Departmental Papers (ASC)
Title
The Power of Being Heard: The Benefits of 'Perspective-Giving' in the Context of Intergroup Conflict
Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
7-2012
Publication Source
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume
48
Issue
4
Start Page
855
Last Page
866
DOI
10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.017
Abstract
Although hundreds of dialogue programs geared towards conflict resolution are offered every year, there have been few scientific studies of their effectiveness. Across 2 studies we examined the effect of controlled, dyadic interactions on attitudes towards the ‘other’ in members of groups involved in ideological conflict. Study 1 involved Mexican immigrants and White Americans in Arizona, and Study 2 involved Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Cross-group dyads interacted via video and text in a brief, structured, face-to-face exchange: one person was assigned to write about the difficulties of life in their society (‘perspective-giving’), and the second person was assigned to accurately summarize the statement of the first person (‘perspective-taking’). Positive changes in attitudes towards the outgroup were greater for Mexican immigrants and Palestinians after perspective-giving and for White Americans and Israelis after perspective-taking. For Palestinians, perspective-giving to an Israeli effectively changed attitudes towards Israelis, while a control condition in which they wrote an essay on the same topic without interacting had no effect on attitudes, illustrating the critical role of being heard. Thus, the effects of dialogue for conflict resolution depend on an interaction between dialogue condition and participants' group membership, which may reflect power asymmetries.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Originally published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology © 2012 Elsevier
This is a pre-publication version. The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.017
Keywords
perspective-taking, perspective-giving, Israeli, Palestinian, intervention, intergroup conflict
Recommended Citation
Bruneau, E., & Saxe, R. (2012). The Power of Being Heard: The Benefits of 'Perspective-Giving' in the Context of Intergroup Conflict. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48 (4), 855-866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.017
Included in
Cognition and Perception Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Community Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons
Date Posted: 19 June 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.