The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict
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 i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Elsevier
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98833 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-1791 |
| _version_ | 1826205089850720256 |
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| author | Bruneau, Emile G. Saxe, Rebecca R. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Bruneau, Emile G. Saxe, Rebecca R. |
| author_sort | Bruneau, Emile G. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:06:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/98833 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:06:35Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/988332022-09-28T12:03:13Z The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict Bruneau, Emile G. Saxe, Rebecca R. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Bruneau, Emile G. Saxe, Rebecca R. 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. Alliance of Civilizations (Media Fund) MIT Wade Family Fund 2015-09-18T16:01:07Z 2015-09-18T16:01:07Z 2012-03 2012-02 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 00221031 1096-0465 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98833 Bruneau, Emile G., and Rebecca Saxe. “The Power of Being Heard: The Benefits of ‘perspective-Giving’ in the Context of Intergroup Conflict.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 48, no. 4 (July 2012): 855–866. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-1791 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.017 Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier OAPOT |
| spellingShingle | Bruneau, Emile G. Saxe, Rebecca R. The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict |
| title | The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict |
| title_full | The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict |
| title_fullStr | The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict |
| title_full_unstemmed | The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict |
| title_short | The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’ in the context of intergroup conflict |
| title_sort | power of being heard the benefits of perspective giving in the context of intergroup conflict |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98833 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-1791 |
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