Research Article Misperceptions in Intergroup Conflict Disagreeing About What We Disagree About

ABSTRACT—Two studies examined misperceptions of dis-agreement in partisan social conflicts, namely, in the de-bates 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 partisansassumed disagreement concerning personally important values, they were also inaccurate in perceiving their adversaries ’ ac-tual opinions. Discussion focuses on the cognitive mecha-nisms underlying misperceptions of disagreement and strategies for reducing intergroup conflict. Members of partisan social groups often view their adversarie