordinarily ordinary man, a “democratic autocrat, an urbane savage, an atrocious saint” Andrew Jackson provided the means for Americans to better understand themselves (Parton PBS). Over time the perception of Jackson and his demeanor has been changed. As one historian stated, “at one time, [when they looked at Jackson] they saw the frontiersmen, the poor boy made good, the classic self-made man” (Feller PBS). In modern times, Jackson has become a more unsavoury figure; namely due to his reputation for displacing Native American tribes and repurposing their land for American settlements and communities. Still, the debate over who Andrew Jackson was, or perhaps is, can be described as a contemporary one. Nonetheless, his actions, and vociferous reactions, make Jackson a very divisive figure in American politics. Cogently stated by historian “He is an inescapable American, but of what kind?” (Feller PBS).
Inside him, his everyman upbringing and experiences still greatly influenced him and his beliefs. To see that he was a true “Man of the People,” one must look no further than his actions once he surpassed his boundaries and became a wealthy plantation-owner. Even when Jackson became a poster-boy for the old-money elites of Early America, Jackson still never forgot his origins or his upbringing. From his first day in politics to the last, Jackson dedicated himself to enhance and improve the life and existence of the common man. Even when his decisions would affect his support, funding, or social standing, Jackson always kept the people’s interests at
While there are many perspectives on whether Jackson was a good or bad president, it is evident that he was one of the most evil presidents of all. Because he was responsible for the event known as Trail of Tears, the war on Biddle’s bank, and the widespread quarrel of the Tariff of Abominations, Jackson was one of the pronounced to be the most immoral, dishonorable
A number of the decisions and actions undertaken not only during the course of Jackson’s presidency, but also as a pre-political individual alone, depict a man certainly capable of a villainous description. While one could attempt to describe Andrew Jackson as a hero, one would be required to ignore repeatedly documented events and personal accounts to the contrary. However, a successful counterargument resides in the fact that, in trivial terms, history is not black-and-white. Oftentimes, history is perceived through two viewpoints. The first observes history where morals and beliefs are not entered into the equation. To use American history as a template, many historical figures, such as Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln, are represented as unblemished and faultless; the focus is primarily placed on intelligent, influential quotes and political achievements. The second viewpoint represents the same individuals as flawed and human, straying far from the untarnished and blameless leaders of the first example; through the second point-of-view, personal dealings and character reside at the core. Neither of these methods of studying history is necessarily false, as neither promotes false information. However, within itself, history is unbiased, and the legacy of America’s seventh president lies in between these two often-employed viewpoints. As
So far, conformity has been discussed in terms of group identification and social roles. However, individuals also tend to change prior beliefs to seek group acceptance. Asch (1951) investigated the effect of group pressure on conformity by asking participants to make a line judgment with seven confederates that gave the same obviously incorrect answer. Yet, 37% of participants conformed by giving the incorrect majority answer, whereas in the absence of group pressure, less than 1% of participants conformed (Asch, 1951). There are implications on normative influence as individuals, despite knowing the majority opinion was incorrect, may conform to avoid social punishment (Breckler et al., 2005). However, Turner and colleagues (1987) argued
Andrew Jackson is one of the most controversial presidents. Many regard him as a war hero, the father of the Democratic Party, an inspiring leader, and a spokesman for the common man. While there is plenty to praise about the seventh president, his legacy is tarnished by his racism, disregard for the law of the land, cruelty towards the Native Americans, and ruthless temper. Jackson was an intriguing man who was multi-faceted. One must not look at a singular dimension, and cast judgment on him as a whole. To accurately evaluate one of the most complex presidents, it is crucial to observe Jackson from all possible angles. Prior lifestyle, hardships in life, political ideology, lifestyle of the time, political developments, and his character
The Mosaic Covenant from exodus is a promise made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. To begin with, the pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between God and his people. In the textbook, it explains how the Hebrews have struggled with the pharaoh around 1250 B.C.E. Moses, who was a prince that grew up in the household of the pharaoh, ran away. After returning he led the Hebrew slaves at the bottom of Mount Sinai. God spoke to the Hebrews who he freed them and explained the Ten Commandments. In addition, a quote form the readings “ I am the lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Judaism, pg. 397) This quote is the first commandment stating that he,
Born poor, poorly educated, self-risen, first westerner, the first to be elected in a grand popular poll and all in all the first living proof that in America, any one with enough initiative and will can grow up to be president. The image of Andrew Jackson is very much of a rollercoaster, to admirers he stands as a shining symbol of American accomplishment, the ultimate individualist and democrat and to detractors he appears an incipient tyrant, the closest we have yet come to an American Caesar. Overall attributed a lot of influences toward the United States through the Nullification Crisis, Bank of the United States, and the Cherokee Indian.
The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
The theoretical and practical implications of inconsistent and consistent information in the Psychology of Stereotypical Behavior differentiates in two ways. With consistent information, a group is known for certain behaviors (negative or positive), and the subject who is analyzing the behavior may lose interest since the known behavior is consistent with the stereotype. However, when a group shows inconsistencies of the perceived stereotypical behaviors, then the analyzer will question the inconsistencies, and give specific attention to the group.
It is a place where they can feel protected and upheld. Sometimes the bad school performance makes the children feel that they do not belong to that world. It makes her feel that it is not able to keep up with the other colleagues. We all know how children without even knowing it can be cruel with schoolmates. Thus, a bad school performance already is reason for starting bullying against those who do not have good grades. The other children give them pejorative nicknames and isolate them from the rest of the students. This makes the school is torture for this type of student. They end up not putting up the pressure and drop out of school. Another critical point to highlight is the transition to the elementary school to middle school when the school changes the system of having only one teacher to have several teachers and rotations classrooms and colleagues. Sometimes the children do not adapt to this change and drop out of school. The type of school that the child and adolescent attending and the type of teacher they also have are crucial factors for student follows or not in school. As previously mentioned the school environment should be welcoming to the student. If the school is extremely rigid and not provide freedom for the student can feel the will to expose your ideas or even discuss (with discipline and respect) someone’s ideas in class, this school will not be a place where the student liked to spend half his day. Another important point is to have well prepared teacher. The school must have trained and motivated teachers to work. They need to be people that encourage students to develop critical thinking and to make even the most boring of subjects an attractive theme to develop in the classroom. In addition, teachers need to have the sensitivity to realize when a student is going through a period of difficulties and help you overcome
Cognitive psychology on the categorization process highlights the explanation for why stereotyping occurs. According to Michigan State University, "People like to, want to, need to categorize the world, both the social and physical world, into preferably neat little groups." [slide 3] This means that people stereotype not because they a rude, but because it is a natural need. By applying all of the group information to all of its members, categorization eventually saves processing time. Stereotyping also satisfies the need to understand and predict the social world. A stereotype contains a general glance at what someone is going to do. By applying a stereotype to a person, a guess can be made on what that person is like. This can lead to either the befriending or dismissing of an individual. As a society that has a constant need to belong, stereotyping can make one feel better about himself. Grouping oneself into a stereotype can make one feel like a part of a whole, a necessary example of a group. Ingroup favorability bias is brought on by this concept. No matter how good or bad someone 's ideas are, there will always be someone who shares them. This extends to always thinking that the idea you hold true is better than someone else 's, which is the definition of ingroup favorability