Majority and Minority Perceptions of Consensus and Recommendations for Resolving Conflicts about Land Use Regulation
Residents of a small rural community were surveyed to examine the relationship between the false consensus bias and recommendations for resolving conflicts about two locally relevant environmental issues concerning regulation of land use in the community. Both the level of consensus that respondents perceived for their views and the extent to which they overestimated consensus were correlated with their recommendations for resolving conflicts about the issues. Respondents who overestimated consensus and/or who perceived higher levels of consensus for their views were more likely to endorse majority rule to resolve conflicts, were less likely to endorse compromise, and were more likely to say their own views should prevail. These findings suggest that false consensus bias could affect the determination and effectiveness with which majorities and minorities press their points in public discussion of local issues.