Preconceived Perceptions of Others’ Beliefs in the Israel-Palestine conflict
Introduction On Saturday October 7th 2023, Hamas[^1]–a political and militant organization that governs the Gaza Strip, 1 of the 2 Palestinian territories–launched an attack on Israel. The attack included bomb strikes and entry across the Israeli border. In response to this, Israel has declared war on Hamas and promised counterattacks in Gaza[^2]. This attack is the most recent in a long series of conflicts between these two parties, who have been engaged in fighting for decades. Considering the wealth of diversity we have at this school–both in opinion and in individuals–this conflict is a heavily debated one on our campus. However, this issue tends to have a more emotional association with individuals than do other political subjects. There are multiple reasons for this. Firstly, many students have family members and friends who live in the affected areas and have lost their homes, lives, and livelihoods as a result of the conflict. Secondly, because of the religious significance and history of the region, each discussion on the subject can carry implications of religious and racial based discrimination. These circumstances can cause individuals to form preconceptions of those who disagree with them. When it comes to maintaining meaningful debate, these preconceptions can inhibit students from listening to others, challenging their own beliefs, and developing meaningful solutions. Recently, the organization More in Common[^3] conducted a research survey in which they studied a similar phenomenon in America: political polarity. They studied the preconceptions democrats and republicans had of one another by first asking them to answer questions about their beliefs, and then have them predict the political beliefs of the opposing party. Below are the results of these studies:
As shown in the figures, both Republicans and Democrats overestimated the extremity in the views maintained by the opposing party. Additionally, it was noticed that both Republicans and Democrats more often attribute negative qualities to the character of people in the opposing party. Both of these present challenges to our democracy, and both are correlated. That is, if individuals believe their opposition to be more extreme than they are, they will consider them to be less reasonable, honest, and caring. Additionally, if they consider their opposition to be unreasonable and brainwashed, they are more likely to think their beliefs are more extreme. This creates a difficult–and dangerous–cycle to escape.
Research Focus Taking from the techniques of More in Common, we wish to study if there is any difference between the preconceptions individuals form about politically opposed individuals and the reality of their views. We hope to unearth a disparity that shows that people on either side of the Israel-Palestine conflict overestimate the extremity of the opposing side’s views. In doing so, we hope to expose the misconceptions that create division on this topic, and create a community that is more able to engage in meaningful conversation. To quote The Perception Gap study again:
A healthy democracy will always have some disagreement and conflict; it’s a necessary component of progress. But democracy also requires a sense of shared values and commitments, and a willingness to find common ground. This study suggests that there is more such territory than many imagine. By understanding our Perception Gaps, working to overcome our mistrust of the other side, and resisting the forces that seek to divide us, we can advance towards a future that we all want.
Research Methods Outline We plan to conduct this research study using wide-spread surveying. The surveys will ask questions related to four topics: 1) basic info on background (i.e. gender, race, religion, and ‘familiarity’ with the topic); 2) Where does an individual fall on a spectrum between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine?; 3) Whether they agree or disagree with a variety of political statements, varying from those that would typically be considered Pro-Israel beliefs to those that are incredibly extreme; 4) How they anticipate members of the opposing side would answer a set of questions with the same range in extremity. Alternatively, we could also poll on differences in character perception between parties. We will not explain that extensively here, however an example poll studying this research question can be found below.
Significance to Policy and SGA The results from our study will be published in a publicly accessible report. In this, we will explain the current events background, previous studies, research goal, research methods, results, and recommended policy path. Prior to being made public, this report will be shared with SGA in order to align PRDC’s policy recommendations with the Senate’s. With both SGA and public access to these results, PRDC hopes for the following outcomes:
- There is motivation within the SGA to address the findings with new policies. Depending on the results, this could be anything from introducing/prioritizing a new space to encourage discussions to developing a new curriculum focused on mitigating biases.
- The general student body learns from the results in ways that promote better communication and problem solving regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict and other topics in the future.
Outstanding Questions for SGA There are aspects of this research proposal that I wish to seek out advice from the SGA Cabinet and Senate. They are the following:
- What is their general opinion on the overall idea?
- What resources can they offer to PRDC to help ensure an accurate and representative study?
- What questions would be good to ask in the Political Assessment of Others survey (I am still in the selection process)?
Survey Access
Form for Political Assessment of Others - https://forms.gle/oDEjGzQRLKV4eRqG7 IF RELEVANT, Form for Character Assessment of Others - https://forms.gle/VYtLSFCJZ1VaszHQ7
[^1]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-is-hamas-what-to-know-about-its-origins-leaders-and-funding
[^2]: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflict