ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the contex... more ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the context in which such encounters take place, and in particular, the power dynamics at play. We address different forms of encounters, spanning from interpersonal interactions (not focused on intergroup aspects) to political negotiations between the groups’ representatives, and argue for a deeper consideration of power asym- metries in examining such encounters. We argue that because high- and low-power group members have different motivations for change in the status quo, they differ in their expectations from intergroup encounters and in the types of encounters they prefer. We describe relevant research while considering moderating factors such as the legitimacy and stability of the power dynamics. We also identify remaining gaps and topics requiring further research. This work has both conceptual and practical implications for the prospects of promoting both positive attitudinal change as well as changes to the hierarchical status quo.
Creating a sense of interpersonal similarity of attitudes and values is associated with increased... more Creating a sense of interpersonal similarity of attitudes and values is associated with increased attraction and liking. Applying these findings in an intergroup setting, though, has yielded mixed support. Theorizing from a social identity perspective suggests that highlighting intergroup similarity may lead to increased antipathy to the extent that it is perceived as a threat to one's unique social identity. To circumvent this process, we examine the influence of emotional similarity, rather than attitudinal or value similarity, with the expectation that the short-term nature of emotions may evoke less threat to one's social identity. Moreover, given the importance of emotions in intergroup humanization processes, we expected that emotional similarity would be associated with greater conciliatory attitudes due to an increase in humanization of the outgroup. We report results from two studies supporting these predictions. Following exposure to an anger-eliciting news story, Jewish Israeli participants were given information that their own emotional reaction to the story was similar (or not) to an individual member of the outgroup (Study 1: Palestinian citizen of Israel) or the outgroup as a whole (Study 2: Palestinians of the West Bank). As predicted, emotional similarity was associated with increased humanization of the outgroup, and a subsequent increase in one's willingness to support conciliatory political policies toward the outgroup. We conclude that emotional similarity may be a productive avenue for future intergroup interventions, particularly between groups where differences in attitudes and values are foundational to the intergroup conflict.
Despite growing attention the study of humiliation is receiving, there is little consensus as to ... more Despite growing attention the study of humiliation is receiving, there is little consensus as to how humiliation differs from other related emotions. We here argue that humiliation shares central characteristics with anger, shame, and embarrassment, but also differs from these emotions in meaningful ways. In Study 1, participants read about a professor who demeaned a student's work. We manipulated key appraisals of this scenario and measured humiliation, shame, anger, and embarrassment, as well as the tendencies for approach and avoidance. Results indicated that humiliation arises from accepting a devaluation of the self, which, simultaneously, is appraised as unjust. Moreover, humiliation is associated with tendencies for approach and avoidance simultaneously. We replicated these results in Study 2 in which participants referred to actual experiences in their lives during which they felt humiliated, ashamed, or angry. Taken together, results provide evidence of the unique natur...
Members of groups in conflict typically perceive the same reality in opposing ways. We investigat... more Members of groups in conflict typically perceive the same reality in opposing ways. We investigated individuals' ability to accurately perceive out-group members' views of the conflict. Drawing on research on power and metaperceptions, we hypothesized that perceiving losses to in-group position would increase accuracy in predicting out-group members' views. Study 1 was conducted immediately following the Gaza flotilla incident. Israelis, who perceived the event as causing political losses to their group, were more accurate in predicting out-group members' views of the incident than were Palestinians, who perceived the event as causing political gains for their group. Moreover, Israelis' accuracy increased with their perception of political losses for Israel, whereas Palestinians' accuracy decreased with their perception of political gains for Palestinians. These effects were particularly pronounced among those participants who were highly identified with thei...
A major barrier to conflict resolution is group members' tendency to hold on to the ingroup&#... more A major barrier to conflict resolution is group members' tendency to hold on to the ingroup's narrative of the conflict and reject the outgroup's perspective. In the current research, we propose that voicing internal criticism to an outgroup crowd can undermine such orientations and foster intergroup openness. Across four experiments, Israeli Jews who were exposed to a Palestinian criticizing Palestinians were more open to the Palestinians' perspective of the conflict, than those not exposed to the criticism. This effect was obtained when the criticism was related (Study 1) and unrelated (Study 2) to the conflict, and was consistently mediated by increased hope about the future relations between the groups. Study 3 showed that the effect is more pronounced among those who believe that groups can change. Study 4 established that perceptions about the outgroup as open-minded underlie the effect of ingroup criticism on hope, and further demonstrated downstream effects o...
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2015
Across countries, common mental disorders are often more prevalent and/or more persistent among d... more Across countries, common mental disorders are often more prevalent and/or more persistent among disadvantaged members (e.g., ethnic minorities) compared with advantaged group members. Although these disparities constitute a heavy challenge to national health organizations, there is little empirical evidence to help account for the mechanism underlying them. In this study, conducted in clinics across Israel, we investigated processes, rooted in the clinical encounter that may contribute to mental health disparities. We focused on the accuracy of diagnostic decisions, which are likely to substantially impact the client's prognosis. Therapists' diagnostic decisions following the initial intake with their client were compared with independent structured diagnostic interview of the client. Results revealed that therapists were twice as likely to misdiagnose mental illness when their client was a member of a disadvantaged (relative to advantaged) group. Implications for the quality of mental health services that members of disadvantaged groups receive are discussed.
ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the contex... more ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the context in which such encounters take place, and in particular, the power dynamics at play. We address different forms of encounters, spanning from interpersonal interactions (not focused on intergroup aspects) to political negotiations between the groups’ representatives, and argue for a deeper consideration of power asym- metries in examining such encounters. We argue that because high- and low-power group members have different motivations for change in the status quo, they differ in their expectations from intergroup encounters and in the types of encounters they prefer. We describe relevant research while considering moderating factors such as the legitimacy and stability of the power dynamics. We also identify remaining gaps and topics requiring further research. This work has both conceptual and practical implications for the prospects of promoting both positive attitudinal change as well as changes to the hierarchical status quo.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2015
Dehumanizing the enemy is one of the most destructive elements of intergroup conflict. Past resea... more Dehumanizing the enemy is one of the most destructive elements of intergroup conflict. Past research demonstrated that awareness of harm that the in-group imposed on a specific out-group can increase out-group dehumanization as means of justifying the harm. In this research, we examined whether the opposite process would occur when people become aware of help given to an adversary. We reasoned that the need to justify a good deed toward a persistent enemy can result in more human-like out-group attributions. In two experiments, Israeli-Jews read about their group either helping Palestinians or not. In Study 1, awareness of help provided by the in-group to the out-group resulted in greater out-group humanization. In Study 2, we further established that when a third party helped the out-group, the rehumanization effect was not obtained, suggesting that the phenomenon is of specific intergroup nature. Theoretical and applied implications for conflict resolution are discussed.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 2012
Mental health disparities are differences in health status, risks and care favoring members of ad... more Mental health disparities are differences in health status, risks and care favoring members of advantaged over disadvantaged social groups. the contrasting social identities of clinicians and service-users may account for potential disparities found in clinical encounters, reflected, for example, in the provision of substandard care. the imputed mechanisms, however, remain unknown. Drawing on social psychological research we delineate a model to assist in identifying those mechanisms. we review the literature on processes rooted in social categorization (outgroup bias) and in social power (impaired perspective taking, making automatic attributions) and suggest that the contrasting social identities of clinicians and service-users can partially account for why discordant, compared to concordant ethnic identities in clinical encounters may produce worse outcomes, measured by the quality of the working alliance and the accuracy of diagnostic decisions. we provide preliminary evidence f...
The Social Psychology of Intergroup Reconciliation, 2008
Page 463. CHAPTER 19 Help as a Vehicle to Reconciliation, With Particular Reference to Help for E... more Page 463. CHAPTER 19 Help as a Vehicle to Reconciliation, With Particular Reference to Help for Extreme Health Needs Jeffrey D. Fisher, Arie Nadler, Jessica S. Little, and Tamar Saguy The issue of what occurs when individuals ...
CHAPTER 11 Obama's Potential to Transform the Racial Attitudes of White American... more CHAPTER 11 Obama's Potential to Transform the Racial Attitudes of White Americans John F. Dovidio, Samuel L. Gaertner, Tamar Saguy, and Eric Hehman The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States is a truly his-toric event that, beyond its political ...
... T. Saguy et al. Research Article The Irony of Harmony Intergroup Contact Can Produce False Ex... more ... T. Saguy et al. Research Article The Irony of Harmony Intergroup Contact Can Produce False Expectations for Equality Tamar Saguy, 1 Nicole Tausch, 2 John F. Dovidio, 1 and Felicia Pratto 3 1 Yale University, 2 Cardiff University, and 3 University of Connecticut ...
ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the contex... more ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the context in which such encounters take place, and in particular, the power dynamics at play. We address different forms of encounters, spanning from interpersonal interactions (not focused on intergroup aspects) to political negotiations between the groups’ representatives, and argue for a deeper consideration of power asym- metries in examining such encounters. We argue that because high- and low-power group members have different motivations for change in the status quo, they differ in their expectations from intergroup encounters and in the types of encounters they prefer. We describe relevant research while considering moderating factors such as the legitimacy and stability of the power dynamics. We also identify remaining gaps and topics requiring further research. This work has both conceptual and practical implications for the prospects of promoting both positive attitudinal change as well as changes to the hierarchical status quo.
Creating a sense of interpersonal similarity of attitudes and values is associated with increased... more Creating a sense of interpersonal similarity of attitudes and values is associated with increased attraction and liking. Applying these findings in an intergroup setting, though, has yielded mixed support. Theorizing from a social identity perspective suggests that highlighting intergroup similarity may lead to increased antipathy to the extent that it is perceived as a threat to one's unique social identity. To circumvent this process, we examine the influence of emotional similarity, rather than attitudinal or value similarity, with the expectation that the short-term nature of emotions may evoke less threat to one's social identity. Moreover, given the importance of emotions in intergroup humanization processes, we expected that emotional similarity would be associated with greater conciliatory attitudes due to an increase in humanization of the outgroup. We report results from two studies supporting these predictions. Following exposure to an anger-eliciting news story, Jewish Israeli participants were given information that their own emotional reaction to the story was similar (or not) to an individual member of the outgroup (Study 1: Palestinian citizen of Israel) or the outgroup as a whole (Study 2: Palestinians of the West Bank). As predicted, emotional similarity was associated with increased humanization of the outgroup, and a subsequent increase in one's willingness to support conciliatory political policies toward the outgroup. We conclude that emotional similarity may be a productive avenue for future intergroup interventions, particularly between groups where differences in attitudes and values are foundational to the intergroup conflict.
Despite growing attention the study of humiliation is receiving, there is little consensus as to ... more Despite growing attention the study of humiliation is receiving, there is little consensus as to how humiliation differs from other related emotions. We here argue that humiliation shares central characteristics with anger, shame, and embarrassment, but also differs from these emotions in meaningful ways. In Study 1, participants read about a professor who demeaned a student's work. We manipulated key appraisals of this scenario and measured humiliation, shame, anger, and embarrassment, as well as the tendencies for approach and avoidance. Results indicated that humiliation arises from accepting a devaluation of the self, which, simultaneously, is appraised as unjust. Moreover, humiliation is associated with tendencies for approach and avoidance simultaneously. We replicated these results in Study 2 in which participants referred to actual experiences in their lives during which they felt humiliated, ashamed, or angry. Taken together, results provide evidence of the unique natur...
Members of groups in conflict typically perceive the same reality in opposing ways. We investigat... more Members of groups in conflict typically perceive the same reality in opposing ways. We investigated individuals' ability to accurately perceive out-group members' views of the conflict. Drawing on research on power and metaperceptions, we hypothesized that perceiving losses to in-group position would increase accuracy in predicting out-group members' views. Study 1 was conducted immediately following the Gaza flotilla incident. Israelis, who perceived the event as causing political losses to their group, were more accurate in predicting out-group members' views of the incident than were Palestinians, who perceived the event as causing political gains for their group. Moreover, Israelis' accuracy increased with their perception of political losses for Israel, whereas Palestinians' accuracy decreased with their perception of political gains for Palestinians. These effects were particularly pronounced among those participants who were highly identified with thei...
A major barrier to conflict resolution is group members' tendency to hold on to the ingroup&#... more A major barrier to conflict resolution is group members' tendency to hold on to the ingroup's narrative of the conflict and reject the outgroup's perspective. In the current research, we propose that voicing internal criticism to an outgroup crowd can undermine such orientations and foster intergroup openness. Across four experiments, Israeli Jews who were exposed to a Palestinian criticizing Palestinians were more open to the Palestinians' perspective of the conflict, than those not exposed to the criticism. This effect was obtained when the criticism was related (Study 1) and unrelated (Study 2) to the conflict, and was consistently mediated by increased hope about the future relations between the groups. Study 3 showed that the effect is more pronounced among those who believe that groups can change. Study 4 established that perceptions about the outgroup as open-minded underlie the effect of ingroup criticism on hope, and further demonstrated downstream effects o...
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2015
Across countries, common mental disorders are often more prevalent and/or more persistent among d... more Across countries, common mental disorders are often more prevalent and/or more persistent among disadvantaged members (e.g., ethnic minorities) compared with advantaged group members. Although these disparities constitute a heavy challenge to national health organizations, there is little empirical evidence to help account for the mechanism underlying them. In this study, conducted in clinics across Israel, we investigated processes, rooted in the clinical encounter that may contribute to mental health disparities. We focused on the accuracy of diagnostic decisions, which are likely to substantially impact the client's prognosis. Therapists' diagnostic decisions following the initial intake with their client were compared with independent structured diagnostic interview of the client. Results revealed that therapists were twice as likely to misdiagnose mental illness when their client was a member of a disadvantaged (relative to advantaged) group. Implications for the quality of mental health services that members of disadvantaged groups receive are discussed.
ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the contex... more ABSTRACT This review places intergroup encounters in a broad framework which considers the context in which such encounters take place, and in particular, the power dynamics at play. We address different forms of encounters, spanning from interpersonal interactions (not focused on intergroup aspects) to political negotiations between the groups’ representatives, and argue for a deeper consideration of power asym- metries in examining such encounters. We argue that because high- and low-power group members have different motivations for change in the status quo, they differ in their expectations from intergroup encounters and in the types of encounters they prefer. We describe relevant research while considering moderating factors such as the legitimacy and stability of the power dynamics. We also identify remaining gaps and topics requiring further research. This work has both conceptual and practical implications for the prospects of promoting both positive attitudinal change as well as changes to the hierarchical status quo.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2015
Dehumanizing the enemy is one of the most destructive elements of intergroup conflict. Past resea... more Dehumanizing the enemy is one of the most destructive elements of intergroup conflict. Past research demonstrated that awareness of harm that the in-group imposed on a specific out-group can increase out-group dehumanization as means of justifying the harm. In this research, we examined whether the opposite process would occur when people become aware of help given to an adversary. We reasoned that the need to justify a good deed toward a persistent enemy can result in more human-like out-group attributions. In two experiments, Israeli-Jews read about their group either helping Palestinians or not. In Study 1, awareness of help provided by the in-group to the out-group resulted in greater out-group humanization. In Study 2, we further established that when a third party helped the out-group, the rehumanization effect was not obtained, suggesting that the phenomenon is of specific intergroup nature. Theoretical and applied implications for conflict resolution are discussed.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 2012
Mental health disparities are differences in health status, risks and care favoring members of ad... more Mental health disparities are differences in health status, risks and care favoring members of advantaged over disadvantaged social groups. the contrasting social identities of clinicians and service-users may account for potential disparities found in clinical encounters, reflected, for example, in the provision of substandard care. the imputed mechanisms, however, remain unknown. Drawing on social psychological research we delineate a model to assist in identifying those mechanisms. we review the literature on processes rooted in social categorization (outgroup bias) and in social power (impaired perspective taking, making automatic attributions) and suggest that the contrasting social identities of clinicians and service-users can partially account for why discordant, compared to concordant ethnic identities in clinical encounters may produce worse outcomes, measured by the quality of the working alliance and the accuracy of diagnostic decisions. we provide preliminary evidence f...
The Social Psychology of Intergroup Reconciliation, 2008
Page 463. CHAPTER 19 Help as a Vehicle to Reconciliation, With Particular Reference to Help for E... more Page 463. CHAPTER 19 Help as a Vehicle to Reconciliation, With Particular Reference to Help for Extreme Health Needs Jeffrey D. Fisher, Arie Nadler, Jessica S. Little, and Tamar Saguy The issue of what occurs when individuals ...
CHAPTER 11 Obama's Potential to Transform the Racial Attitudes of White American... more CHAPTER 11 Obama's Potential to Transform the Racial Attitudes of White Americans John F. Dovidio, Samuel L. Gaertner, Tamar Saguy, and Eric Hehman The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States is a truly his-toric event that, beyond its political ...
... T. Saguy et al. Research Article The Irony of Harmony Intergroup Contact Can Produce False Ex... more ... T. Saguy et al. Research Article The Irony of Harmony Intergroup Contact Can Produce False Expectations for Equality Tamar Saguy, 1 Nicole Tausch, 2 John F. Dovidio, 1 and Felicia Pratto 3 1 Yale University, 2 Cardiff University, and 3 University of Connecticut ...
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