Research project Healing Societies: The Impact of Social Context on Intergroup Reconciliation (HEAL)
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.
Even though intervention effectiveness and outcomes depend on the context in which people live, most empirical research on intergroup interventions has ignored the impact of social context.
This project aims to systematically examine the impact of social context on the effectiveness, processes, and durability of well-established intergroup interventions using large-scale online and field experiments. Ultimately, this project aims to identify effective interventions that fit a variety of social contexts and thus provide evidence-based tools for peace-building and conflict prevention.
Project description
The overarching aim of this project is to systematically examine the influence of crucial and pre-existing contextual features on the effectiveness, processes, and durability of intergroup interventions.
These contextual factors include
a. the degree of conflict and perceived threat,
b. the degree of integration vs. segregation within the communities in which people live,
c. ethnic majorities vs. minorities, and
d. social norms.
The project consists of four sequential work packages (WP). In WP1 and WP2, we will conduct large-scale longitudinal online experiments in different countries affected by conflict. These studies will test and compare the effectiveness, processes, and durability of established (WP1) and optimized (WP2) interventions on intergroup attitudes and real-life behaviors of ethnic majorities and minorities living in different social contexts.
In WP3, using field experiments, the most effective intergroup interventions will be incorporated into participants’ real lives through intergroup contact and multi-media. After establishing the impact of the social context on improving intergroup relations in the real world, we aim to develop a theoretical framework for improving intergroup relations in contexts of conflict (WP4).
Project members
Project managers
Sabina Cehajic-Clancy
Professor
Members
Zaur Afandiyev
PhD Student
Rezarta Bilali
Associate Professor
Michal Bilewicz
PhD, Associate Professor
Erik Bojerud
Project Coordinator
Eran Halperin
Professor
Noemi Orabona
PhD Student
Alexandra Scacco
Professor