False-Consensus Effect - A Cognitive Bias in Today's Politics

False-Consensus Effect a silent killer of arguments

The False-Consensus Effect is a type of cognitive bias in which a person tends to overvalue the amount of people who share and approve his or her belief. People who manifest this type of bias assume that their opinions, beliefs, preferences, values, and habits are “correct” and that others also think the same way as they do. It is also considered as false-consensus effect when an individual has an unrealistic count of the people who share his or her beliefs. Such cognitive bias leads to a consensus that does not exist, a “false consensus”.

This type of bias relies heavily on the social environment and how a person perceive this environment. The desire for other people's acknowledgement in order to "fit in" is a major factor that influences the false-consensus effect. It may give an imaginary sense of belonging and produce self-esteem out of false belief. This type of cognitive bias has an interesting prevalence in politics related interactions.

The cause of False-Consensus Effect

Some people prefer to think that they share the same belief with those who are around them. Not only because it is convenient but also it can boost one's self-esteem. Developing familiarity about a companion's way of thinking may cause people to jump into biased assumptions about their companion's sentiments. Not to mention that it is much easier to remember the beliefs that people have in common. There are numerous causes of False-Consensus Effect. Factors such as Availability Heuristic, Self-Serving Bias, and Naive Realism are at least partial underlying influences.

Who are prone to False-Consensus Effect?

In general, it is more prevalent in group settings. People often band together as a group primarily because of commonality. Members may think that the collective opinion of their own group matches that of the larger population. Members often share a common consensus in their group. Therefore it is uncommon for them to encounter dispute. It may lead to a belief that everyone, even those who are outside of their group, share their sentiments.

Implications of False-Consensus Effect

Problems may rise from this type of cognitive bias that could significantly affect one's rational thinking. People who upholds a false-consensus tend to ignore evidences that will debunk their beliefs. They have a high tendency to block any dissenting information regardless of its truthfulness. The combination of false-consensus effect and confirmation bias can result to serious isolated thinking and narrow-mindedness. Furthermore, individuals may act inappropriately based on their incorrect beliefs produced by False-Consensus Effect.

Contemporary Political Activism

Current events certainly influence how people think and behave. With a lot of surprising turn of events in the world of politics, people are becoming more interested in it. Online social medias made it a lot easier not only to acquire and disseminate information but also to express reaction. The ease of expressing one's sentiments encourage involvement. Such online engagements will most likely entail various kinds of cognitive biases.

False-Consensus Effect in Political Interactions

Among various kinds of cognitive biases, False-Consensus Effect shines the most in politics related engagements. People will align themselves in a political ideology that meets their criteria best among all choices. Even politicians can fall prey to False-Consensus Effect and irrationally think that they are supported by the majority. The danger in being overly passionate about one's beliefs is that it may lead to fanaticism that will impede rationality. As a result, people may fall to cognitive biases such as False-Consensus Effect in order to defend their beliefs. It is common to witness people utilizing fallacy and bias for the sake of responding in an argument. If such behavior prevails, choices are going to be based on irrationality.  

Reference:

http://study.com/academy/lesson/false-consensus-effect-definition-example.html