Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T19:52:36.332Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Humanizing the Outgroup in Contexts of Protracted Intergroup Conflict

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2015

Joshua Ronald Gubler ,
Eran Halperin  and
Gilad Hirschberger
Joshua Ronald Gubler*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Brigham Young University, 764 Kimball Tower, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Eran Halperin
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel; email: [email protected], [email protected]
Gilad Hirschberger
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel; email: [email protected], [email protected]
*
e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Current approaches to humanizing members of an outgroup in contexts marked by protracted intergroup conflict see mixed success. In both Study 1, conducted on a random sample of Israeli Jews (N = 103), and Study 2, conducted on a nationally diverse sample of Israeli Jews (N = 670), we experimentally test the effect of a unique approach to humanizing the outgroup based on empathy. Instead of requiring individuals to express empathy for outgroup suffering they might have caused, this approach requires an expression of empathy for suffering unrelated to the conflict between the groups. Results suggest that such an expression of empathy from one group member toward the other group can lead to “reciprocal empathy” which facilitates a greater willingness to accept the humanity of all members of the other group.

Keywords

Conflict resolutionempathyMiddle East conflictpolitical psychologyIsraelsurvey experiment
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Experimental Political Science , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , Spring 2015 , pp. 36 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © The Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ayalon, Ariel. 2009. Midgam Project. (http://www.midgam.com).Google Scholar
Bar-Tal, Daniel and Teichman, Yona. 2005. Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict: Representations of Arabs in Israeli Jewish Society. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batson, C. Daniel, Chang, Johee, Orr, Ryan, and Rowland, Jennifer. 2002. “Empathy, Attitudes, and Action: Can Feeling for a Member of a Stigmatized Group Motivate One to Help the Group?” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28 (12): 1656–66.Google Scholar
Batson, C. Daniel, Polycarpou, Marina P., Harmon-Jones, Eddie, Imhoff, Heidi J., Mitchener, Erin C., Bednar, Lori L., Klein, Tricia R., and Highberger, Lori. 1997. “Empathy and Attitudes: Can Feeling for a Member of a Stigmatized Group Improve Feelings Toward the Group?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72 (1): 105–18.Google Scholar
Batson, C. Daniel, and Ahmad, Nadia Y. 2009. “Using Empathy to Improve Intergroup Attitudes and Relations.” Social Issues and Policy Review 3 (1): 141–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cortes, Brezo P., Demoulin, Stephanie, Rodriguez, Ramon T., Rodriguez, Armando P., and Leyens, Jacques-Philippe. 2005. “Infrahumanization or Familiarity? Attribution of Uniquely Human Emotions to the Self, the Ingroup, and the Outgroup.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31 (2): 243–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaunt, Ruth. 2009. “Superordinate Categorization as a Moderator of Mutual Infrahumanization.” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 12: 731–46.Google Scholar
Gaunt, Ruth. 2011. “Effects of Intergroup Conflict and Social Contact on Prejudice: The Mediating Role of Stereotypes and Evaluations.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 41: 1340–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glasford, Demis E., Pratto, Felicia, and Dovidio, John F.. 2008. “Intragroup Dissonance: Responses to Ingroup Violation of Personal Values.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44: 1057–64.Google Scholar
Green, Donald P. 2009. “Regression Adjustments to Experimental Data: Do David Freedman's Concerns Apply to Political Science?” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Political Methodology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, July 23–25.Google Scholar
Gubler, Joshua R. 2013. “When Humanizing the Enemy Fails: The Role of Dissonance and Justification in Intergroup Conflict.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA), Chicago, IL, August 28-September 1.Google Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, Keele, Luke, and Tingley, Dustin. 2010a. “A General Approach to Causal Mediation Analysis.” Psychological Science 15 (4): 309–34.Google Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, Keele, Luke, Tingley, Dustin, and Yamamoto, Teppei. 2010b. “Causal Mediation Analysis Using R.” In Advances in Social Science Research Using R (Lecture Notes in Statistics), ed. Vinod, H. D.. New York, NY: Springer, 129–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, Keele, Luke, and Yamamoto, Teppei. 2010c. “Identification, Inference, and Sensitivity Analysis for Causal Mediation Effects.” Statistical Science 25 (1): 51–71.Google Scholar
Leyens, Jacques-Philippe, Cortes, Brezo, Demoulin, Stephanie, Dovidio, John F., Fiske, Susan T., Gaunt, Ruth, Paladino, Maria-Paola, Rodriguez-Perez, Armando, Rodriguez-Torres, Ramon, and Vaes, Jeroen. 2003. “Emotional Prejudice, Essentialism, and Nationalism.” European Journal of Social Psychology 33 (6): 703–17.Google Scholar
Leyens, Jacques-Philippe, Paladino, Paola M., Rodriguez-Torres, Ramon, Vaes, Jeroen, Demoulin, Stephanie, Rodriguez-Perez, Armando, and Gaunt, Ruth. 2000. “The Emotional Side of Prejudice: The Attribution of Secondary Emotions to Ingroups and Outgroups.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 4 (2): 186–97.Google Scholar
Moses, Daniel Noah and Shishmanyan, Inessa. 2009, Fall. The Olive Branch Teacher's Guide. Otisfield, ME: Seeds of Peace.Google Scholar
Mutz, Diana C. and Pemantle, Robin. 2011. The Perils of Randomization Checks in the Analysis of Experiments. Unpublished manuscript. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Nadler, Arie and Liviatan, Ido. 2006. “Intergroup Reconciliation: Effects of Adversary's Expressions of Empathy, Responsiblity, and Recipients’ Trust.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 32 (4): 459–70.Google Scholar
O’Brien, Ed, Konrath, Sara H., Gr_Hn, Daniel, and Hagen, Anna Linda. 2013. “Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking: Linear and Quadratic Effects of Age Across the Adult Life Span.” The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 68 (March): 168–75.Google Scholar
Urdal, Henrik. 2008. “Population, Resources, and Political Violence: A Subnational Study of India.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 52: 590–617.Google Scholar
Vaes, J., Paladino, M. P, Castelli, L., Leyens, J. P., and Giovanazzi, A.. 2003. “On the Behavioral Consequences of Infrahumanization: The Implicit Role of Uniquely Human Emotions in Intergroup Relations.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85 (6): 1016–34.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Gubler supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Gubler supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 302.6 KB