By daniel chen

The False Consensus Effect is when people think that most other people agree with their opinion. It's important to know about this because everyone can fall into this trap. Having numbers to show this can help people understand and avoid it.

The research believe that the False Consensus Effect is real. It makes people think that many others agree with them. So, the research think that when people are asked how many out of 100 would agree with them, most will choose a number higher than 50. The research asked 25 people in Taiwan (ages 15 to 27) and 31 people from other countries (ages 22 to 57).

The researcher made an online survey with questions. Some were simple, like “Should there be pineapple on pizza?” and others were big, like “Should murderers be executed?” Each question was followed by another question: “How many people out of 100 would agree with you?”

The research has collected answers from 25 people in Taiwan and 31 from other countries. The average number of people they thought would agree with them was:

Question 1: 66.2

Question 2: 60.56

Question 3: 60.76

Question 4: 55.6

Question 5: 57.68

Question 6: 57.4

The data shows that most people chose numbers higher than 50 when asked how many people out of 100 would agree with them(66.2 60.56 60.76 55.6 57.68 and 57.4). This means that most people do fall into the False Consensus Effect.

The survey shows that the False Consensus Effect is real and affects our thinking, like what we eat or our opinions on important issues. Even though we asked people from different countries, we still see this effect. To avoid this, we should learn more about how others think and why they have their beliefs.