Palestinians and Israelis believe the other's God encourages intergroup benevolence: a case of positive intergroup meta-perceptions

Shackleford, Crystal M., Pasek, Michael H., Vishkin, Allon and Ginges, Jeremy (2024) Palestinians and Israelis believe the other's God encourages intergroup benevolence: a case of positive intergroup meta-perceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 110. ISSN 0022-1031

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Abstract

How does religious belief influence intergroup conflict? Research addressing this question generally focuses on how individuals' own beliefs influence intergroup behavior. However, intergroup cooperation may also be influenced by second-order beliefs; in this case, perceptions about how outgroup members' religious beliefs influence their intergroup behavior. Indeed, across different domains, intergroup conflict is often driven by inaccurate and negative intergroup perceptions and predictions. If true of religion, such negatively biased predictions may independently hinder intergroup cooperation by reducing the extent to which individuals see religious outgroup members as cooperative partners. Contrary to this hypothesis, three preregistered studies (N = 1081) provide consistent evidence that Palestinians and Israelis predict that belief in God motivates outgroup members to give more money in intergroup exchanges (Studies 1 and 2) and to place a greater value on outgroup members' lives (Study 3). Results have important implications for policymakers' and the public's understanding of religion's role in intergroup relations.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-e...
Additional Information:	© 2023 Elsevier
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion H Social Sciences > HM Sociology B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2023 16:27
Last Modified:	09 Apr 2024 23:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120821

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