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Here is some data on “the perception gap” of people’s estimation of their political opponents compared to the self-reported reality: https://perceptiongap.us/

Here is some data on “the perception gap” of people’s estimation of their political opponents compared to the self-reported reality: https://perceptiongap.us/ https://perceptiongap.us/

Teknoman117 4y ago
I found the chart titled "Increased Media Consumption and the Perception Gap" to be rather funny considering the title of this thread. The more news you self-report as consuming, the higher your perception gap likely is. A rather damning data point regarding our media institutions.
mindslight 4y ago
I had a hard time taking this quiz because it feels like many of the points would be widely agreed with in the abstract, but I've often heard them suffixed with a "but ..." for the opposite intent. (eg "It is important that men are protected from false accusations pertaining to sexual assault, but ..." or "Many Muslims are good Americans, but ..."). So sure, partisans do need to realize that the "other side" really does share their core values. But from what I've seen cognitive dissonance is the primary force we're dealing with - the holding of conflicting thoughts with turning off of empathy for the "other side" that is taken as being in the wrong. This groupthink dynamic even goes deep into what should be a relatively non-political topics. Many times I have ended up talking to Republicans about digital surveillance and big tech control, which they seem to be concerned about. But as soon as we get past their talking points, it's like they cannot process what I am saying. Simple and possibly actionable things like the fact that GPS satellites don't track your phone, but rather it's the software on your phone acting against your interests that does the majority of location surveillance [0]. The idea that these are systems we can understand and act on outside of the political sphere just doesn't compute. It's like the original concern was only thrown out to build consensus about how they're under attack by the outgroup. [0] carriers sell surveillance data as well (Funny enough I just finished the quiz and got -10%/-10%, so I actually gave the parties more credit than they deserved.)
- SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
  I agree. I got 28/27 but every question was too hard to boil down to a single sentence. I also had to really think, of the D or R people I know, what do they think coupled, with overall likelihood, and almost entirely ignore what the kids of Reddit say day in and day out. Which to the topic is directly a result of what the media says.
MichaelCollins 4y ago
Heh, +6% and +8%. The one I got most wrong was the "Donald Trump is a flawed person", I guessed 90% on that question, a -42% gap. Saying the man is literally flawless seems a tad blasphemous, I wonder how many republicans actually believe that. They must know he has a history of infidelity at the very least. Neat quiz in any case.

Here is some data on “the perception gap” of people’s estimation of their political opponents compared to the self-reported reality: https://perceptiongap.us/ https://perceptiongap.us/

Teknoman117 4y ago

I found the chart titled "Increased Media Consumption and the Perception Gap" to be rather funny considering the title of this thread. The more news you self-report as consuming, the higher your perception gap likely is. A rather damning data point regarding our media institutions.

mindslight 4y ago

I had a hard time taking this quiz because it feels like many of the points would be widely agreed with in the abstract, but I've often heard them suffixed with a "but ..." for the opposite intent. (eg "It is important that men are protected from false accusations pertaining to sexual assault, but ..." or "Many Muslims are good Americans, but ..."). So sure, partisans do need to realize that the "other side" really does share their core values. But from what I've seen cognitive dissonance is the primary force we're dealing with - the holding of conflicting thoughts with turning off of empathy for the "other side" that is taken as being in the wrong. This groupthink dynamic even goes deep into what should be a relatively non-political topics. Many times I have ended up talking to Republicans about digital surveillance and big tech control, which they seem to be concerned about. But as soon as we get past their talking points, it's like they cannot process what I am saying. Simple and possibly actionable things like the fact that GPS satellites don't track your phone, but rather it's the software on your phone acting against your interests that does the majority of location surveillance [0]. The idea that these are systems we can understand and act on outside of the political sphere just doesn't compute. It's like the original concern was only thrown out to build consensus about how they're under attack by the outgroup. [0] carriers sell surveillance data as well (Funny enough I just finished the quiz and got -10%/-10%, so I actually gave the parties more credit than they deserved.)

SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
I agree. I got 28/27 but every question was too hard to boil down to a single sentence. I also had to really think, of the D or R people I know, what do they think coupled, with overall likelihood, and almost entirely ignore what the kids of Reddit say day in and day out. Which to the topic is directly a result of what the media says.

MichaelCollins 4y ago

Heh, +6% and +8%. The one I got most wrong was the "Donald Trump is a flawed person", I guessed 90% on that question, a -42% gap. Saying the man is literally flawless seems a tad blasphemous, I wonder how many republicans actually believe that. They must know he has a history of infidelity at the very least. Neat quiz in any case.