Mind the (Perception) Gap with Dan Vallone

• Republicans and Democrats both believe that the majority of the other political party holds extreme views. But extreme views are usually held by a much smaller percentage of people than we perceive. Remember that the loudest voices aren’t always representative of the mainstream.
  
• The “perception gap” refers to how accurately we can identify another group’s beliefs. When we better understand the thinking of other groups, our perception gap shrinks.
  
• People with large perception gaps are more likely to describe their opponents as hateful, ignorant and bigoted and seek out media that confirm these beliefs. This creates a vicious cycle of polarization as the Americans who are most engaged in political issues spend the most time reading, watching, and listening to media that portrays the other side as extreme. Consider changing your media diet if you find yourself thinking of the other political party as bigoted or hateful, as this may be a sign your perception gap is widening.
  
• We need to build a “listening society” in which people across the political spectrum really hear each other and treat one another with dignity. Right now, we might think we’re becoming more informed, but too often we’re hearing a scrambled message. How do we tune the dial so we can actually hear?
  
• Americans are beginning to recognize the extent to which we misunderstand each other. After the 2020 Presidential election, More in Common surveyed how Biden voters felt about Trump voters and vice versa.  Both sides named “confusion” as one of their most common emotional responses. Let’s use our confusion as impetus to talk to each other and discover what the other side really believes.

Join Dan Vallone in discussion with David Jay, Head of Mobilization at the Center for Humane Technology, for our conversation series Let’s Talk on Friday, April 23rd at 12 PM ET/ 9AM PT. RSVP here.

Perceptiongap.us

This website and report from More in Common investigates why and how Americans tend to have a distorted understanding of people on the other side of the political spectrum.

"Hidden Tribes: A Study of America's Polarized Landscape"

This 2018 report from More In Common identifies seven major American political “tribes” with different yet predictable beliefs and attitudes. Naming these tribes helps us better understand the forces behind political polarization in America today.

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

The Fog of War is a 2003 Academy Award-winning documentary directed by Errol Morris about how government officials make life-and-death decisions based on misperception of wartime characters.

"The simple but ingenious system Taiwan uses to crowdsource its laws"

Chris Horton’s MIT Technology Review article introduces Americans to vTaiwan, a website and crowdsourcing tool in Taiwan that has been used to build consensus across political coalitions and inspire popular legislation during periods of deadlock.