What's Not to Like? Preference Asymmetry in the False Consensus Effect
Andrew D. Gershoff, Ashesh Mukherjee, Anirban Mukhopadhyay
Journal of Consumer Research · 2008 · Volume 35 · Issue 1
Abstract
Prior research has shown that individuals are often susceptible to a false consensus effect, whereby they overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions. In three studies, we show that the strength of the false consensus effect is moderated by the valence of one's own opinion, such that overestimation of population consensus is greater when an individual likes an alternative as compared to when she or he dislikes it. Further, we show that this moderation of false consensus is driven by the availability of countervalence attributes, that is, disliked attributes in liked alternatives and liked attributes in disliked alternatives. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these results.
Keywords
Group/Interpersonal Influences, Inference Making, Judgment and Decision Making, Preferences, Social Cognition
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