Andrew Pilecki

Prevalence and Correlates of Delegitimization Among Jewish Israeli Adolescents

Intractable political conflicts are characterized by a sociopsychological infrastructure (Bar-Tal, 2007) in which individuals are subject to a cognitive and emotional repertoire that legitimizes the use of violence. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of delegitimization, one psychological component theorized as central to the maintenance and reproduction of intractable conflict. Jewish Israeli adolescents completed a survey assessing delegitimization (a process by which members of the outgroup are morally derogated and considered of less existential value than ingroup members), demographic variables, political violence exposure and participation, and attitudes toward policies related to conflict resolution with the Palestinians. Higher levels of delegitimization were associated with being male and with higher reported levels of religiosity, political violence participation, and endorsement of non-compromising attitudes associated with conflict resolution. Analyses supported a conceptual mod...

Methodological Approaches in Political Psychology: Discourse and Narrative

In his speech formally nominating US president Barack Obama for re-election at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, former President Bill Clinton used the power of language to forge a link between Obama and the would-be voter. He crafted contrasting societal narratives of ‘you’re-on-your-own’ versus ‘we’re-all-in-this-together’, evoking contrasting imagery of isolation versus community in the midst of hardship and linking these narratives to two distinct party ideologies. The speech was rhetorically constructed to motivate and inspire an electorate that had become increasingly complacent amidst continued economic decline and the bitterness of an ugly campaign. Clinton delivered a series of rational arguments about why re-electing Obama would be vital — arguments rooted at least in part, as he put it, in ‘arithmetic’. Employing a rhetoric not just of reason but also of emotion (‘And if you will renew the president’s contract, you will feel it. You will feel it.’), he argued that Obama represented not just the sound, logical choice but the only hope for a politics of ‘cooperation’ rather than ‘constant conflict’.