Yehuda Amir

Are Social Psychological Laws Cross-Culturally Valid?:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of social psychological findings across cultures and subcultures in order to evaluate the cross-cultural validity of empirically based social psychological laws. Six studies were sampled from four major social psychological journals. Each study was replicated on two Israeli samples, one similar to that of the original study and the other differing in some respect. Results indicate that those original findings that were replicated primarily involved main effects. Interactions were generally not replicated. Those interactions that proved significant were usually in directions different from those obtained in the original studies. These findings indicate the necessity for replications on both cross-cultural and intracultural levels. Methodological aspects of such studies are discussed.

Situational and personal influence on attitude change following ethnic contact

Abstract The study undertook to examine the validity in Israel of several conclusions reached by investigators in the United States on the effect of intergroup contact on change in ethnic attitudes, as well as to extend contact research to topics which heretofore have received only scant attention. There were 100 subjects: 12-year-old Israeli girls of different ethnic background, participating in a summer camp. Results indicated that (1) as a result of contact, a positive change in attitude of the high status towards the low-status group occurred with regard to people and activities both related and not related to the contact situation, (2) only subjects without previous ethnic contact showed changes, (3) enjoyment of the contact situation was related to attitude change, while (4) authoritarianism was not related to attitude change.

Mutual Perceptions of Arabs and Jews in Israel

Mutual perceptions of Israeli Arabs and Jews were examined; 132 Jewish university students and 122 Arab teacher college students rated the social and intellectual characteristics of a typical Israeli Arab and a typical Israeli Jew on a semantic differential scale. The findings showed that (1) each group views itself more favorably that it does the other; (2) both groups agree that the Jew excels intellectually rather than socially, while the opposite holds true for the Arab; and (3) the Jews emphasize their intellectual advantage, while the Arabs emphasize their social superiority. The results were related to other findings indicating that these perceptions are part of more general image, common in Israel, of Western and Middle-Eastern persons.

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.

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.

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.

Effectiveness of schools with a mixed student body of natives and immigrants

Abstract Nine junior high and 29 elementary schools with significant numbers of students who recently immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union were investigated to determine the characteristics of schools that effectively facilitate the social integration of immigrant children. Immigrant and native students and their teachers responded to a series of questionnaires, and interviews were conducted with school principals. Results indicated that, based on student responses, effective and ineffective schools for immigrant students could be clearly distinguished. However, most traditional indicators of school effectiveness did not differ in the two types of schools. We found that the characteristics of effective schools for immigrant children were: the elementary (grades 1–8) rather than junior high (grades 7–9) structure; immediate rather than delayed integration in the homeroom; and the appointment of an appropriate school official responsible for the welfare of immigrant students. The importance of contextual factors in the study of schooling for immigrant children is discussed.

Verbal and Behavioral Aspects of Commitment among Arabs and Jews

Attitudes of Arabs and Jews in the Middle East with regard to dependability of either group suggest that the negative picture of one group about the other is similar to that of the second group about the first one. Are these attitudes based on valid group differences or do they reflect prejudice and stereotyped perceptions? Ethnographic studies suggest possible real differences in commitment behavior between the two groups. The present study examined verbal and behavioral aspects of commitment with 125 Jewish and Arab eighth-graders as the subjects. The results reveal no basic group differences, although specific differences were found depending on particular situations and persons involved.