Effects of the Power to Retaliate on Physical Aggression Directed Toward Middle-Eastern Jews,Western Jews, and Israeli-Arabs

Abstract

Aggression displayed by Middle-Eastern (M-E) and Western (W) Israeli high school students was tested by a factorial design comprising the following four variables: subject's ethnic origin (W/ M-E); victim's origin (W/ M-E/ Israeli-Arab); power to retaliate (exists/lacking); and experimental period (5 periods, each consisting of 10 trials). In a competitive situation 127 eleventh-grade male subjects were given the opportunity to administer electric shocks to opponents who were either W, M-E, or Israeli-Arab. Half of the subjects expected their opponents to reciprocate shocks, the others did not. It was found that during the experimental periods aggression toward the M-E victims increased when they were not expected to retaliate; it decreased gradually when these same victims were expected to retaliate. This pattern was displayed by both M-E and W subjects. Only M-E subjects displayed less aggression toward an Israeli-Arab victim who was expected to retaliate. The findings were interpreted in light of both M-Es' ethnic image and their fear of Arabs.