title: The liberal illusion of uniqueness.
abstract: In two studies, we demonstrated that liberals underestimate their similarity to other liberals (i.e., display truly false uniqueness), whereas moderates and conservatives overestimate their similarity to other moderates and conservatives (i.e., display truly false consensus; Studies 1 and 2). We further demonstrated that a fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives in the motivation to feel unique explains this ideological distinction in the accuracy of estimating similarity (Study 2). Implications of the accuracy of consensus estimates for mobilizing liberal and conservative political movements are discussed.
authors.affiliation: New York University.
authors.forename: Chadly
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: Tessa V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Schmitt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D032921:Consensus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011057:Politics; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: motivation; need for uniqueness; political ideology; social perception; truly false uniqueness