<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_consensus_effect" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Fake/false consensus effect</a>.</p>
<p>As the authors of the associated article in <a href="https://effectiviology.com/false-consensus/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">effectivology.com</a> put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The false-consensus effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to
overestimate how much others are like them, in terms of sharing things
such as their beliefs, values, characteristics, experiences, and
behaviors. Essentially, this means that the false consensus effect
leads people to assume that others are more similar to them than they
actually are.</p>
<p>For example, the false consensus effect can cause someone with extreme
political beliefs to incorrectly assume that the majority of the
population agrees with them and shares those beliefs, even though most
people don’t.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A form of <a href="https://www.explorepsychology.com/projection-bias/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">projection bias</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egocentric_bias" rel="nofollow noreferrer">egocentric bias</a>, false consensus effect is displayed and gives the appearance of a consensus of opinion and in the cases of social media that the OP mentions, an impression of consensus can be given deliberately for the purpose of creating such consensus in the listener's minds. This is most apparent where the listeners strongly identify with the speaker via <a href="https://www.explorepsychology.com/ingroup-bias/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">in-group bias</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-23T04:36:56.517Z
2022-02-23T04:42:37.580Z
2022-02-23T04:42:37.580Z
Jiminy Cricket.
<p>The term is for when a manipulator keeps saying &quot;we&quot; this, &quot;we&quot; that, when really they should be saying &quot;I&quot;. It's a form of manipulation I believe is called &quot;forced&quot; something.</p>
<p>Youtubers do it a lot.</p>
<p>The term is not &quot;royal we&quot; or &quot;majestic plural&quot;.</p>
<p>I cannot remember what this term was called.</p>
<p>EDIT: What I'm referring to is something like the use of plural first-person pronouns as a tactic for fostering parasocial relationships through &quot;verbal immediacy&quot;.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339933615_First_Person_Plural_Pronouns_For_Written_Argumentation_in_Media_Discourse" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Here is an article discussing the utility of this specific tactic itself</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/j.intmar.2019.03.003" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Here is a study measuring pronoun use (among other things) in Celebrity tweets</a>.</p>
<p>Sorry for the offhand style of the original question.</p>

<social-psychology><terminology><psychology>
Term for this Manipulation tactic -- saying "we" instead of "i"
Trevor
# Term for this Manipulation tactic -- saying "we" instead of "i"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-02-20)

The term is for when a manipulator keeps saying "we" this, "we" that, when really they should be saying "I". It's a form of manipulation I believe is called "forced" something.

Youtubers do it a lot.

The term is not "royal we" or "majestic plural".

I cannot remember what this term was called.

EDIT: What I'm referring to is something like the use of plural first-person pronouns as a tactic for fostering parasocial relationships through "verbal immediacy".

[Here is an article discussing the utility of this specific tactic itself](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339933615_First_Person_Plural_Pronouns_For_Written_Argumentation_in_Media_Discourse).

[Here is a study measuring pronoun use (among other things) in Celebrity tweets](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/j.intmar.2019.03.003).

Sorry for the offhand style of the original question.

**Tags:** social-psychology, terminology, psychology


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-02-23. Score: 2

[Fake/false consensus effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_consensus_effect).

As the authors of the associated article in [effectivology.com](https://effectiviology.com/false-consensus/) put it:

> The false-consensus effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to
> overestimate how much others are like them, in terms of sharing things
> such as their beliefs, values, characteristics, experiences, and
> behaviors. Essentially, this means that the false consensus effect
> leads people to assume that others are more similar to them than they
> actually are.
>
> For example, the false consensus effect can cause someone with extreme
> political beliefs to incorrectly assume that the majority of the
> population agrees with them and shares those beliefs, even though most
> people don’t.

A form of [projection bias](https://www.explorepsychology.com/projection-bias/) or [egocentric bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egocentric_bias), false consensus effect is displayed and gives the appearance of a consensus of opinion and in the cases of social media that the OP mentions, an impression of consensus can be given deliberately for the purpose of creating such consensus in the listener's minds. This is most apparent where the listeners strongly identify with the speaker via [in-group bias](https://www.explorepsychology.com/ingroup-bias/).


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