Understanding pluralistic ignorance in organizations: Application and theory

Journal of Managerial Psychology

Volumn 22, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 65-83

  Halbesleben, Jonathon R B ^a   Wheeler, Anthony R ^b   Buckley, Ronald M ^c  

^a University of Missouri   (United States)

^b BRADLEY UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA   (United States)

Author keywords

Beliefs; Decision making; Group thinking; Individual perception

Indexed keywords

EID: 33846071028     PISSN: 02683946     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/02683940710721947     Document Type: Article

References (75)

1. Allport, F.H. (1924), Social Psychology, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA.
2. Allport, F.H. (1933), Institutional Behavior, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.
3. Asch, S.E. (1956), "Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority", Psychological Monographs, Vol. 70, p. 70.
4. Ashforth, B.E. and Mael, F. (1989), "Social identity theory and the organization", Academy of Management Review, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 20-39.
5. Buckley, M.R., Harvey, M.G. and Beu, D.S. (2000), "The role of pluralistic ignorance in the perception of unethical behavior", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 353-64.
6. Carlson, D.S. and Perrewe, P.L. (1999), "The role of social support in the stressor-strain relationship: An examination of work-family conflict", Journal of Management, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 513-40.
7. Chatman, J.A., Polzer, J.T., Barsade, S.G. and Neale, M.A. (1998), "Being different yet feeling similar: The influence of demographic composition and organizational culture on work processes and outcomes", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 43, December, pp. 749-80.
8. Daniel, S.P. and Rogers, M.L. (1981), "Burn-out and the pastorate: a critical review with implications for pastors", Journal of Psychology and Theology, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 232-49.
9. Denison, D.R. (1996), "What is the difference between culture and climate? A native's point of view on a decade of paradigm wars", Academy of Management Review, Vol. 21, pp. 619-54.
10. Ellemers, N. and Rink, F. (2005), "Identity in work groups: The beneficial and detrimental consequences of multiple identities and group Normans for collaboration and group performance", Advances in Group Processes, Vol. 22, pp. 1-41.
11. Festinger, L. (1954), "A theory of social comparison processes", Human Relations, Vol. 12, pp. 117-40.
12. Festinger, L. (1957), A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
13. Goffman, E. (1959), The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Doubleday, Oxford.
14. Goffman, E. (1961), Asylums: Essays on Social Situations of Mental Patients and Other Inmates, Doubleday, Oxford.
15. Goodman, P.S. (1977), "Social comparison processes in organizations", in Staw, B.M. and Salancik, G.R. (Eds), New Directions in Organizational Behavior, St Clair Press, Chicago, IL, pp. 97-132.
16. Grekul, J. (1999), "Pluralistic ignorance in a prison community", Canadian Journal of Criminology, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 513-34.
17. Guzzo, R.A. and Shae, G.P. (1992), "Group performance and intergroup relations in organizations", in Dunnette, M.D. and Hough, L.M. (Eds), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed., Vol. 3, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA, pp. 269-313.
18. Halbesleben, J.R.B. (2000), "The role of pluralistic ignorance in public policy issues and political decision-making", unpublished Master's thesis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
19. Halbesleben, J.R.B. and Buckley, M.R. (2001), "Pluralistic ignorance: An overlooked variable in the performance appraisal process", paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Management Association, New Orleans, LA, 7-10 November.
20. Halbesleben, J.R.B. and Buckley, M.R. (2004), "Pluralistic ignorance: Historical development and organizational applications", Management Decision, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 126-38.
21. Halbesleben, J.R.B. and Buckley, M.R. (2006), "Social comparison and burnout: The role of relative burnout and received social support", Anxiety, Stress, and Coping: An International Journal, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 259-78.
22. Halbesleben, J.R.B., Buckley, M.R. and Sauer, N.D. (2004), "The role of pluralistic ignorance in perceptions of unethical behavior: An investigation of attorneys' and students' perceptions of ethical behavior", Ethics and Behavior, Vol. 14, pp. 17-30.
23. Halbesleben, J.R.B., Mayabb, G. and Buckley, M.R. (2003), "I'm not OK, you're OK: Pluralistic ignorance and the reporting of sexual harassment", paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Management Association, Clearwater Beach, FL, November.
24. Halbesleben, J.R.B., Wheeler, A.R. and Buckley, M.R. (2005), "Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we? Pluralistic ignorance and business ethics education", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 56 No. 4, pp. 385-98.
25. Harvey, J.B. (1974), "The Abilene paradox: The management of agreement", Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 3, pp. 63-80.
26. Harvey, J.B. (1988), The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA.
27. Harvey, M., Novicevic, M., Buckley, M.R. and Halbesleben, J.R.B. (2004), "The management of agreement in contemporary global management: A reprise of the Abilene paradox thirty years later", Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 33, pp. 215-26.
28. Harvey, M.G., Novicevic, M.M., Buckley, M.R. and Ferris, G.R. (2001), "A historical perspective on organizational ignorance", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 16 No. 6, pp. 449-68.
29. Hinkle, S. and Brown, R.J. (1990), "Intergroup comparisons and social identity: Some links and lacunae", in Abrams, D. and Hogg, M.A. (Eds), Social Identity Theory, Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, pp. 48-70.
30. Hogg, M.A. (2000), "Social identity and social comparison", in Suls, J. and Wheeler, L. (Eds), Handbook of Social Comparison, Kluwer, New York, NY, pp. 401-22.
31. Janis, I.L. (1961), Groupthink, Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, MA.
32. Katz, D. and Allport, F.H. (1931), Student Attitudes, Craftsmen Press, Syracuse, NY.
33. Kauffman, K. (1981), "Prison officers' attitudes and perceptions of attitudes: A case of pluralistic ignorance", Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 272-94.
34. Kerr, N.L. (2002), "When is a minority a minority? Active versus passive minority advocacy and social influence", European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 32, pp. 471-83.
35. Kihlstrom, J.F. and Klein, S.B. (1994), "The self as a knowledge structure", in Wyer, R.S. and Srull, T.K. (Eds), The Handbook of Social Cognition, Vol. 1, 2nd ed., Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 153-208.
36. Klofas, J. and Toch, H. (1982), "The guard subculture myth", Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 238-54.
37. Kulik, C.T. and Ambrose, M.L. (1992), "Personal and situational determinants of referent choice", Academy of Management Review, Vol. 17, pp. 212-37.
38. Latane, B. and Wolf, S. (1981), "The social impact of majorities and minorities", Psychological Review, Vol. 88 No. 5, pp. 438-53.
39. Maass, A. and Clark, R.D. (1984), "Hidden impact of minorities: fifteen years of minority influence research", Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 95 No. 3, pp. 428-50.
40. Maslach, C. (1982), Burnout: The Cost of Caring, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
41. Meyer, J.P., Becker, T.E. and Van Dick, R. (2006), "Social identities and commitments at work: Toward an integrative model", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 665-83.
42. Miller, D.T. and McFarland, C. (1991), "When social comparison goes awry: The case of pluralistic ignorance", in Suls, J. and Willis, T. (Eds), Social Comparison: Contemporary Theory and Research, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
43. Miller, D.T. and Prentice, D.A. (1994), "Collective errors and errors about the collective", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 541-50.
44. Moscovici, S. and Lage, E. (1978), "Studies in social influence: IV. Minority influence in a context of original judgments", European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 8, pp. 349-65.
45. Moscovici, S. and Nemeth, C. (1974), "Social influence II: Minority influence", in Nemeth, C. (Ed.), Social Psychology: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Rand-McNally, Oxford.
46. Moscovici, S. and Personnaz, B. (1991), "Studies in social influence: VI. Is Lenin orange or red? Imagery and social influence", European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 21, pp. 101-18.
47. Moscovici, S., Mucchi-Faina, A. and Maass, A. (1994), Minority Influence, Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL.
48. Nemeth, C. (1995), "Dissent as driving cognition, attitudes, and judgments", Social Cognition, Vol. 13, pp. 273-91.
49. Nemeth, C. and Rogers, J. (1996), "Dissent and the search for information", British Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 35, pp. 67-76.
50. Nemeth, C., Brown, K. and Rogers, J. (2001), "Devil's advocate versus authentic dissent: Stimulating quantity and quality", European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 707-20.
51. O'Gorman, H.J. (1988), "Pluralistic ignorance and reference groups: the case of ingroup ignorance", in O'Gorman, H.J. (Ed.), Surveying Social Life: Papers in Honor of Herbert H. Hyman, Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT.
52. Prentice, D.A. and Miller, D.T. (1993), "Pluralistic ignorance and alcohol use on campus: Some consequences of misperceiving the social norm", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 64 No. 2, pp. 243-56.
53. Prentice, D.A. and Miller, D.T. (1996), "Pluralistic ignorance and the perpetuation of social norms by unwitting actors", Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 28, pp. 161-209.
54. Riketta, M. and Van Dick, R. (2005), "Foci of attachment in organizations: A meta-analytic comparison of the strength and correlates of workgroup versus organizational identification and commitment", Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 67, pp. 490-510.
55. Roccas, S. and Brewer, M.B. (2006), "Social identity complexity", Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 88-106.
56. Sanders, G.S. and Mullen, B. (1983), "Accuracy in perceptions of consensus: Differential techniques of people with majority and minority positions", European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 13, pp. 57-70.
57. Schanck, R.L. (1932), "A study of a community and its groups and institutions conceived of as behaviors of individuals", Psychological Monographs, Vol. 43, pp. 1-133.
58. Schneider, B. (1975), "Organizational climates: An essay", Personnel Psychology, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 447-79.
59. Schneider, B. (1987), "The people make the place", Personnel Psychology, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 437-54.
60. Schneider, B., Goldstein, H.W. and Smith, D.B. (1995), "The ASA framework: An update", Personnel Psychology, Vol. 48, pp. 747-73.
61. Schroeder, C.M. and Prentice, D.A. (1998), "Exposing pluralistic ignorance to reduce alcohol use among college students", Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 28, December, pp. 2150-80.
62. Smith, K.G., Smith, K.A., Sims, H.P., O'Bannon, D.P. and Scully, J.A. (1994), "Top management team demography and process: The role of social integration and communication", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 39, pp. 412-38.
63. Tajfel, H. (1982), "Instrumentality, identity, and social comparison", in Tajfel, H. (Ed.), Social Identity and Intergroup Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 483-508.
64. Tajfel, H. and Turner, J.C. (1985), "The social identity theory of intergroup behavior", in Worchel, S. and Austin, W.G. (Eds), Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 2nd ed., Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL, pp. 7-24.
65. Toch, H. and Klofas, H. (1984), "Pluralistic ignorance revisited", in Stevenson, G.M. and Davis, J.H. (Eds), Progress in Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 2, Wiley, New York, NY.
66. Tsui, A.S. and O'Reilly, C.A. (1989), "Beyond simple demographic effects: The importance of relational demography in superior-subordinate dyads", Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 32, pp. 402-23.
67. Tsui, A.S., Egan, T.D. and O'Reilly, C.A. (1992), "Being different: relational demography and organizational attachment", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 37, pp. 549-79.
68. Turner, J.C. (1982), "Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group", in Tajfel, H. (Ed.), Social Identity and Intergroup Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 15-40.
69. Valins, S. and Nisbett, R.E. (1971), Attributional Processes in the Development and Treatment of Emotional Disorders, General Learning Press, Morristown, NJ.
70. Van Swol, L.M. and Seinfeld, E. (2006), "Differences between minority, majority, and unanimous group members in the communication of information", Human Communication Research, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 178-97.
71. Weick, K.E. (1995), Sensemaking in Organizations, Bantam, New York, NY.
72. Westphal, J.D. and Bednar, M.K. (2005), "Pluralistic ignorance in corporate boards and firms' strategic persistence in response to low firm performance", Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 50, pp. 262-98.
73. Wheeler, S. (1961), "Role conflict in correctional communities", in Cressey, D. (Ed.), The Prison: Studies in Institutional Organization and Change, Holt, New York, NY.
74. Williams, K.D. and O'Reilly, C.A. (1998), "Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research", in Cummings, L.L. and Staw, B.M. (Eds), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 20, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 77-140.
75. Worden, R.E. (1996), "The causes of police brutality: Theory and evidence on police use of force", in Gellar, W.A. and Toch, H. (Eds), Police Violence: Understanding and Controlling Police Abuse of Force, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp. 23-51.