Psych 241 – Methods Lab section 03

Psych 241 Methods Lab section 03

TuTh 4:00-5:15Psych 241 MethodsLab section 03Survey PaperAny questions?

I will collect them at the end of class in exchange for your exam and quiz.Attenuating the Cost of Victim Beliefs in the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictLevi Adelman3Israeli-Palestinian ConflictThe roots of the conflict start in the early 20th century

The conflict has been violent The conflict has the attributes of an intractable conflict (Rouhana & Bar-Tal, 1998)Totality, Protractedness, Centrality, Violence, Irreconciliability

Why is it so intractable?What makes this such a difficult conflict to resolve?

One explanation for this comes from the literature on victim beliefs.

Victim beliefs are the beliefs held by a member of a victimized group about their victimization. These beliefs can have significant effects on behavior. (Rouhana & Bar-Tal, 1998; Vollhardt, 2009)Victim Beliefs of the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictBoth groups see themselves as being the victims.

For both groups, the victimization has been protracted and continuous

Both groups see themselves as victimized by many groups

Competitive VictimhoodAn outcome of these victim beliefs can be competitive victimhood

Competitive victimhood is the belief that ones own group has suffered more than other groups (Noor, Brown, & Prentice, 2008; Noor, Schnabel, Halabi, & Nadler, 2012)

This can lead to devaluing or ignoring the suffering of other groups, even those unrelated to the original suffering (Wohl & Branscombe, 2008)Need Based Model of ReconciliationCompetitive victimhood can get in the way of reconciliation

Need based model of reconciliation proposes that whereas perpetrators desire to be liked in reconciliation, victims desire to be empowered or respectedThe current situationTaking us back to the current situation

Both groups perceive themselves as victims and through competitive victimhood are less willing to recognize the victimhood of the other group

Since both groups see themselves as victim, they will both want to be respected in a reconciliation

The crux of the problemBoth groups perceive themselves as the victim, to the exclusion of the other group

Both groups desire respect from the other, which includes respecting their victimization, in any reconciliation

So what can we do about this?Understanding competitive victimhoodWhat motivates competitive victimhood?

Competition for the status of victim is connected to moral, symbolic, and realistic benefits.

The actions of a victim are more defensible, they have greater claim to reparation and resources etc.More competitive victimhoodWhat fears might be associated with why a group would persist in seeing their group as the primary victim?

In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where themes often revolve around existence, it may be a realistic threat to the groups existenceUnderstanding the FearPrevious research suggests many fears as being central to the conflictFear for continued existenceFears for general supportFears of losing ones identityFears of losing positive identity with the self

However I am unsure which of these fears is most central psychologically in this conflict.

QuestionsWhat are the main fears that Israelis and Palestinians have about recognizing the other as victim?

Do Palestinian fears about Israel winning the victim competition match Israeli beliefs about what the winner deserves (and vice-versa)?HypothesesWhen I threaten competitive victimhood, threat will increase

The more threat they feel, the more they will engage in competitive victimhood

The more competitive victimhood they have, the less likely they will be to engage in conflict resolutionParticipantsOnline survey given to a representative sample of 200 Jewish Israelis

MaterialsThree randomly assigned articles:AcknowledgementNon-AcknowledgementDelegitimization

Measures: Threat (World, Israelis, Palestinians, Identity); Competitive Victimhood; Conflict ResolutionModerators: Justice Beliefs; Glorification

Model of Study

Future DirectionsOnce we identify the threats driving competitive victimhood, can we alleviate them in future studies and see if that leads to increased conflict resolution?

What it all meansThis finding will create a model for finding solutions to otherwise intractable conflicts

This model should be able to be applied to intractable conflicts worldwide

Homework.Jury simulation project proposal due on Tuesday!

Get into your groups and start working on it now, and ask me any questions that you have.21Jury Simulation Project ProposalJury simulation project proposal due on Tuesday!

Get into your groups and start working on it now, and ask me any questions that you have.22Contact [email protected]

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