Correct the misperceptions, so the argument goes, and we will have made a gigantic step toward peace and harmony. Of course this view does not take into account that many conflicts may arise because of entirely accurate perceptions of mutually opposing interests and values. Indeed, I would argue at the international level that until recently United States and Soviet foreign policy elite knew each other very well and judged accurately their respective antagonistic interests. The misperception argument, unfortunately, neglects the overwhelming importance of realistic conflicts that are based on an actual clash of interests. The mugger and his victim, the revolutionary and the governor, and the food rioter and the guard are not conflicting because of misperception but because of deeply felt opposing interests.
All human behavior is seated in psychological variables, to be sure.
But to hang a type of social behavior like conflict on the peg of misperception is to neglect the importance of interests, needs, morality, temperament ' and so on, as well as the self, will, and superordinate goal. Perception is an outcome of the confrontation of this field with reality's powers. If, in fact, misperception is operating, we should focus not on misperception itself but on the operation of the whole field in relation to the specific external forces confronting it. This is done through explicating the process of the conflict helix. Perception plays a role during all phases.