A simple experiment reveals a startling difference in how Trump and Biden supporters perceive reality

With each election cycle, partisan politics is altering people's perception of reality and their political opponents. Speaking to CBS News, New York University psychology professor Jay Van Bavel says that the divide isn't going away, and it will only get worse.

"Political identities are one of the most important and powerful identities that people have right now in this country. And that's grown over time," Bavel said.

CBS News gave an example of this divide by showing a clip of police clashing with Black Lives Matter protesters to both Republicans and Democrats. As expected, people who plan to vote for President Trump in 2020 saw the protesters as being the aggressors, while people who support Joe Biden saw just the opposite.

"As far as I can see, there's no violence or anything from the protesters," one man said. "And the police are acting a little violently."

Another video shown to the two groups was that of St. Louis homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey standing on their front lawn pointing guns at protesters who marched past their home in a gated community. Again, the same phenomenon manifested itself.

Watch the CBS News segment in the video below: