False consensus is the inaccurate perception that our own beliefs are similar to those of others, when in fact they are not similar (Ross et al. 1977), and the tendency to see our behavioral choices and judgments as common and situationally appropriate, while viewing alternative responses as uncommon, deviant, and/or inappropriate (Mullen et al. 1985;
A person expresses false uniqueness, an inaccurate social comparison, when that individual perceives that differences between his or her own attitudes, abilities, and behaviors and those of others are larger than they really are (Suls & Wan 1987). This difference is thought especially prevalent when one’s own behavior is desirable and the individual estimates the
A false confession is a narrative admission to a crime that is made, orally or in writing, by an innocent person. Research shows that innocent people may confess in different ways and for different reasons—resulting in three types of false confessions: voluntary, compliant, and internalized. From an empirical perspective, this entry addresses the evolution of
We do not necessarily remember our experiences the way they really happened—and what is more, remembering an experience does not necessarily mean it actually happened at all. In little more than a decade, scientists have discovered that people can have detailed, emotion-filled, and utterly false memories. False memories are memories that are partly or wholly
False memory refers to the phenomenon of “remembering” something that never actually occurred. False memories can be small, such as mistaken details of an event, or they can consist of whole events that never actually happened. People experiencing a false memory generally believe the memory to be true, and often experience sensory detail and emotions
False Consciousness Definition False consciousness is defined as the holding of false or inaccurate beliefs that are contrary to one’s objective social interests and that contribute to the maintenance of oppression or unjust inequality in society. According to this usage, the disadvantaged (e.g., poor people, the working class, women, and oppressed minorities) possess false consciousness
False Consensus Effect Definition The false consensus effect occurs when we overestimate the number of other people (or extent to which other people) share our opinions, beliefs, and behaviors. Thus, sometimes individuals tend to believe that others are more similar to them than is actually the case. For example, if I enjoy eating chocolate ice
False Uniqueness Bias Definition False uniqueness bias refers to the tendency for people to underestimate the proportion of peers who share their desirable attributes and behaviors and to overestimate the proportion who share their undesirable attributes. Typically, this bias has been assessed by collecting estimates that people make about the proportion of peers who have
We do not necessarily remember our experiences the way they really happened—and what is more, remembering an experience does not necessarily mean it actually happened at all. In little more than a decade, scientists have discovered that people can have detailed, emotion-filled, and utterly false memories. False memories are memories that are partly or wholly
A false confession is a narrative admission to a crime that is made, orally or in writing, by an innocent person. Research shows that innocent people may confess in different ways and for different reasons—resulting in three types of false confessions: voluntary, compliant, and internalized. From an empirical perspective, this entry addresses the evolution of