What if everyone follows a rule nobody likes?

Understand the idea

A social norm involves expectations about what others do and, in relevant cases, what they think one should do. Public compliance can coexist with private disagreement. Under pluralistic ignorance, people misread others' visible behavior as genuine endorsement and act on that mistaken expectation. [S46] Distinguish a norm from a habit, an explicit law, and a pattern driven mainly by material incentives.

Worked example

In an invented campus group, nearly everyone dislikes meetings beginning an hour late but assumes others enjoy the informal start. Compare private anonymous reports with public statements. Then ask whether people would change if they learned the true preferences, or if other incentives still maintain lateness.

Where the idea stops

Not every unpopular practice is sustained by mistaken beliefs. Power, coordination costs, sanctions, and conflicting interests can persist even when everyone understands others' views. [S46]

Connect it

Psychology and economics: public signals, conformity, and coordination.

Go deeper

Why might revealing private preferences fail to change a norm?

Sources