Research group Intergroup Relations and Social Change

The project aims to evaluate the potential of intergroup interventions in building resilience against ethnic polarization during contentious commemorations of war victimization.

Intergroup conflicts are increasingly rising and their harmful effects often endure even after peace agreements have been reached. This underscores the need to identify evidence-based and effective interventions to improve intergroup relations in contexts affected or threatened by conflict.

The challenge of conflict resolution and intergroup reconciliation is maintained by many social and psychological obstacles such as the belief that members of adversary groups are mostly bad and essentially all the same.

Humans tend to divide their social world into “us” and “them”. In addition, we often believe that “we” are better than “them”. Such perceptions can lead to prejudices, intolerance or even conflict.

Emotions play a crucial role in intergroup conflicts by motivating support for aggressive or conciliatory policies and behaviors.