From Groups to Individuals: How Identifiability Reduces Biased Meta‐Perceptions and Polarization

Political polarization reflects not only people's attitudes toward rival groups but also their meta‐perceptions—beliefs about how one's group is viewed by the opposing side. These second‐order beliefs are often negatively biased and exaggerated (Lees and Cikara 2020), reinforcing mistrust and perceived division. The present research examined whether identifiability—considering a specific, individuated outgroup member rather than the group as a whole—may reduce bias in meta‐perceptions by promoting more personalized representations of the outgroup. In Study 1 (Right‐ and Left‐wing Jewish‐Israeli participants, N = 317), participants evaluated either the political outgroup in general or a named outgroup voter (“Uri”). Those in the identifiability condition reported smaller perceived ideological gaps and less exaggerated meta‐perceptions. In Study 2 ( N = 165, preregistered), participants first imagined and described a typical outgroup member; identifiability again attenuated bias in meta‐perceptions, particularly among right‐wing participants. These findings suggest that considering identifiable outgroup members may reduce biased meta‐perceptions by shifting from group‐based to more personalized judgments in politically polarized contexts.