Egocentric bias may cause a people to interpret other states' defensive acts as aggressive acts, and so intensify their image of the other state as an enemy. Domestically, identity conflicts are often exploited and exacerbated for political gain. This is easiest to do in countries with existing deep divisions, or where elites tend to dominate the means of mass communication. People tend to act more aggressively based on their enemy image or stereotype. This aggressive behavior is likely to provoke a hostile response, which is then simply taken as confirmation of the initial stereotype.
Enemy images tend to occupy a central position in groups' belief systems.
Finally, people tend to seek out information which confirms existing stereotypes, and discount information which would challenge their stereotypes. They also tend to interpret information about the other negatively, in ways which support their existing stereotypes. Changing Enemy Images Despite these difficulties, it is possible to change enemy images. Stereotypes may change when their holders are presented with a large amount of disconfirming information in a relatively short period. Stereotypes also change gradually over time.