Applying Pluralistic Ignorance to Student Engagement: One Item Set, Two Studies
Angie Miller
February 23, 2024
Pluralistic ignorance generally refers to “erroneous cognitive beliefs shared by two or more individuals about the ideas, feelings, and actions of others” (O’Gorman, 1986, p. 333). This is a classic construct in social psychology, generally known as a means of exploring negative or risky behaviors of college student populations like drug and alcohol use (Suls & Green, 2003) or sexual behaviors (Kuperberg & Padgett, 2017). But how might it relate to a more modern and positive college student experience?
