Abu was attending a concert with friends when a fight broke out in the crowd near the stage. From Abu's perspective, all he could see was a small group of people scuffling while the rest of the crowd calmly watched. Because the majority of the crowd seemed to be calm, Abu decided that the people must be playing around instead of fighting. And consequently, he did not intervene or go for help. Abu's behavior is best described as an example of ____.

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Abu's behavior is an example of pluralistic ignorance, which occurs when individuals assume that the behavior of others reflects the true nature of a situation. In this case, Abu assumed that the calm behavior of the majority of the crowd meant that the scuffle was not a real fight but rather play fighting. As a result, he did not intervene or seek help.

Abu Was Attending a Concert with Friends When a Fight