Have you ever had to comfort a friend during an
uncomfortable or embarrassing experience?
What is one of the most common things you tell you friend?
"Oh don't worry [friend's name], it
happens to everyone!"
As social beings, we take comfort in knowing
that even in our not-so-shining moments, everyone else has experienced the same
thing at one point or another.
Therefore, we really don't have worry because it happens to everyone
else!
Does taking a fall in the hallway in front of
your crush really happen to everyone else?
Maybe it does but maybe it doesn’t. However, telling ourselves that it
does is a very common thought amongst most people. The tendency to overestimate
the extent that other people share our behaviors, opinions, and beliefs is
called the false-consensus effect (Ross, Greene, & House,
1977).
Although it may seem silly that we should inflate
how many other people share our thoughts and beliefs, it's a form of defense
for our self-esteem. As previously
mentioned, we take comfort in knowing that the majority (whether it’s other
people in general or people our age or in our particular situation) feels the
same way we do. The more people agree
with our belief or opinion, the more we feel that the reason most people agree
is because it is the right belief or
opinion. The more people have
experienced what we are going through, the more we feel that it is not a
personal but rather global experience that everyone else has undergone and/or is going through.
Recently, I have fallen prey to the false-consensus effect. One statement that I have been tossing around
in my head lately is that the majority of other seniors at Southwestern are at
a loss with what they are going to do with their lives. I tell myself that I am not the only one who is now questioning
my graduate school interests and mostly everyone else is experiencing the same
dilemma in their academic career. Given
that not knowing what I want to do with my life puts me in a predicament of
uncertainty, I want to know that I am not alone in feeling this way. Therefore, I tell myself that everyone else
is feeling the same way (false-consensus effect) so that I don't feel
like something is personally wrong with me (self-defense).
n = 389
Ross, L., Greene, D., & House, P. (1977). The false
consensus effect: An egocentric bias in social perception and attribution
processes. Journal Of Experimental Social
Psychology, 13(3), 279-301.
doi:10.1016/0022-1031(77)90049-X
As a fellow graduating senior, I too, have fallen prey to the false-consensus effect. I like to tell myself that nobody else knows what they are going to do once they graduate either. This notion coupled with the many articles my parents send me telling me about the lack of jobs available to those in our post-graduate situation make the idea of graduation that much more petrifying. As such, I like to make myself fell better by stating that I am just one of many that fell this way. If all else fails, I am not above mooching off of my fellow graduates that are successful while becoming a barista at Starbucks (although I hope it doesn't come to that).
ReplyDeleteWhile this is problem definitely doesn't happen to everyone, in these trying times uncertainty does effect a LARGE number of us bachelor students. Most of the people I know who have graduated with a bachelor's degree are now working as waiters or are doing secretarial work. The folks I know who have gotten certifications in welding or other hands-on jobs are making BANK though. So if all else fails, quick certifications are a good plan to fall back on.
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