More Gaslighting from the Psychologists
Or how to create a phantom majority
Posted on 14 Jul 25
by John RidgwayIn Uncategorized
Psychologists have a name for everything. For example, you know that feeling when only you seem to think the way you do, because everyone around you appears to think differently? So you pretend to fall in line. But then you find out that everyone else was doing the same thing. Despite appearances, it turns out you were in the majority all along – it just happened to be a very silent majority. Well, that phenomenon is referred to by psychologists as ‘pluralistic ignorance’. And since it is a real thing, I decided to play a bit of Climate Change Only Connect, to see what crops up if I search for a link between pluralistic ignorance and climate change.
This is what Google’s AI Overview told me:
Pluralistic ignorance, in the context of climate change, refers to the tendency for people to underestimate the prevalence of pro-climate attitudes and behaviors among their peers. Essentially, individuals may believe that fewer people share their concerns about climate change or support climate action than actually do. This misperception can lead to a reluctance to openly express climate concerns or engage in pro-climate behaviors, as people may fear social disapproval or judgment.
Which is, of course, very odd, because there seems to be no good reason why it could not have said instead:
Pluralistic ignorance, in the context of climate change, refers to the tendency for people to overestimate the prevalence of pro-climate attitudes and behaviors among their peers. Essentially, individuals may believe that more people hold concerns about climate change or support climate action than actually do. This misperception can lead to a reluctance to openly express climate scepticism or engage in sceptical behaviors, as people may fear social disapproval or judgment.
https://cliscep.com/2025/07/14/more-gaslighting-from-the-psychologists/
