Is there a word for...

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...something everyone believes everyone else thinks is true but no individual actually believes is true, so the entire group continues to go along with the perceived consensus for fear of ridicule?

For example, if Mr A presumes his friends B and C will like Band X, and likewise B presumes A and C will like them, and C presumes A and B will like them, so none of them criticise or admit to not liking Band X for fear of ridicule or insulting their friends or non-existent peer pressure? In extreme cases, D could criticise Band X, only for A, B and C to shoot him down because they think the consensus of the group is that Band X are great.

Erm, yeah, is there a word for that?

Hmm, I don't know. Like a consensus or a majority belief. Conspiracy? Social norm? Conformity? Conform?

'Blind Faith' springs to mind.

Sounds a bit like brainwashing to me - where everyone becomes convinced that something is just the best thing in the world, without them actually knowing why or even liking that thing in some cases.

Conformity and brainwashing.

That's essentially a "no" then.

Brainwashing to me implies that someone is manipulating the people, but this is just something everyone accepts.
It does involve conformity, but I was thinking more of the "truth" itself that everyone accepts.

I think it sounds like there's a misunderstanding within the group

I don't know a name for that, but it reminds me of a movie that used to be shown in some classes I attended for my job on dealing with people or communication. It was called "A Trip to Abilene" and was about this family who decided as a group to drive to Abilene after some discussion, even though none of them individually really wanted to go. It was this loopy conversation like,

"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know."
"I guess we could go to Abilene."
"Yeah, I guess we could."
"Should we go?"

It went round and round like that until they actually got in the car for the drive. But no one really wanted to go. The problem was that no one was really being honest or assertive about what they wanted, just trying to go along with everyone else. Sort of a herd mentality.

Edited to add: I looked up the title of the film and found this Wikipedia page on the Abilene Paradox. Maybe that's as good a name as any for it. Or, as the article mentions, a form of Groupthink.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene_paradox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

Yes there is a word for it but I can't tell you what it is because I don't know the word right now.

a few words/phrases come to my mind right now- chauvinism, prejudice, "the emperor is wearing no clothes," "don't bother me with the facts, i've already made my mind up," that's the best i can do sans a brain pill.

The term you're looking for is "group think".

The term you're looking for is "group think".

^ That

or "hive mind" even.

i like abilene paradox, it has the right ring to it

You've got it, Aunt Blabby! The Abiline paradox, where everyone in a group goes along with an idea nobody likes or agrees with because they're all individually afraid of speaking up and upsetting things. Don'

SpiritBlooms was the here