Keren Sharvit

A New Stress-Based Model of Political Extremism: Personal Exposure to Terrorism, Psychological Distress, and Exclusionist Political Attitudes

Does exposure to terrorism lead to hostility toward minorities? Drawing on theories from clinical and social psychology, we propose a stress-based model of political extremism in which psychological distress—which is largely overlooked in political scholarship—and threat perceptions mediate the relationship between exposure to terrorism and attitudes toward minorities. To test the model, a representative sample of 469 Israeli Jewish respondents was interviewed on three occasions at six-month intervals. Structural Equation Modeling indicated that exposure to terrorism predicted psychological distress (t1), which predicted perceived threat from Palestinian citizens of Israel (t2), which, in turn, predicted exclusionist attitudes toward Palestinian citizens of Israel (t3). These findings provide solid evidence and a mechanism for the hypothesis that terrorism introduces nondemocratic attitudes threatening minority rights. It suggests that psychological distress plays an important role in political decision making and should be incorporated in models drawing upon political psychology.

Says Who?: Epistemic Authority Effects in Social Judgment

Publisher Summary This chapter features the concept of ascribed epistemic authority offered as a unique perspective on source effects in social judgment. It assumes that both the self and external sources may be assigned different degrees of epistemic authority in different domains and that this determines the ways in which individuals process information, make decisions, and undertake actions. The present framework traces the socio-developmental aspects of epistemic authority assignments and considers individual differences in the distribution of authority assignments across sources. The chapter conceives of epistemic authority ascriptions as meta-cognitive beliefs about a source of information. It introduces a perspective on source effects framed from the subjective standpoint of the informations recipient. This perspective highlights the developmental, individual differences, self-related, and applied aspects of source phenomena. The treatment of source effects in several major models of persuasion is reviewed. A final discussion highlights the unique properties of the epistemic authority and considers its implications for the place of source effects in notions of information processing and human judgment.

‘If I don't get blown up ...’: realism in face of terrorism in an Israeli nationwide sample

In a nationwide study, we explored how Israelis, currently stricken by an intense wave of terrorism, perceive the risk of being the victim of a terrorist attack. We studied both absolute and comparative (i.e., vis-a-vis other people at the area of residence) perceived controllability and vulnerability. The picture that emerges is one of realism. We found no evidence of the comparative optimistic illusions, which characterizes the risk-perception literature. Most participants report some level of behavior change and precautions against the threat of terrorism, but most of them were doubtful about the effectiveness of these precautionary attempts. Perceived absolute vulnerability was the only risk perception variable related to precautionary behaviors. We discuss the disappearance of comparative optimistic biases when the threat is clearly realistic.

Socio-psychological implications for an occupying society: The case of Israel

Although prolonged occupation of a nation is no longer a common phenomenon, where it does exist, it bears harsh implications for all parties involved. This article examines the socio-psychological implications of occupation on the occupying society, using the case of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967 as an example. The article first delineates the concept of occupation from a socio-psychological perspective, which supplements the legal-formal aspect. The authors then propose a conceptual framework that analyzes the psychology of the occupying society. Within this framework, they describe the psychological challenges that the occupation may pose to the members of the occupying society. Next, they introduce psychological mechanisms that members of an occupying society may use in order to avoid facing these challenges. Finally, they offer a number of ideas regarding the relationship between these mechanisms and the process of ending the occupation.

Protected by Ethos in a Protracted Conflict? A Comparative Study among Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem

Can endorsement of the ethos of conflict alter psychological effects of exposure to political violence? Israelis and Palestinians have been in a state of political and military turmoil for decades. We interviewed 781 Israelis and 1,196 Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Using structural equation modeling, we found that among those with a weak adherence to ethos of conflict, exposure predicted higher levels of hatred. For Israelis with a weak adherence to ethos of conflict, exposure predicted higher psychological distress and fear. For Palestinians with weaker adherence to ethos of conflict, stronger exposure predicted stronger threat perceptions. Israelis and Palestinians with a strong adherence to the ethos showed steady and high levels of negative emotions and threat, regardless of exposure. These results indicate that ethos of conflict is a double-edged sword that both protects and protracts the conflict. Although it serves as an engine fueling the conflict, it also plays a meaningful role as an empowering force for people suffering the psychological burden of an ongoing conflict.

Ethos of Conflict in the Israeli Media During the Period of the Violent Confrontation

For many years the Israeli society has been engulfed in an intractable conflict—a total conflict that was perceived as irreconcilable—over existential goals and marked by brutal violence and unwillingness to compromise. Such a conflict consumes prodigious resources and involves all the members of the society (Bar-Tal, 1998, 2000a; Kriesberg, 1993). It demands that the society adjust to the situation in order to cope successfully with the enemy while simultaneously making efforts to meet its basic needs. To deal with the challenge, societies that are caught up in an intractable conflict develop a distinct psychological repertoire, of which a key element is the “ethos of conflict.”

To Feel or Not to Feel When My Group Harms Others? The Regulation of Collective Guilt as Motivated Reasoning

Four studies tested the proposition that regulation of collective guilt in the face of harmful ingroup behavior involves motivated reasoning. Cognitive energetics theory suggests that motivated reasoning is a function of goal importance, mental resource availability, and task demands. Accordingly, three studies conducted in the United States and Israel demonstrated that high importance of avoiding collective guilt, represented by group identification (Studies 1 and 3) and conservative ideological orientation (Study 2), is negatively related to collective guilt, but only when mental resources are not depleted by cognitive load. The fourth study, conducted in Italy, demonstrated that when justifications for the ingroup’s harmful behavior are immediately available, the task of regulating collective guilt and shame becomes less demanding and less susceptible to resource depletion. By combining knowledge from the domains of motivated cognition, emotion regulation, and intergroup relations, these cross-cultural studies offer novel insights regarding factors underlying the regulation of collective guilt.

The effects of Israeli use of coercive and conciliatory tactics on Palestinian's use of terrorist tactics: 2000–2006

The study investigated the effects of Israels use of offensive, defensive and conciliatory tactics on Palestinians use of terrorist tactics. Proportional hazard modeling assessed the effects of Israeli tactics on total terrorist activity by Palestinians, suicidal and non-suicidal acts of terror, and acts of terror attributed to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and factions affiliated with Fatah. Palestinian acts of terror decreased following the construction of the separation fence, but increased during Operation Defensive Shield (ODS). However, the effects of various Israeli tactics differed for the different groups. Targeted assassinations increased Hamas terrorist activity, increased PIJ activity only if highly senior persons were targeted, and had no immediate effect on terrorist activity by Fatah-affiliated factions. ODS increased terrorist activity by Fatah-affiliated factions but had no effect on Hamas and PIJ. Several conciliatory measures were followed by periods of no terrorist activity at all by Hamas and Fatah-affiliated factions. The findings highlight the importance of considering the responses of different terrorist groups when evaluating effects of counterterrorist tactics.

A Psychological Earthquake in the Israeli-Jewish Society: Changing Opinions Following the Camp David Summit and the Al-Aqsa Intifada

An analysis of the relations between the Israeli Jews and the Palestinians, in the context of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, turns up a sad paradox. Even at the climax of the violent confrontation, in 2002, the majority in both societies was ready for far-reaching compromises in order to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict peacefully. A national survey conducted in November 2002 in both societies at the same time shows that about 70 percent of the Palestinians and Israelis were willing to embark on a process that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, if the Palestinians would refrain from violence. Yet, at the same time, the majority in both societies stereotypes the adversary with delegitimizing characteristics and harbors fear and deep mistrust that prevent any possible negotiation and resolution of the conflict. In addition, the majority in both societies supports violent acts against the opponent, which only deepen the delegitimization and mistrust (Kull, 2003; Search for Common Ground, 2002).

Self-Censorship: Emerging Themes and Remaining Questions

The various chapters of the present volume demonstrate that self-censorship is prevalent in numerous social spheres, ranging from the narrow domain of the family to the broad domain of entire societies and their institutions, such as the mass media, the education system, and the military. Given the scope of this phenomenon, one would expect it to generate considerable interest among scholars and researchers. Yet, systematic research into self-censorship has been scarce. The present volume collects and integrates studies of self-censorship in a variety of spheres, hoping to stimulate further research on the topic. In this chapter, I discuss several general themes that emerge from the collection of chapters and can be further explored in future studies. I begin by addressing the question of why research on self-censorship has been scarce despite the prevalence of the phenomenon. In the next section, I discuss the implications of self-censorship in different spheres, focusing on the implications for individuals versus collectives and on the role of gatekeepers. In the last section I discuss the broader context in which self-censorship is more or less likely to appear.