--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To get a person's real opinion, ask what…" description: "\"To get a person's real opinion, ask what she thinks everyone else believes... If people truly hold a particular belief, they are more likely to think t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/tyler-cowen-4396_agree_to-get-a-person-s-real-opinion-ask-what_2582487.jpg" --- # To get a person's real opinion, ask what she thinks… ![“To get a person's real opinion, ask what she thinks everyone else believes... If people truly hold a particular belief, they are more likely to think that others agree or have had similar experiences. [People] tend to assume that other people have had life histories at least somewhat similar to…” quote by Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/tyler-cowen-4396_agree_to-get-a-person-s-real-opinion-ask-what_2582487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/tyler-cowen-4396_agree_to-get-a-person-s-real-opinion-ask-what_2582487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/tyler-cowen-4396_agree_to-get-a-person-s-real-opinion-ask-what_2582487.jpg) > “To get a person's real opinion, ask what she thinks everyone else believes... If people truly hold a particular belief, they are more likely to think that others agree or have had similar experiences. \[People\] tend to assume that other people have had life histories at least somewhat similar to their own. When we talk about other people, we are often talking about ourselves, whether we know it ourselves.” [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People project their own beliefs onto others, assuming shared experiences and opinions. **In simple terms:** We assume others think like us. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions. Themes psychology social perception bias communication Mood analytical critical Type social psychological When to use this quote - team meetings - political discourse - marketing research Key Concepts social cognition projection bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify others’ true opinions? - What strategies reduce projection bias? A Different Perspective Overgeneralization can lead to misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It is a vast, and pervasive, cognitive mistake to assume that people who agree with you (or disagree) do so on the same criteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/it-is-a-vast-and-pervasive-cognitive-mistake-to-assume-that-people/) [Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/) > [“The wide acceptance of a particular belief system doesn't create a truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-wide-acceptance-of-a-particular-belief-system-doesn-t-create-a/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Beware of confining yourself to a particular belief and denying all else, for much good would elude you - indeed, the knowledge of reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-arabi/beware-of-confining-yourself-to-a-particular-belief-and-denying-all/) [Ibn Arabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-arabi/) > [He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees-but-he-is-much-better-at/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/religion-consists-in-a-set-of-things-which-the-average-man-thinks-he/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“But who can divine the workings of a single human heart? Who really knows what a person thinks and believes when he or she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-gruley/but-who-can-divine-the-workings-of-a-single-human-heart-who-really/) Bryan Gruley > [It is always safe to assume that people are more subtle and less sensitive than they seem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-always-safe-to-assume-that-people-are-more-subtle-and-less/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I assume that people get in trouble when they do a bait and switch, when they say something to get the job and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-strauss-schulson/i-assume-that-people-get-in-trouble-when-they-do-a-bait-and-switch/) [Todd Strauss-Schulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-strauss-schulson/) > [Most leaders spend time trying to get others to think highly of them, when instead they should try to get their people to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/most-leaders-spend-time-trying-to-get-others-to-think-highly-of-them-2/) [Booker T. 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He believes in its promise, is very liberating and you see that when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/donald-trump-believes-in-america-he-believes-in-its-people-he/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [Most leaders spend time trying to get others to think highly of them, when instead they should try to get their people to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington-2/most-leaders-spend-time-trying-to-get-others-to-think-highly-of-them/) [Booker T Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington-2/) ## More by Tyler Cowen > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [When humans team up with computers to play chess, the humans who do best are not necessarily the strongest players. They're the ones who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/when-humans-team-up-with-computers-to-play-chess-the-humans-who-do/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“The great adventures of life, the surprise of strangers, of strangeness, of the electric and eclectic moments of happenstance, and also of extreme ambition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/the-great-adventures-of-life-the-surprise-of-strangers-of-strangeness/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“Mark Liszewski, executive director of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum (Hershey, Pennsylvania), remarked: “Instead of Ford versus Chevy, it’s Apple versus Android.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/mark-liszewski-executive-director-of-the-antique-automobile-club-of/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“Americans are in fact working much harder than before to postpone change, or to avoid it altogether, and that is true whether we’re talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/americans-are-in-fact-working-much-harder-than-before-to-postpone/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“three-quarters of today’s youth between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four are unfit to serve for one reason or another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/three-quarters-of-today-s-youth-between-the-ages-of-seventeen-and/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“Once you're using sides and sauces you're on the right track and you're also following the general principles about how to eat well in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/once-you-re-using-sides-and-sauces-you-re-on-the-right-track-and-you/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [A lot of local food is very tasty. 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