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MENTAL MODEL · M0297

Pluralistic Ignorance

Pluralistic Ignorance
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A situation in which a majority of group members privately disagree with a norm, but mistakenly believe that they are the only ones who disagree and that everyone else supports it, leading to collective silence and the maintenance of a false consensus.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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In social psychology, pluralistic ignorance (also known as a collective illusion or collective delusion) is a phenomenon in which people mistakenly believe that others predominantly hold an opinion different from their own. In such cases, many people in a group may go along with a view they do not h…

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Pluralistic ignorance refers to a situation in which a majority of group members privately disagree with a norm, but mistakenly believe that everyone else agrees, so no one speaks up and the norm is maintained. The mechanism is that the mismatch between private attitudes and public behavior is mutually misread.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralistic_ignoranceZH · Explicit
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