Rachel Ben-Ari

The Positive Side of Negative Emotion: The Role of Guilt and Shame in Coping with Interpersonal Conflict

Two studies examined the effects of guilt and shame on coping with situations of interpersonal conflict. The first study used quantitative self-report measures to evaluate the relationship between guilt-proneness and shame-proneness and conflict coping style. The second study content-analyzed participants’ narrative reports of interpersonal conflicts to evaluate the distinguishing characteristics of guilt versus shame, and the causal relationship between state guilt and shame and styles of coping with conflict. Findings highlight the characteristics of guilt and shame that may explain their differential influence on coping. Theoretical contributions and applications for conflict resolution and mediation are discussed.

Cognitive complexity and intergroup perception and evaluation

Abstract The experiment tested the relationship between cognitive complexity and intergroup perception and evaluation. Perceived variability within the ingroup and the outgroup, as well as polarity of evaluation of ingroup and outgroup members, were assessed in high school pupils with low- or high-cognitive complexity. In comparison with low-complexity subjects, high-complexity subjects perceived more variability within both the ingroup and the outgroup, in both positive and negative traits. In comparison with low-complexity subjects, high-complexity subjects exhibited a less positive evaluation of the ingroup and a less extreme negative evaluation of the outgroup.

Asymmetry, Academic Status, Differentiation, and the Ethnic Perceptions and Preferences of Israeli Youth

Ethnic attitudes and preferences of Jewish youth in Israel from Middle Eastern and Western ethnic background were investigated in this study. A multiscale questionnaire was administered to 1033 ninth-grade students in 30 classrooms from ethnically integrated schools in different parts of the country. Results indicated that the two groups perceived themselves as being markedly different from each other. However, (1) ethnic attitudes in this sample were asymmetrical, since both Middle Eastern and Western sub-jects expressed more positive evaluation of and preference for persons of Western than of Middle Eastern background; (2) ethnic attitudes varied with academic status in each ethnic group; and (3) Middle Eastern subjects displayed a more differentiated person perception than did subjects of Western background. Implications of thesefindings were considered from a variety of theoretical perspectives as well as in terms of their generality in light of current research in Israel and the United States.

Enhancing Intergroup Relations in Israel: A Differential Approach

Accelerated democratization has fostered greater interaction between heterogeneous groups in many spheres of life, strengthening in many cases intergroup conflict and tension, prejudice, and negative relations.

Rapport in Negotiation: The Contribution of the Verbal Channel

This study examined the contribution of verbal behavior to the creation of rapport in negotiation, while methodologically addressing the issue of dependence between dyadic measures, which is inherent to the concept of rapport, with the Actor-Partner Interdependence model. The approach adopted is substantially different from that of past research, which emphasized the contribution of nonverbal behavior to rapport and used averaged rapport to asses it. Drawing both from the theoretical concept of rapport and from Politeness theory, the authors developed the Verbal Rapport Assessment scale. The authors found that rapport is indeed encoded in the verbal behavior and that various verbal behaviors contribute to negotiators’ sense of rapport, as well as to the judgment of negotiators’ rapport behaviors. Likewise, the authors found that a negotiator’s sense of rapport was primarily affected by his partners’ verbal behavior and by the interaction between behaviors of both sides. These findings emphasize the importance of the verbal channel and the dyad in creating rapport in negotiation. Negotiation in the twenty-first century is often characterized by exclusively verbal interactions (via telephone, chat, and e-mails); negotiators from many different fields can benefit from these findings.

Contact between Israelis and Arabs A Theoretical Evaluation of Effects

Based on social-psychological research findings, generalizations can be made as to the effects of certain situational and personal variables in interethnic contact situations on the attitude change of the interacting individuals. The purpose of this paper is to try to arrive at conclusions regarding the effects of contact between Israeli Jews and West Bank Arabs on ethnic change, based on evaluation of the existing contact situations and their potential effect. Following this theoretical evaluation, two empirical studies on this topic are briefly presented. Comparing the theoretical evaluation and the empirical results, there is a general consistency of conclusions for the Israeli group; for the Arabs discrepancies are detected. However, both approaches indicate that the effects of contact are relatively more positive for the Israelis than for the Arabs.

Intergroup Contact, Cultural Information, and Change in Ethnic Attitudes

The problem of intergroup conflict has been a major concern for numerous societies and countries in the world. Intergroup tensions exist between blacks and whites in the USA, between the white and colored populations in Britain, between the native population and immigrant workers in the Federal Republic of Germany, and in many other regions of the world where intergroup prejudice and hostility culminate in violence and bloodshed.

The Effects of Prevalent Social Stereotypes on Intergroup Attribution

The study tested there alternative hypotheses regarding intergroup attribution patterns derived from the ethnocentric, the asymmetrical, and the stereotype-based models of intergroup attribution. Junior high school pupils (284 males and 298 females) from majority and minority groups in Israel were asked to make internal-external attributions regarding three different competencies awarded to an ingroup or outgroup member. The results largely supported the streotype-based model: Members of both groups made internal attributions for stereotype-consistent positive behavior and external attibutions for stereotype-inconsistent positive behavior, for both the ingroup and the outgroup.

Objective versus Subjective Aspects of Interpersonal Relations between Jews and Arabs

Research has already revealed a number of variables affecting attitude change resulting from interethnic contact. These variables are invariably defined according to objective criteria (e.g., socioeconomic status). The present study concentrated on the effects of status and treatment, objectively as well as subjectively defined and measured, on attitudes of 302 West Bank Arabs working in 13 major industrial plants in Israel. Findings indicate that objective and subjective treatment of Arab workers correlates positively with attitude change towards Israeli Jews. However, workers with higher status at the plants showed less favorable attitudes toward Israelis. Arabs who subjectively evaluated their status at the plant as high expressed more positive attitudes towards Israelis than those who evaluated their status as low. Theoretical and applied implications of the findings are discussed.

Prospects of Intergroup Relations in an Intense Conflict Situation: Jews and Arabs in Israel

The effects of interethnic contact between West-Bank Arabs and Israeli Jews on attitudes of Arabs towards Israel and Israelis were examined in two studies conducted in 13 industrial plants in Israel employing workers from both national groups. On the whole, attitudes of Arabs were found to remain unchanged. However, positive attitude change was found with regard to two types of Arab workers: (a) those who perceived their status at work as high, and (b) those who perceived the treatment they received from the Jews as positive. The results are discussed in terms of the conditions enhancing positive attitude change following interethnic contact. In addition, the prospects of the prevalent type of contact on the relations between the two groups are evaluated.