Reduce Intergroup Conflict Research Articles

Learning With Jigsaw: A Systematic Review Gathering All the Pieces of the Puzzle More Than 40 Years Later

The jigsaw classroom is a cooperative learning method designed in the late 1970s to improve the academic performance of minority children by reducing intergroup conflict and increasing self-evaluations. Despite its high popularity, the available evidence for the effectiveness of this method seems scant and mixed, with neither meta-analysis nor systematic review. To fill this gap, the authors conducted a systematic review of studies conducted from 1978 through 2022 to assess the effects of jigsaw on both academic performance and psychosocial variables (e.g., intergroup relationships, self-evaluations). Sixty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. This review revealed the research trends, research gaps, and issues of research integrity of the jigsaw literature. If the results indicate that the jigsaw classroom overall leads to positive effects, findings vary depending on the academic subjects and psychosocial variables measured. The authors discuss the challenges of jigsaw activities and the limitations of studies reviewed and conclude with practical recommendations in the context of digital education.

Distinguishing Intergroup and Long-Distance Relationships.

Intergroup and long-distance relationships are both central features of human social life, but because intergroup relationships are emphasized in the literature, long-distance relationships are often overlooked. Here, we make the case that intergroup and long-distance relationships should be studied as distinct, albeit related, features of human sociality. First, we review the functions of both kinds of relationship: while both can be conduits for difficult-to-access resources, intergroup relationships can reduce intergroup conflict whereas long-distance relationships are especially effective at buffering widespread resource shortfalls. Second, to illustrate the importance of distinguishing the two relationship types, we present a case study from rural Bolivia. Combining ethnography and two different experimental techniques, we find that the importance of intergroup relationships-and the salience of group membership itself-varies across populations and across methods. Although ethnography revealed that participants often rely on long-distance relationships for resource access, we were unable to capture participant preferences for these relationships with a forced-choice technique. Taken together, our review and empirical data highlight that (1) intergroup and long-distance relationships can have different functions and can be more or less important in different contexts and (2) validating experimental field data with ethnography is crucial for work on human sociality. We close by outlining future directions for research on long-distance relationships in humans.

Young adults’ intergroup prosocial behavior and its associations with social dominance orientation, social identities, prosocial moral obligation, and belongingness

In an increasingly diverse world, understanding young adults’ intergroup prosocial behavior toward diverse others may inform ways to reduce intergroup conflict and cultivate an equitable and inclusive society. The college years are often the first time that young adults begin to explore their social identities and intergroup relations independently from their parents. Thus, we focused on college students and examined social dominance orientation, social positions, prosocial obligation, and the sense of belongingness in relation to their intergroup prosocial behavior across four domains (i.e., age, gender, race/ethnicity, and department affiliation). Participants were 1163 young adults aged 18–24 years (63.2% females, 34.5% males, and 2.3% gender diverse; 50.7% White, 19.6% Latino, 25% Asian, 2.3% Black) from a large public Southwestern university . Four profiles of intergroup prosocial behavior (self-serving, altruistic, selfish, and reverse ethnic racial bias) were identified and they were differentially related to the social, cognitive, and contextual correlates we examined. Overall, findings highlighted the need to foster intergroup prosocial behavior and the benefits of intergroup prosocial behavior to young adults’ sense of belongingness.

Understanding and combating misperceived polarization.

By many accounts politics is becoming more polarized, yielding dire consequences for democracy and trust in government. Yet a growing body of research on so-called false polarization finds that perceptions of 'what the other side believes' are inaccurate-specifically, overly pessimistic-and that these inaccuracies exacerbate intergroup conflict. Through a review of existing work and a reanalysis of published data, we (i) develop a typology of the disparate phenomena that are labelled 'polarization', (ii) use that typology to distinguish actual from (mis)perceived polarization, and (iii) identify when misperceived polarization gives rise to actual polarization (e.g. extreme issue attitudes and prejudice). We further suggest that a specific psychological domain is ideal for developing corrective interventions: meta-perception, one's judgement of how they are perceived by others. We review evidence indicating that correcting meta-perception inaccuracies is effective at reducing intergroup conflict and discuss methods for precisely measuring meta-perception accuracy. We argue that the reputational nature of meta-perception provides a motivational mechanism by which individuals are sensitive to the truth, even when those truths pertain to the 'other side'. We conclude by discussing how these insights can be integrated into existing research seeking to understand polarization and its negative consequences. This article is part of the theme issue 'The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms'.

The Effect of Imagined Social Contact on Chinese Students’ Perceptions of Japanese People

Social identity theory (SIT) suggests that perceived identity difference between groups predicts to intergroup conflict, including interstate conflict. Contact theory suggests that social contact between groups can help reduce intergroup conflict. Contact theory, however, has not traditionally focused on perceived identity difference, and it has not been tested much on real-world interstate conflicts. Employing an experimental design, our study tests for the effects of imagined social contact on Chinese students’ generally malign perceptions of identity difference with Japanese people. We find that imagined contact reduces key perceptions of difference by reducing both perceived Japanese malignity and perceived Chinese benignity. This suggests that social contact helps produce new hybrid in-group. By employing SIT, our findings provide a new microfoundation for contact theory, suggest an important process in the creation of security communities, and provide a proof of concept for public policies aimed at large-scale cultural exchanges.

The role of individuation in the development of intergroup relations

AbstractThis commentary addresses the development of intergroup relations. We argue that children's reasoning about particular groups is strongly influenced by cues that shape the extent to which they conceive of group members in an undifferentiated way versus as distinct individuals. These cues include opportunities for contact with group members as well as the form and content of the information about social groups that children are exposed to. This approach to conceptualizing intergroup conflict builds upon important theoretical frameworks such as psychological essentialism, and it can be used to generate predictions about how intergroup attitudes will develop.Highlights We address the development of intergroup attitudes. We argue that development is influenced by cues that shape whether group members are viewed as distinct individuals. This framework points to ways to encourage intergroup understanding and reduce intergroup conflict.

Intergroup Conflict is Our Business: CEOs’ Ethical Intergroup Leadership Fuels Stakeholder Support for Corporate Intergroup Responsibility

Is reducing large-scale intergroup conflict the business of corporations? Although large corporations can use their power and prominence to reduce intergroup conflict in society, it is unclear to what extent stakeholders support corporate Intergroup Responsibility (CIR). Study 1 showed that support for CIR correlates in theoretically meaningful ways with relevant economic, social, and moral attitudes, including fair market ideology, consumer support for corporate social responsibility (CSR), social dominance orientation, symbolic racism, and moral foundations. Studies 2 and 3 employed experimental designs to test the hypothesis that business leaders who advocate for intergroup tolerance boost perceptions of corporations and their leaders as moral, just, and fair, which in turn, increases stakeholders’ support for CIR. We found support for this hypothesis across two highly publicized and contentious events related to racial conflict in the U.S.: The White supremacy rally in Charlottesville and the federal government’s announcement about the planned rescinding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy. Specifically, exposing participants to real-world tweets by CEOs who advocated intergroup tolerance following these events increased participants’ support for CIR. This effect was mediated by heightened perceptions of corporations and their leaders as moral, just, and fair. Taken together, these findings enhance our understanding of the factors that shape stakeholders’ reactions to CIR; highlight intergroup conflict as an emerging arena for CSR; and illustrate the power of ethical intergroup leadership.

Teaching in the Age of Humans: Helping Students Think about Climate Change

AbstractTo convey the magnitude and rapidity of current climate change and the severity of predictions for the next century, I present essential climate science information using four key sets of data and contextualize that information with personal anecdotes. I then consider the reasons for the large gap between the scientific consensus about anthropogenic climate change and public perceptions of that consensus. With several known challenges to climate change education in mind, I offer four recommendations for teachers that map relevant social psychology to pedagogy: (1) establish a learning community that works to disrupt in-group favoritism and reduce attribution bias; (2) help students identify a set of superordinate goals to reduce intergroup conflict; (3) structure discourse toward deliberation rather than dispute to minimize the effects of loss aversion and confirmation bias; and (4) help students concretize their beliefs by asking them to think in terms of actual people, places, and events.

Using adolescents' drawings to reveal stereotypes about ethnic groups in Guatemala.

It is important to identify stereotypes about indigenous people because those stereotypes influence prejudice and discrimination, both obstacles to social justice and universal human rights. The purpose of the current study was to document the stereotypes, as held by Guatemalan adolescents, of indigenous Maya people (e.g., Maya) and nonindigenous Ladinos in Guatemala (the 2 main ethnic groups in Guatemala). Guatemalan adolescents (N = 465; 38.3% female; Mage = 14.51 years; SDage = 1.81 years) provided drawings and written characteristics about indigenous Maya and nonindigenous Ladino people, which were then coded for patterns in the data. These patterns included negative stereotypes, such as the Maya being lazy and Ladina women being weak; and positive stereotypes, such as the Maya being caring and warm and Ladino men being successful. There were also interactions between the participants' own gender and ethnicity and how they depicted the target they were assigned. For example, male participants were unlikely to depict male targets of either ethnicity engaging in homemaking activities. Finally, there was evidence of in-group bias based both on gender and ethnicity. These findings suggest that perhaps because indigenous groups around the world share some common negative stereotypes, an understanding of these stereotypes will aid in decreasing prejudice and discrimination against indigenous people, could reduce intergroup conflict, and increase access to basic human rights. (PsycINFO Database Record

When does the communication of group-based anger increase outgroup empathy in intergroup conflict? The role of perceived procedural unfairness and outgroup consensus

Increasing outgroup empathy is an important first step toward reducing intergroup conflict. The communication of group-based anger has been found to increase outgroup empathy due to its presumed relational function (as it signals to the outgroup that they unfairly treat the ingroup, but also that the ingroup wants to maintain a positive intergroup relationship). Yet, little is known about when communicating group-based anger increases outgroup empathy. We therefore examine two antecedent conditions, namely perceived procedural unfairness (which makes the communication of anger more appropriate) and outgroup consensus (which makes the communication of anger more group-based). Three experiments suggest that the communication of group-based anger increases outgroup empathy only when the outgroup was treated unfairly (Experiment 1) and when there was high outgroup consensus (Experiment 2). Results from Experiment 3 revealed that either antecedent seems sufficient to facilitate the positive, empathy-inducing effects of the communication of group-based anger. We discuss the implications of these findings for the theory and practice of communicating anger in intergroup conflicts to increase outgroup empathy.

The Communication of “Pure” Group-Based Anger Reduces Tendencies Toward Intergroup Conflict Because It Increases Out-Group Empathy

The communication of group-based anger in intergroup conflict is often associated with destructive conflict behavior. However, we show that communicating group-based anger toward the out-group can evoke empathy and thus reduce intergroup conflict. This is because it stresses the value of maintaining a positive long-term intergroup relationship, thereby increasing understanding for the situation (in contrast to the communication of the closely related emotion of contempt). Three experiments demonstrate that the communication of group-based anger indeed reduces destructive conflict intentions compared with (a) a control condition (Experiments 1-2), (b) the communication of group-based contempt (Experiment 2), and (c) the communication of a combination of group-based anger and contempt (Experiments 2-3). Moreover, results from all three experiments reveal that empathy mediated the positive effect of communicating "pure" group-based anger. We discuss the implications of these findings for the theory and practice of communicating emotions in intergroup conflicts.

Can the heuristic model of positive terror management enhance prosocial values and reduce intergroup conflict? The case of Muslims in the USA

The aim of this paper is to discuss how intergroup conflict in the USA has recently escalated between Muslim Americans and the broader non-Muslim American population after the recent Boston Marathon bombing terrorist attack perpetrated by ‘homegrown’ Muslim American terrorists. The recent intergroup conflict leads Muslim Americans to be falsely stereotyped as sympathetic to terrorism, and thus are identified as a social outgroup within the USA. The evolution of terror management theory (TMT) into the heuristic model of positive terror management (HMPTM) will explain how individuals can manage mortality salience with threats of outgroup members in a socially constructive manner through cultural worldviews and the application of prosocial cultural values, such as empathy and forgiveness. This paper will conclude with future recommendations to further understand the relationships among prosocial cultural values; thus, potentially mitigating intergroup conflict within the USA which has been continuously plagued with violence associated with Muslim terrorist activity.

Reducing intergroup conflict through the consideration of future consequences

AbstractBasic social psychological research has suggested several interventions to reduce intergroup conflict. Most of these interventions, however, have been indirect and impractical to implement outside laboratory settings. Although past research has demonstrated that indirect manipulations of the consideration of future consequences reduce intergroup competition, no study of interindividual–intergroup discontinuity has tested this assumption with a direct manipulation. The present study found that when participants (individuals and members of groups) interacting in an iterated prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) were asked to predict how their opponent's choice on a second trial would be affected by their own choice on an initial trial, intergroup competition was reduced while interindividual competition remained low regardless of the manipulation. On a practical level, implications of this study provide a simple and easily implemented solution to reducing intergroup conflict in non‐laboratory situations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Celebrating Tom Pettigrew and His Continuing Contribution to Intergroup Contact Research

Thomas F. Pettigrew is an outstanding representative of psychological research on intergroup relations. His theoretical and empirical approach is an excellent model for basic social science research that combines different levels of analysis. His intellectual contributions are also a shining example of how findings from scientific research can be used to help reduce intergroup conflict and improve the life conditions of disadvantaged.

War and Peace: Possible Approaches to Reducing Intergroup Conflict.

We discuss four potential ways to reduce conflict between groups: consideration of future consequences, independent leadership, outgroup empathy, and coordination. We review relevant empirical findings for each method and discuss how each can be used to promote intergroup cooperation.

Group Processes to Reduce Intergroup Conflict

This article's main emphasis is on describing and illustrating several group processes and theories that were used in an intervention to reduce conflict between Arab and Jewish youth in Israel as an additional example to the main one presented in this volume. These theories used in the Israeli example contribute substantially to the latter. Following a description of the Israeli workshop setting, participants, and structure, this article deals with the change processes that may affect participants' attitudes and behaviors. The theoretical perspectives used to analyze the group processes used in the workshop are the following: the psychodynamic and group therapy perspective, the cognitive-behavioral perspective, and the self-theory perspective. These three perspectives are applied to analyze the processes that occurred during the workshop in relationship to participants, facilitators, workshop structure, and content.

War and Peace: Possible Approaches to Reducing Intergroup Conflict

War and Peace: Possible Approaches to Reducing Intergroup Conflict

Why Folkbiology Matters: Resource Conflict Despite Shared Goals and Knowledge

There is a continuing controversy over Native American fishing and hunting rights. We show that Native American (Menominee) and European American fish experts have a common knowledge base and share values and attitudes associated with fishing practices (though organized around different ethical principles). Nonetheless, perceived group differences are dramatic (especially European American perceptions of Native Americans). Cultural differences in models of nature and associated inference processes appear to mediate these stereotypes and may hold the key to reducing intergroup conflict over resources.

From Racial Inequality to Social Justice: The Legacy of Brown v. Board and Lessons from South Africa

This article addresses the question of why racial inequality persists in the United States after over four centuries, while South Africa has extricated itself from racial Apartheid and launched a vigorous campaign for racial justice that appears to exceed the will and capacity of the United States. It discusses the legacy of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision and its role in reducing racial inequality and fueling both defense of and attacks on racial segregation. Social justice, it is argued, is a point of view that depends on the interpretative schemas and personal positions of its advocates for its definition. Several psychological and social‐structural mechanisms are presented and their roles in continuing racial inequality are proposed. Key provisions of the new South African Constitution and the Truth and Reconciliation process for adjudicating atrocities of Apartheid argue for the critical role of forgiveness and the cultural concept of Ubuntu. A brief discussion of current research in the United States suggests some ways in which this principle promises to reduce intergroup conflict and racial inequality.

The Contact Hypothesis Reconsidered: Interacting via the Internet

One of the leading theories advocated for reducing intergroup conflict is the contact hypothesis. According to this theory, contact under certain conditions, such as equal status, cooperation towards a superordinate goal, and institutional support, will create a positive intergroup encounter, which, in turn, will bring about an improvement in intergroup relations. Despite its promise, the contact hypothesis appears to suffer from three major defects: (1) practicality—creating a contact situation involves overcoming some serious practical obstacles; (2) anxiety—the anxiety felt by the participants may cause a contact to be unsuccessful or at least not reach its potential; (3) generalization—the results of a contact, however sucessful, tend to to be limited to the context of the meeting and to the participants. The Internet has, in recent years, become an accessible and important medium of communication. The Internet creates a protected environment for users where they have more control over the communication process. This article suggests that the Internet’s unique qualities may help in the creation of positive contact between rival groups. The major benefits of using the Internet for contact are examined in this article.