Most people overestimate how many women have been elected to Congress and state legislatures, but this misinformation reduces with age. Multivariate analysis of our original survey data confirms that young people are prone to overestimating how many seats are held by women, and this pattern is especially sharp among male respondents. In addition, a memory of being represented by a woman in the past tends to inflate overestimates further. Erroneous thinking among the young may produce an “ignorance is bliss” effect by reducing the apparent need to elect more women to office and raising levels of trust in government. In contrast, more realistic beliefs among older people make the dominance of men in public office more apparent and actionable.

中文翻译：

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无知是幸福吗？年龄，错误信息和对妇女代表的支持

大多数人都高估了许多妇女已经当选为国会议员和各州立法机构，但这种误传随着年龄的增长而减小。对我们原始调查数据的多变量分析证实，年轻人很容易高估女性所拥有的席位，而这种趋势在男性受访者中尤为突出。此外，过去由女性代表的记忆会进一步夸大高估。年轻人的错误思维可能会减少明显的选举更多妇女担任公职的需要，并提高对政府的信任度，从而产生“无知就是幸福”的效果。相比之下，老年人中更现实的信念使男性在公职中的统治地位更加明显和可行。