Political Perception Gap �Lesson Plan / Presentation

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For Instructors: Table of Contents

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Core lesson and surveys

Additions to lesson, sometimes fitting in a 50-minute class

Options for beyond a 50-minute class

For instructors: Political Perception Gap lesson plan background (1 of 2)

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• Overview: This lesson plan from non-profit organization More Like US with input from teachers is about the Perception Gap, the finding that Americans who vote for / identify with each political party are actually more similar to each other than perceived
• Target audiences:
• Most ideal for at least somewhat politically-aware high schoolers in government / civics classes (e.g., AP Government), though also useful for students with less existing political knowledge if background on immigration positions of political parties given
• This lesson can be used as a presentation for college students or even adults
• Portions useful or adaptable for other high school social studies classes (e.g., Human Geography, Psychology), or even more math-oriented Statistics, and likely modifiable for some younger students in middle school
• Time required: Designed for 1 block / 2 regular class periods, with options for extending it via longer discussions or additional activities, recognizing it may help to skip some material to fit it within a single class period
• Objectives:
• Communicate that Americans harbor overly negative perceptions of each other across the political spectrum
• Reduce student anxiety about engaging in civil discourse
• Limit an overblown sense of cross-partisan threat, which can even contribute to attractiveness of authoritarianism
• Show that political options usually involve more than binary choices
• Academic background: Many researchers argue that correcting misperceptions is highly important to reducing political divides, and it is also a highly effective approach

For instructors: Political Perception Gap lesson plan background (2 of 2)

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• Options for breadth of material covered:
• As shown in the Table of Contents, this lesson is divided into three categories:
• Core lesson and surveys: This includes an opening activity (slide 6), video and discussion questions (slides 7-8), Findings (slides 9-11), and Reach (slides 12-16); we encourage giving a pre-survey (slide 5) and post-survey (slide 26).
• Additions to lesson, usually fitting in a 50-minute class: Perception Gap Causes (slides 17-20), Consequences (slides 21-22), and Solutions (slides 23-24)
• Options for beyond a 50-minute class: Option A (Similarity Hub - slide 27); Option B (Solutions deep-dive - slides 28-29)
• This lesson is modular and modifiable, so feel free to skip slides, alter slides, move content around, etc.
• Survey details: This is optional but highly encouraged. Georgetown University’s Civic Education Research Lab is coordinating a pre- and post-survey to test lesson effectiveness. Please give the pre-survey before going through any content, and the post-survey after finishing all content (e.g., at the end of the second class if taught over multiple class periods).
• Materials needed: Two sticky notes per student (ideally red and blue), a number line on whiteboard or chalkboard, A/V equipment for slides and video, means of taking the survey, and means of getting content for the additional activities
• Backup material, including an option to focus on a non-immigration topic: A backup document is also on the website that provides an option to substitute the immigration-focused activity and video for another option on democratic values and principles
• National standards alignment: Includes AP Government (Unit 4); Educating for American Democracy (“We the People”); College, Career, and Civic Life (Dimensions 2 and 3); National Association for Media Literacy Education Core Principles (various)

For instructors: What the finished opening activity may look like on a whiteboard

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Opening questions

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https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Perception_Gap_Student_PreSurvey

Opening activity (with number line drawn on the board from 0 to 100)

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0 = Completely open borders to any immigrant

100 = Completely closed borders preventing all immigration

What number is an average Democrat and Republican on this number line?

Write Number for an Average Democrat on Blue Sticky Note

Write Number for an

Average Republican on Red Sticky Note

When everyone has finished writing numbers, �everyone will put their sticky notes on the number line

Video

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https://sshs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6VjWZrKyGaCI5IW?Condition=Misperception_Film

Discussion questions (discuss in groups for 10 minutes)

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

Key findings? Anything surprising?

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

The definition of the Perception Gap, and policy is not a binary

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Perception of Immigration Policy Views

Actual Immigration Policy Views

• Perception Gap: This is the finding that Americans are more similar to each other across the political spectrum than often believed
• Policy options are rarely binaries, but instead involve many options along the political spectrum (and often along multiple axes)

Source: Beyond Conflict, “America’s Divided Mind” (2020)

<– Completely Open Borders

Completely Closed Borders –>

<– Completely Open Borders

Completely Closed Borders –>

The underlying dehumanization data the video references

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Source: Beyond Conflict, “America’s Divided Mind” (2020)

Americans assume those in the other political party see them as less evolved, using the ape-to-human scale below

Americans actually see each other as quite evolved, using the ape-to-human scale below

On average, Republicans think Democrats see them as a

28 out of 100 on this scale

On average, Democrats think Republicans see them as a

48 out of 100 on this scale

On average, Democrats actually see Republicans as a

83 out of 100 on this scale

On average, Republicans actually see Democrats as an

80 out of 100 on this scale

Only about immigration?

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

There are various types of political misperceptions, some of which the video started exploring, and some additional misperceptions

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As in the video, compared with expectations…

• Americans have more similar beliefs on politics & democratic norms
• Americans are less threatening to each other and the country

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Going beyond the focus of the video, compared with expectations…

• Americans are better conversation partners
• Americans are less stereotypical, more worthy of respect, more demographically similar, and more likely to have similar interests

More similar political beliefs across a range of topics than expected, with Perception Gaps seen in each political party

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Source: More in Common, “The Perception Gap” (2019)

Select other topics where Democrats have distorted views of Republicans

Democrats think 52% of Republicans have this position

Actually, 85% of Republicans have this position

Independents think 65% of Republicans have this position

• Many Muslims are good Americans
• Racism still exists in America
• Sexism still exists in America
• The government should do more to stop guns from getting into the hands of bad people

Select topics where Republicans have distorted views of Democrats

• If police are bad people
• Support for open borders
• Protecting men against false sexual assault allegations
• Pride in America
• If America should be Socialist

Near-universal support for democratic norms, vastly more than expected

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Source: Starts With Us, from NORC data, “Do Republicans and Democrats Share Values? Perception vs. Reality” (2023). Also see website here.

Highly inaccurate views of willingness to break democratic norms

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Source: Alia Braley et. al, “Why Voters Who Value Democracy Participate in Democratic Backsliding” (2023)

Seven-item scale tested real and perceived support for the following:

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• Supporting reducing the number of voting stations in towns that support the other party

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• Banning rallies

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• Ignoring controversial court rulings

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• Freezing the social media accounts of journalists

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• Changing laws to make it easier for one’s own side to get elected

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• Using violence to block laws and reinterpreting the Constitution to block policies

Massive misperceptions about political violence

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For instance, Democrats on average think 58% of Republicans support cross-party assault, but only 3.3% of Republicans actually do

Source: Polarization Research Lab, “Commentary: Misinformation on Support for Political Violence” (2023)

Support assault on member of the other political party?**

Responses of Democrats

Responses of Republicans

** Full specific topic investigated: Respondents do not express support for at least one act of political violence less acute than assault (unlawful protest or vandalism), or would not support the actions of a person ultimately convicted of assault who was initially arrested for throwing rocks at peaceful protesters from the other political party, where no one was seriously injured but paramedics bandaged a man with a head wound.

Americans tend to think having a conversation with those in the other political party will be much worse than it often is

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Source: Collins et. al. “Underestimating Counterparts' Learning Goals Impairs Conflictual Conversations” (2022); More in Common, “Can Dignity Prevail in America’s Polarized Landscape?” (2024)

Whether it is fine to treat those in the other political party with hostility during political conversations

Interest in learning about a disagreeing conversation partner’s perspective, their point of view, and hearing evidence for their beliefs �(1 = low, 5 = high)

We know we want to learn about them

We think they do not want to learn as much about us

Republicans’ actual views, 12%

Democrats’ estimate, 47%

Democrats’ actual views, 12%

Republicans’ estimate, 44%

Many other Perception Gaps and distortions to explore: small shares of Americans are on the “wings,” morals, interests, and demographics

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Sources: Pew, “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology” (2021); Pew, “As Partisan Hostility Grows, Signs of Frustration With the Two-Party System” (2022); Cramer-Krasselt, “Red Pets vs. Blue Pets: Pet Ownership Across the Political Spectrum” (2020); Ahler and Sood, “The Parties in Our Heads: Misperceptions about Party Composition and Their Consequences” (2018)

“Faith and Flag Conservatives” (10%)

84% of Americans are in between the “wings,” the most extreme political categories �(data from 2021)

“Progressive Left” (6%)

Our views of each other have worsened, but we are mistaken; large majorities are not deficient (data from 2016 to 2022)

Immoral

Closed-minded

We share interests, and interest-based identities: liking dogs / dog lover (data from 2020)

Political parties differ demographically, but often

by less than we assume

(data from 2015)

Causes?

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

Key sectors have perverse incentives to make and promote polarizing content, worsening partisan stereotypes

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Note: All Icons from FreePik

Sector

News

Media

Social �Media

Electoral Systems

Special Interest Groups

Perverse Incentives

Maximize readers

and viewers

Maximize attention

and engagement

Appeal to primary voters �and generate media attention

Achieve specific goals,

even if negative broader consequences

Overblown

Partisan Stereotypes

Stereotype: �“a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person”

Numerical examples of how political distortions occur, and other Perception Gap causes

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Sources: 1. This study focused on the 2022 midterms among major news outlets. See The Hill, “‘Hyper-partisan’ politicians get four times the news coverage of bipartisan colleagues,” March 13, 2023. 2. This estimate is from Dr. Chris Bail at Duke University. This sliver of Americans who post about politics tend to have more extreme views than average, and then algorithms can amplify these views. See Philonomist, “Social media boost the most extreme parts of society: Interview with Chris Bail,” April 14, 2022. 3. “Competitive” is defined as within 10 percentage points in the general election. Thus, many politicians mostly try to satisfy their own voters and win their own party’s primary. See Politico, “Competitive congressional districts decline,” February 27, 2023. 4. Open Secrets, “Interest Groups,” accessed July 2024.

News

Media

Social �Media

Electoral Systems

Special Interest Groups

Most partisan members of Congress covered �~4-10 times more than the least partisan members ¹

Estimates that ~6-7% of Americans make ~75% of all political social media posts ²

In 2022, only 16% of House of Representatives races competitive ³

During the 2022 election cycle, interest groups gave over $3.4 billion to political parties and candidates ⁴

Those who follow the news more often, post political content on social media, and are more ideological all have larger Perception Gaps

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News

Media

Social �Media

Electoral Systems

Special Interest Groups

How often do you follow the news?

Hardly at all /

Don’t know

Only now and then

Some of the time

Most of the time

Source: More in Common, “The Perception Gap” (2019)

Have you shared political content on social media in the past year?

No

Yes

Devoted Conservatives

Taller bars means larger (worse) Perception Gaps

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While correlation does not equal causation, those who follow the news most often, post political content on social media, and are most ideological (who vote more often and are more likely to donate to advocacy groups political organizations) show larger Perception Gaps

Progressive Activists

Consequences?

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

There are problematic – and even dangerous – interpersonal and governmental consequences

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Note: Icons from FreePik

Interpersonal

• Overblown anxiety about having cross-partisan conversations

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• Relationships under stress, with 19% saying politics had hurt friendships or family relationships

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• Examples of discrimination (e.g., for college scholarships) based on political preferences

Governmental

• Gridlock, when perverse incentives encourage lack of cooperation

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• Limiting / preventing the other party from gaining or using power, when seen as threatening to something deeply important:
• Voting for candidates who fight more than legislate
• More anti-democratic decisions (e.g., voting laws helping a single party), and more political violence acceptance

Potential solutions?

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

Solutions include options to “reverse the perverse” incentives, build trust, and increase Perception Gap awareness

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Sector

News

Media

Social �Media

Electoral Systems

Special Interest Groups

Reverse the Perverse Incentives

Advertisers can spend more on high-quality news ¹; training journalists ²

Proposals to limit spread of polarizing information ³

Improved incentives for politicians and candidates (e.g., limiting gerrymandering)⁴

Limits on how political interest group donations ⁵; supporting groups that do not polarize the broader system ⁶

Show those across the political spectrum are better than expected, such as in media ⁷; encourage cross-partisan conversations ⁸

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Encourage major sectors to take steps to increase trust

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Add Trust

Subtract Actions that Reduce Trust

Dissuade others from demonizing across the political spectrum

Tell Others We’re More Similar Than We Think!

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Notes: 1. An example includes a partnership between Ad Fontes and The Trade Desk to provide advertisers with information on news quality. 2. Organizations like Trusting News have this goal. �3. Examples come from a researcher at The Psychology of Technology Research Network and USC’s Neely Center. 4. Many organizations focused on these issues are members of the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers. Other voting methods include ranked-choice voting and proportional representation. 5. Current campaign limits are shown here from the FEC. 6. Certain philanthropists have expressed concern that their donations to particular organizations that fight aggressively and ideologically for their cause can worsen political divides. 7. Bridge Entertainment Labs is an example of an organization focusing on reducing perceived political divides through media. 8. Many organizations that encourage conversations are part of the #ListenFirst Coalition.

Any other questions? (Discussion questions as a reminder, if helpful)

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1. Findings: What are a few key findings of this research? Do you find these immigration and dehumanization results surprising?
2. Reach: Do we think the Perception Gap is only about immigration and dehumanization, or also about other topics and findings? What other Perception Gaps may exist?
3. Causes: What are some causes of the Perception Gap?
4. Consequences: What are some consequences of the Perception Gap?
5. Solutions: What are some potential solutions to the Perception Gap?

Closing questions

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https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Perception_Gap_Student_PostSurvey

Additional activity: Option A (Similarity Hub)

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1. Introduce Similarity Hub, which aggregates survey data showing overlaps between Democrats and Republicans and among supermajorities of Americans
2. Divide the class into teams of ~4
3. Each team chooses (or is given) a topic, out of ~20 in Similarity Hub
4. Each team spends 15-20 minutes summarizing the data in that topic area
5. Each team presents their findings to the rest of the class (but not all data points must be used, and try not to overwhelm classmates with numbers!)

Additional activity: Option B (Solutions deep-dive)

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1. Divide the class into teams of ~4
2. Each team is put into one of the 7 groups in the next slide
3. Each team spends 15-20 minutes doing the following:
• A. Summarize the issue(s) being addressed
• B. Summarize the main points of the solutions proposed
• C. Comment on the likely effectiveness of the solutions and/or suggest variants of the solutions that may work better
4. Each team presents their findings and thinking to the rest of the class

Articles for Additional Activity: Option B

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Sector

News

Media

Social �Media

Electoral Systems

Special Interest Groups

Reverse the Perverse Incentives

Group 1: Read the article “Advertising in News is Essential to Supporting High-Quality Journalism”

Group 2: Read the article “A Concise Social Media Design Election Advocacy Guide for 2024”

Group 3: Read the article (and feel free to watch the video) “Gerrymandering and How to Fix It”

Group 4: Read the article “Van Jones: Why We Need Bipartisan Progress Now More Than Ever”

Group 5: Read the article “Matthew Levendusky’s ‘Our Common Bonds’”

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Group 6: Watch the video to summarize “Three Ways to Have More Effective Conversations”

Add Trust

Subtract Actions that Reduce Trust

Group 7: Read “The Dignity Index,” comparing the bottom four steps to the top four steps

Goals: A) Summarize the issue(s) being addressed, B) Summarize the main points of the solutions proposed, and �C) Comment on the likely effectiveness of the solutions and/or suggest variants of the solutions that may work better

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More Like US corrects dangerous political misperceptions of each other, at scale. Political misperceptions worsen fears, and fearful people can do fearful things, putting our relationships, communities, and system of government at risk. Research finds correcting political misperceptions is one of the most important steps to take, and More Like US does this at scale by targeting the information environment – using lessons in the classroom, TikTok, and student journalism. Our supposed political enemies are actually much...More Like US.

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Questions?

Contact More Like US Co-Founder & Executive Director James Coan

James@MoreLikeUS.org

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