A Self-Categorization Explanation of Pluralistic Ignorance (Top Three Paper).

This article presents a self-categorization explanation of pluralistic ignorance defined as the belief that one's attitudes are different from those of other ingroup members, even though public behavior is identical. The article provides a behavioral observation on the situation of alcohol drinking on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus among undergraduate students. The study infers that self-categorization theory (SCT) can be understood as a social-cognitive account of identity salience. As predicted by SCT, the more that the students thought of themselves as typical undergraduate students, the smaller the pluralistic ignorance effect.