I examined whether perceptions of intergroup similarity and conflict interact to predict prejudice and facilitation of an intergroup social interaction as a consequence of physiological linkage – a state correlated with successful social interactions wherein two people's autonomic nervous systems synch-up in time. Studies 1 and 2a, revealed an association between similarity, conflict and low prejudice. In Study 2b participants completed essays priming similarity and conflict in order to test the indirect effect of their interaction with participants' physiological reactivity on the success of a dyadic social interaction. Similarity, conflict and physiological reactivity interacted to predict physiological linkage, which in turn moderated the effects of conflict on the success of the social interaction. These results suggest that physiological and social cognitive processes play key roles in determining the important moment when an outgroup stranger becomes a potential friend.

This paper studies the importance of acknowledging social identities in a state-building process. Kosovo is a disputed area in which several ethnic groups reside. These groups obtain extensive rights within the legal framework of the Republic of Kosovo. Although these rights are extensive and, according to some, the best laws regarding minorities in Europe there are those who do not feel an attachment to the state. Historically states have been based on single-groups in so called nation-states in which the mainstream identity of the population were synonymous with that of the state. Today the view on the state has evolved into that of a multi-cultural society in which everyone are accepted regardless of their identity (i.e. sex, ethnicity, gender and so on). The conflict of Kosovo has its base in the Albanian population within Kosovo and their struggle for recognition as a people. Their struggle throughout the 20th century culminated with the complete removal of rights by Slobodan Milošević in 1989 and the formation of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in 1993. By the end of the 20th century NATO intervened in the conflict resulting in the adaptation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in which the future of Kosovo where determined. After being administrated by the international UN mission (UNMIK) for almost 9 years Kosovo declared its independence. Kosovo were to be a multi-ethnic state constituted of its many communities (ethnic-groups). Today there are few people who uses the term 'Kosovar', instead people still identify themselves by their ethnic-identity. This paper studies the importance of social identities and if the citizenship of Kosovo can fill the position as an overlapping identity bringing the ethnic-groups of Kosovo together. Although the conclusion is that the citizenship cannot fill this position today the study identifies several issues that, when resolved, severely increases the possibility for the Kosovo citizenship to fulfill this position.

<p>A long tradition of social psychological research suggests that perceptions of similarity and common ground can promote more harmonious relations among otherwise diverse social groups. Yet perceived similarity with and empathy for members of an outgroup can also intensify intergroup bias by threatening the positive distinctiveness of one's group. In the present research, cognitive dissonance theory is used as a framework for understanding how people experience and react to similarity with members of a rival outgroup and for clarifying the conditions under which outgroup similarity reduces or intensifies intergroup prejudice. Four studies tested the hypothesis that outgroup similarity elicits subjective feelings of cognitive dissonance, including psychological discomfort and negative self-evaluation. Study 1 was a pilot test in which similarity to an outgroup member was associated with negative self-evaluation but not psychological discomfort. Study 2 strengthened the interpretation of the turncoat effect as cognitive dissonance by demonstrating that the effect varies as a function of a classic dissonance moderator--perceived choice. Participants induced to experience outgroup similarity reported psychological discomfort and negative self-evaluation, but only when they believed their feelings of similarity resulted from a high degree of personal choice. Study 3 identified strength of ingroup identification as another key moderator of the effect: Only participants who were highly identified with their ingroup reported feelings of dissonance after an induction of outgroup similarity. Finally, Study 4 investigated the implications of three dissonance reduction strategies for intergroup prejudice.</p> / Dissertation

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the relationship between empathy, cross-community contact, and religiosity and the impact on forgiveness for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Based on the existing literature, three distinct guiding questions emerged: 1) "How are members from the Catholic and Protestant communities conceptualizing and defining forgiveness?", 2) "What role does religion and religiosity play in the conceptualization and process of forgiving members of the Protestant or Catholic communities?" and 3) "How does contact with members of the Catholic or Protestant community impact forgiveness and empathy?"Using a snowball sampling method, 17 participants ages 19-30 were identified and interviewed for 60-90 minutes. A modified grounded theory design was used to guide data collection and analysis, resulting in several main themes. The main themes that emerged from this study included a deeper understanding of forgiveness and the peace process from the perspective of participants, glimpses into the influences on their likeliness to forgive, and insight into the impact of cross-community contact. Forgiveness was universally valued by all participants, although this importance was balanced with concerns related to the interrelationships between politics, the peace process, justice, and the definition of forgiveness.Forgiveness was primarily defined by participants as the right of the individual, and as a means to interrupt a cycle of revenge. Among these responses to this topic, there was uncertainty about whether forgiveness could take place without an apology, and even greater confusion about whether forgiveness and justice could exist side-by-side. In addition, cross-community contact also seemed to influence the development of empathy and forgiveness between Catholics and Protestants. These findings were discussed in relation to Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis and Dixon et al.'s (2005) recent critique of the contact literature. In general, these results appeared to be consistent with previous literature on forgiveness, the contact hypothesis, and collective guilt assignment. There was evidence to indicate that contact was a necessary, but not sufficient condition for forgiveness. Limitations for the study and implications for practice and research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The aim of the present research was to investigate the various determinants of intergroup relations, particularly national stereotypes, in- group identification, contact, and social categorization. In chapter one a total of 150 Turkish Cypriots filled a national stereotypes questionnaire, social identity scale, and a scale assessing intergroup contact. Factor analysis of the stereotypes of the Turkish Cypriots (autostereotypes) demonstrated the existence of four latent variables adopted as Positivity, Competency- Based, Negativity and Religiosity/ Conservatism. The same factor structure was obtained for the stereotypes used to evaluate the Greek Cypriots (heterostereotypes). It was observed that Turkish Cypriots consistently demonstrated in- group favoritisim. In support of the Contact hypothesis it was found that increased exposure was predictive of greater endorsement of positive national stereotypes of the Greek Cypriots. In- group identification seemed to affect in- group attitudes alone / however, moderation analyses showed that in- group identification influenced negative out- group attitudes moderated through positive in- group attitudes. This led to the development of a model of negative out- group attitudes. In the second chapter the direction, content, and uniformity of the national stereotypes Turkish Cypriots endorse regarding the Turkish, Greek and British, three nations that have played a significant role in the history of Turkish Cypriots were assessed. Stereotypes were analyzed according to the following five dimensions: Empathic, dominant, efficient, negative, and religiosity/ conservative. Results led to the conclusion that Turkish Cypriots demonstrated in- group favoritism and had quite uniform autostereotypes yet inconsistent heterostereotypes. Stereotypic content was also mainly determined by the political, historical, and social relationship present between the national groups in question. In the third chapter participants were 150 Turkish Cypriots asked to assess their own town as well as the inhabitants of Nicosia. It was predicted that the act of stereotyping the neighbor would change depending on the type of category evoked from the questionnaire manipulation, such that Turkish Cypriots would judge Greek Cypriots as more similar when a common in- group identity Cypriot was suggested. The research findings however, did not support the assertions and Turkish Cypriots did not perceive themselves as more similar to Greek Cypriots under any condition, reflected also in their consistent selection of the same adjectives for Greek Cypriots over conditions. The limitations of the researches and future implications were discussed in an attempt to shed light on the intergroup processes present in Cyprus.

In recent years it has become widely accepted that the natural systems on which we depend for survival are being degraded by human activity. It is no longer a question of if we need to reduce our impact upon the planet, but of the extent to which we need to change our behaviour, and how soon we need to act. Such change will depend upon the support of voters, governments, and the international community and will require wide spread changes in attitudes and behaviour. Using the social identity approach as a framework, the current programme of research focuses on rural land users in Australia and the effectiveness of sustainable land use campaigns directed at them from both urban and rural sources. The studies provide a novel contribution to the area by demonstrating the effects of intergroup threat on group-based communication, in particular, the perception of threat to rural identity and the effect on urban and rural messages aimed at changing land use behaviour. Conclusions about broader social influence processes were also made by assessing rural participants’ perceptions of the degree to which others are influenced. Although the studies are based in the context of rural Australian land users, the results and theoretical implications can be applied to any situation wherein one group is attempting to change the attitudes and behaviours of another group. This could range from local interest groups trying to convince each other of the merits of their ideas through to political parties and nations calling for united and decisive action on global issues. Such groups ignore issues of power and status at the risk of ineffective communications or even a backlash in opinion and behaviour. Six studies were conducted, including five survey studies with rural landholders and one experiment with students at a rural campus. Study 1 (N = 251) was an evaluation of sustainable land use campaigns in general, comparing those from urban sources to those from rural sources. Study 2 (N = 585) extended this by assessing the moderating role of intergroup threat perceptions. This study also measured the perceptions of influence of urban and rural messages on urban people and other rural people. Study 3 (N = 98) assessed the influence of an actual land use campaign delivered by an ingroup source on individuals’ attitudes and behaviours and the perceived influence on others. Study 4 (N = 249) built upon Study 2 but included additional measures to address some of the inconsistencies between Studies 1 and 2. To address the psychological underpinnings of group-based influence, Study 5 (N = 124) included measures of trust in urban and rural sources as well as reports of influence, agreement, and past behaviour. To conclude, Study 6 (N = 64) provided an experimental test of persuasion by manipulating the source of the message. Self-reported identification and intergroup threat were examined as moderators of group-based persuasion. Furthermore, attributions of constructiveness were explored as a possible reason for the superior influence of ingroups. Across the six studies it was found that ingroup messages were consistently more influential than outgroup messages. Attributions of trust and constructiveness helped to explain the superior influence of ingroups. In terms of perceptions of influence on others, there was a third-person effect for urban messages but rural people did not differentiate between themselves and other rural people in response to rural messages. Furthermore, rural identification was associated with greater reported influence from the ingroup source and perceived threat was associated with increased influence of rural messages compared to urban messages. These findings have clear implications for attempts at changing attitudes between groups, particularly where there is a salient and competitive intergroup context. Outgroups operate at a distinct disadvantage in delivering persuasive communications, especially if ingroup identification is high or there is a perception of threat stemming from the communicating group. Evidence of the persuasiveness of ingroups compared to outgroups is further strengthened by the perceptions of similarity in influence of rural sources for self and other ingroup members. The findings on trust and constructiveness hint at the possibility of overcoming barriers to outgroup persuasion if positive motives for the messages can be established. Of course, this depends on the severity of the intergroup context and the nature of communication. Recommendations are made for a collaborative approach to achieving change.

In recent years it has become widely accepted that the natural systems on which we depend for survival are being degraded by human activity. It is no longer a question of if we need to reduce our impact upon the planet, but of the extent to which we need to change our behaviour, and how soon we need to act. Such change will depend upon the support of voters, governments, and the international community and will require wide spread changes in attitudes and behaviour. Using the social identity approach as a framework, the current programme of research focuses on rural land users in Australia and the effectiveness of sustainable land use campaigns directed at them from both urban and rural sources. The studies provide a novel contribution to the area by demonstrating the effects of intergroup threat on group-based communication, in particular, the perception of threat to rural identity and the effect on urban and rural messages aimed at changing land use behaviour. Conclusions about broader social influence processes were also made by assessing rural participants’ perceptions of the degree to which others are influenced. Although the studies are based in the context of rural Australian land users, the results and theoretical implications can be applied to any situation wherein one group is attempting to change the attitudes and behaviours of another group. This could range from local interest groups trying to convince each other of the merits of their ideas through to political parties and nations calling for united and decisive action on global issues. Such groups ignore issues of power and status at the risk of ineffective communications or even a backlash in opinion and behaviour. Six studies were conducted, including five survey studies with rural landholders and one experiment with students at a rural campus. Study 1 (N = 251) was an evaluation of sustainable land use campaigns in general, comparing those from urban sources to those from rural sources. Study 2 (N = 585) extended this by assessing the moderating role of intergroup threat perceptions. This study also measured the perceptions of influence of urban and rural messages on urban people and other rural people. Study 3 (N = 98) assessed the influence of an actual land use campaign delivered by an ingroup source on individuals’ attitudes and behaviours and the perceived influence on others. Study 4 (N = 249) built upon Study 2 but included additional measures to address some of the inconsistencies between Studies 1 and 2. To address the psychological underpinnings of group-based influence, Study 5 (N = 124) included measures of trust in urban and rural sources as well as reports of influence, agreement, and past behaviour. To conclude, Study 6 (N = 64) provided an experimental test of persuasion by manipulating the source of the message. Self-reported identification and intergroup threat were examined as moderators of group-based persuasion. Furthermore, attributions of constructiveness were explored as a possible reason for the superior influence of ingroups. Across the six studies it was found that ingroup messages were consistently more influential than outgroup messages. Attributions of trust and constructiveness helped to explain the superior influence of ingroups. In terms of perceptions of influence on others, there was a third-person effect for urban messages but rural people did not differentiate between themselves and other rural people in response to rural messages. Furthermore, rural identification was associated with greater reported influence from the ingroup source and perceived threat was associated with increased influence of rural messages compared to urban messages. These findings have clear implications for attempts at changing attitudes between groups, particularly where there is a salient and competitive intergroup context. Outgroups operate at a distinct disadvantage in delivering persuasive communications, especially if ingroup identification is high or there is a perception of threat stemming from the communicating group. Evidence of the persuasiveness of ingroups compared to outgroups is further strengthened by the perceptions of similarity in influence of rural sources for self and other ingroup members. The findings on trust and constructiveness hint at the possibility of overcoming barriers to outgroup persuasion if positive motives for the messages can be established. Of course, this depends on the severity of the intergroup context and the nature of communication. Recommendations are made for a collaborative approach to achieving change.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Education Management))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.