Suppose that, one day, a fierce and crazy lion broke loose from the zoo.Instead of running around wildly, however, the lion calmed himself down rather quickly, walked through the crowds at the zoo, exited the facility, and made his way to a local park; here he stretched out to do some child-watching.People in the park were confused by the sudden presence of the lion.They thought to themselves: 'Isn't that a lion?' 'Um, is it really dangerous to have a lion right here?' However, none of them voiced their concerns, and as a result there was no communication about the lion; the park-goers ultimately assumed that there was a reason for the lion to be there ('Otherwise,' they thought, 'someone would have said something').And the lion ended up staying at the park for several hours.In this example, ____ was MOST at play.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pluralistic ignorance refers to the phenomenon where people do not voice their concerns or seek help because they assume that others around them do not see the situation as problematic or dangerous. In this case, the park-goers did not communicate about the lion because they assumed that if it was a problem, someone else would have said something. As a result, they all ended up assuming that the lion was supposed to be there and did not take any action to address the situation.

Suppose That, One Day, a Fierce and Crazy Lion Broke