ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
It's no secret that America is deeply divided along political lines. But a new report shows that maybe we aren't as divided as we think we are. The nonprofit Beyond Conflict teamed up with scientists at the University of Pennsylvania to study how our brains react to polarization. NPR's Hannah Allam has more.
HANNAH ALLAM, BYLINE: When Samantha Moore-Berg tries to explain her research on polarization to friends and family, it goes like this.
SAMANTHA MOORE-BERG: I usually mention that I study peace and conflict, so I take a multinational approach where I look at divisions and what divides people...
ALLAM: They might not get all the technical stuff, but Moore-Berg says they get the urgency.
MOORE-BERG: They think it's very noble (laughter). They say we need more people who study these type of things.
ALLAM: Moore-Berg is part of a team using brain and behavioral science to measure just how deep the country's divisions run. It's a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and Beyond Conflict, a Boston-based group that tracks polarization. They just released findings that show both Democrats and Republicans hold greatly exaggerated ideas about how much they're disliked by the other side.
MOORE-BERG: Yes, there is this difference in perspective, but it's not nearly as bad as we think it is.
ALLAM: The study found that Americans believe members of the other party dehumanize, dislike and disagree with their party about twice as much as they actually do. Respondents also had inflated ideas about how far apart they are on gun control, immigration and coronavirus responses. Moore-Berg says the misperceptions trigger reactions in the brain that only harden the idea of us vs. them. The danger, she says, is when the divide becomes more about identity than issues.
MOORE-BERG: There will be different perspectives, and these different perspectives are good. That's what makes for a healthy democracy.
ALLAM: Hannah Allam, NPR News.
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