The present research focused on sample size as one factor which may mediate the efficacy of sample-based consensus information. In one experiment, subjects confronted with two conflicting base rates relied on the one derived from the larger sample when making individual and population predictions. In a second experiment, subjects for whom consensus percentages were discrepant with expectations assumed that these base rates were derived from a smaller sample than did subjects for whom the percentages were congruent with expectations. These results were discussed in the context of the literature on consensus, prediction, and attribution.
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