Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2006

Publication Source

Psychological Science

Volume Number

17

Issue Number

1

First Page

38

Last Page

45

Publisher

SAGE

ISSN

0956-7976

Comments

Chambers, J. R., Baron, R. S., & Inman, M. L. (2006). Misperceptions in Intergroup Conflict: Disagreeing About What We Disagree About. Psychological Science, 17(1), 38–45. Copyright © 2006 (Association for Psychological Science). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01662.x

Abstract

Two studies examined misperceptions of disagreement in partisan social conflicts, namely, in the debates over abortion (Study 1) and politics (Study 2). We observed that partisans tend to exaggerate differences of opinion with their adversaries. Further, we found that perceptions of disagreement were more pronounced for values that were central to the perceiver's own ideology than for values that were central to the ideology of the perceiver's adversaries. To the extent that partisans assumed disagreement concerning personally important values, they were also inaccurate in perceiving their adversaries' actual opinions. Discussion focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying misperceptions of disagreement and strategies for reducing inter- group conflict.

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