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‘They just don’t understand us’: The role of meta-meta perspectives in intergroup relations
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Description: We report four studies examining the unique role of meta-meta perspectives in intergroup relations. Meta-meta perspectives are beliefs or perceptions about what another group believes that we believe: they reflect our concerns about the perspectives that outgroups have on an ingroup’s beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. Focusing on the meta-meta perspectives of felt understanding and meta-meta prejudice, Studies 1 (Scotland-UK relations; N = 5033) and 2 (UK-EU relations; N = 861) indicated that these were distinct from meta-level beliefs (specifically, meta-stereotypes). Felt understanding in particular consistently and strongly predicted outcomes such as trust, action intentions, and political separatism, including participants’ actual ‘Brexit’ referendum vote in Study 2. Felt understanding was a unique predictor of outgroup trust and forgiveness in Study 3 (Catholic-Protestant relations in Northern Ireland; N = 1162), and was a powerful predictor of political separatism even when controlling for specific, relational appraisals including negative interdependence and identity threat in Study 4 (Basque-Spanish relations; N = 205). Overall, the findings provide converging evidence for the critical role of meta-meta perspectives – and felt understanding in particular – in intergroup relations. We discuss future research possibilities, including the emotional correlates of felt understanding, and the role of meta-meta perspectives in interactions.