Pluralistic Ignorance in the 2016 Presidential Election
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/opinion/20161110/letter-pluralistic-ignorance-may-explain-trumps-election
Pluralistic Ignorance occurs when most people in a group have a certain belief, but, for some reason, they feel that the majority of the group disagrees with that belief. One example of Pluralistic Ignorance we discussed in class was when most people believe that other people like their government, even though most people actually do not like the government themselves. Pluralistic Ignorance can cause people to lie about their true beliefs. If a certain person in a country dislikes the government in that country but feels that most other people like it, that person may lie and say that he or she likes the government, as well. This lie would be very reasonable because it could help that person avoid ridicule or gain popularity from others in that community.
Something very similar to this may have been occurring in the lead up to this year’s presidential election. Many people may have felt that the popular belief was Donald Trump is a bad candidate for President. Trump’s recorded comments about women, minorities, and people with disabilities, among other things, seemingly strengthened this belief. Many people, when asked who they supported in the election, may have claimed to support Hillary Clinton or one of the other candidates, even though they actually supported Trump. Considering the passionate views from many people during this election cycle, these “secretive” Trump supporters may have concealed their true beliefs in order to avoid social, or even physical, harm. However, once these people were in the privacy and safety of the voting booth, they finally expressed their true feelings by casting their votes for Trump. The views of people in this “silent majority” were unable to be detected by pollsters, and this likely caused the polls to predict a Clinton victory. Ultimately, Pluralistic Ignorance may be the reason we were all so blindsided by the results of the election.