Editing Pluralistic ignorance (section)

==Applications==

=== Racial segregation in the United States ===
Pluralistic ignorance was blamed for exacerbating support for [[racial segregation in the United States]]. It has also been named a reason for the illusory popular support that kept the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] in power, as many opposed the regime but assumed that others were supporters of it. Thus, most people were afraid to voice their opposition.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=O'Gorman|first1=Hubert J.|title=Pluralistic Ignorance and White Estimates of White Support for Racial Segregation|journal=Public Opinion Quarterly|date=1975|volume=39|issue=3|pages=313|doi=10.1086/268231}}</ref>

=== Alcohol consumption on college campuses ===
Another case of pluralistic ignorance concerns drinking on campus in countries where alcohol use is prevalent at colleges and universities. Students drink at weekend parties and sometimes at evening study breaks. Many drink to excess, some on a routine basis. The high visibility of heavy drinking on campus, combined with reluctance by students to show any public signs of concern or disapproval, gives rise to pluralistic ignorance: Students believe that their peers are much more comfortable with this behavior than they themselves feel.<ref name="Berkowitz chapter">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=TL |last2=Laker |first2=J |title=How College Men Feel about Being Men and 'Doing the Right Thing' |publisher=Routledge, Kegan & Paul Publishers |location=Masculinities in Higher Education: Theoretical and Practical Implications |pages=Ch. 10 |url=http://alanberkowitz.com/articles/college_men.pdf |access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref>

=== "The Emperor's New Clothes" fairy tale ===
[[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s fairy tale "[[The Emperor's New Clothes]]"<ref>{{cite book | last=Andersen | first=H.C. | title=Andersen's Fairy Tales | publisher=A.L. Burt Company | series=Collins' illustrated pocket classics | year=1882 | isbn=978-1-59377-472-1 |chapter=The Emperor's New Clothes |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvABAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA4 | page=4}}</ref> is a famous fictional case of pluralistic ignorance. In this story, two con artists come into the Emperor's kingdom and convince him that they make the finest clothes in all of the land that can only be seen by anyone who was not stupid. The con artists continued to steal gold, silk and other precious items for their "unique creation". Out of fear for being seen as stupid, all of the emperor's men and townspeople kept silent about the fact they could not see the emperor's clothes until finally a small child comes forth and says that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. Once the child is willing to admit that he cannot see any clothes on the emperor, the emperor and townspeople finally admit that the emperor has been tricked and that there was never an outfit being made.

=== Public concern for climate change ===
Pluralistic ignorance has also been blamed for large majorities of the public remaining silent on climate change—while 'solid majorities' of the American and UK public are concerned about climate change, most erroneously believe they are in the minority with their concern.<ref name="Climate of Silence">{{cite journal |last1=Geiger |first1=Nathaniel |last2=Swim |first2=Janet K |title=Climate of silence: Pluralistic ignorance as a barrier to climate change discussion |journal=Journal of Environmental Psychology |date=September 2016 |volume=47 |pages=79–90 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.05.002 |url=https://climateaccess.org/sites/default/files/Climate%20of%20silence-%20Pluralistic%20ignorance%20as%20a%20barrier%20tClimate%20of%20silence-%20Pluralistic%20ignorance%20as%20a%20barrier%20to%20climate%20change%20discussiono%20climate%20change%20discussion.pdf |access-date=4 September 2018|doi-access=free}}</ref> It has been suggested that [[pollution]]-intensive industries have contributed to the public's underestimation of public support for climate solutions.<ref name="Second-Order Opinions for Climate Politics">{{cite journal |last1=Mildenberger |first1=Matto |last2=Tingley |first2=Dustin |title=Beliefs about Climate Beliefs: The Importance of Second-Order Opinions for Climate Politics |journal=British Journal of Political Science |date=December 2017 |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=1279–1307 |doi=10.1017/S0007123417000321 |url=https://climateadvocacylab.org/system/files/mildenbergertingley_bjps.pdf |access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> For example, in the U.S., support for [[pollution pricing]] is high,<ref name="Politics and Global Warming, March 2018">{{cite web |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=A |last2=Maibach |first2=E |last3=Roser-Renouf |first3=C |last4=Cutler |first4=M |last5=Kotcher |first5=J |title=Politics and Global Warming, March 2018 |url=http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-March-2018.pdf |publisher=Yale University and George Mason University |access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="Yale Climate Opinion Maps">{{cite web |last1=Marlon |first1=Jennifer |last2=Howe |first2=Peter |last3=Mildenberger |first3=Matto |last4=Leiserowitz |first4=Anthony |last5=Wang |first5=Xinran |title=Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2018 |url=http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2018/?est=reducetax&type=value&geo=cd |website=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-date=1 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001120027/https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2018/?est=reducetax&type=value&geo=cd |url-status=dead }}</ref> yet public perception of public support is much lower.<ref name="Second-Order Opinions for Climate Politics" />

In August 2022, ''[[Nature Communications]]'' published a survey with 6,119 [[Sampling (statistics)|representatively sampled]] Americans that found that 66 to 80% of Americans supported major climate change mitigation policies (i.e. [[100% renewable energy]] by 2035, [[Green New Deal]], [[Carbon fee and dividend|carbon tax and dividend]], renewable energy production siting on [[public land]]) and expressed climate concern, but that 80 to 90% of Americans underestimated the prevalence of support for such policies and such concern by their fellow Americans (with the sample estimating that only 37 to 43% on average supported such policies). Americans in every state and every assessed demographic (e.g. [[Political ideologies in the United States|political ideology]], [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|racial group]], [[List of United States urban areas|urban]]/[[suburb]]an/[[Rural areas in the United States|rural]] residence, [[Educational attainment in the United States|educational attainment]]) underestimated support across all policies tested, and every state survey group and every demographic assessed underestimated support for the climate policies by at least 20 percentage points. The researchers attributed the misperception among the general public to pluralistic ignorance. Conservatives were found to underestimate support for the policies due to a [[false consensus effect]], [[Red states and blue states#Polarization|exposure to more conservative local norms]], and consumption of [[Media bias in the United States#Conservative|conservative news]], while liberals were suggested to underestimate support for the policies due to a [[false-uniqueness effect]].<ref name="NatureComms_20220823" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Clifford |first=Catherine |date=August 24, 2022 |title=Americans don't think other Americans care about climate change as much as they do |publisher=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/24/americans-underestimate-how-much-their-peers-care-about-climate-change.html |access-date=August 27, 2022}}</ref>

=== Tulip mania of 1634 ===
Another example of pluralistic ignorance is the [[tulip mania]] of 1634. It is a great example of how investors can be swept up in a financial frenzy due to collective illusion. The Dutch elite decided that having one's own unique collection of the spring flowering bulbs was an absolute necessity. So, despite the flower's lack of any intrinsic value, the prices began to rise.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Media |first1=Everest |title=Summary of Todd Rose's Collective Illusions |date=19 May 2022 |publisher=Everest Media LLC |isbn=979-8-8225-1713-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZt6EAAAQBAJ&q=collective+illusions |language=en}}</ref>

=== Women working outside the home in Saudi Arabia ===
According to a 2020 study, the vast majority of young married men in Saudi Arabia express private beliefs in support of women working outside the home but they substantially underestimate the degree to which other similar men support it. Once they become informed about the widespread nature of the support, they increasingly help their wives obtain jobs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bursztyn|first1=Leonardo|last2=González|first2=Alessandra L.|last3=Yanagizawa-Drott|first3=David|date=2020|title=Misperceived Social Norms: Women Working Outside the Home in Saudi Arabia|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/195317/1/aer.20180975.pdf|journal=American Economic Review|language=en|volume=110|issue=10|pages=2997–3029|doi=10.1257/aer.20180975|s2cid=224901902 |issn=0002-8282|url-access=|url-status=|archive-url=|archive-date=}}</ref>

=== Prioritizing college in America ===
According to a 2023 survey, most Americans do not prioritize college while believing most other Americans do. Similarly, the belief that society does not prioritize personally fulfilling work or that others desire a one-size-fits-all model of education is a collective illusion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Jillian |title=Americans are rethinking education priorities |url=https://readlion.com/2023/01/19/americans-are-rethinking-education-priorities/ |work=The Lion |date=19 January 2023}}</ref>