The Fact
Yes. Social psychologists call this pluralistic ignorance: members of a group systematically misjudge the private attitudes or beliefs of the other members. A group can publicly behave as though a norm is widely supported while many individuals privately reject it and mistakenly believe others accept it.
What This Means
Visible conformity is not necessarily evidence of private agreement.
Sources
- Prentice, D. A., & Miller, D. T. (1996). “Pluralistic Ignorance and the Perpetuation of Social Norms by Unwitting Actors.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 28:161–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60238-5
- Frontiers in Social Psychology (2023), “A century of pluralistic ignorance.” https://doi.org/10.3389/frsps.2023.1260896