Showing papers on "Realistic conflict theory published in 2018"

A Comparison of Social Dominance Theory and System Justification: The Role of Social Status in 19 Nations:

Abstract: This study tests specific competing hypotheses from social dominance theory/realistic conflict theory (RCT) versus system justification theory about the role of social status. In particular, it examines whether system justification belief and effects are stronger among people with low socioeconomic status, and in less socially developed and unequal nations than among better-off people and countries. A cross-national survey was carried out in 19 nations from the Americas, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Oceania using representative online samples ( N = 14,936, 50.15% women, Mage = 41.61 years). At the individual level, system justification beliefs, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, national identification, sociopolitical conservatism, sex, age, and social status were measured. At the national level, the human development index and the Gini index were used. Multilevel analyses performed indicated that results fit better with the social dominance/RCT approach, as system justification was higher in high-status and developed nations; further, associations between legitimizing ideologies and system justification were stronger among high-status people.

Barriers to Multiculturalism: In-Group Favoritism and Out-Group Hostility Are Independently Associated With Policy Opposition

Abstract: Bias in favor of the in-group is a key determinant of discrimination and is thought to be largely independent of, and qualitatively distinct from, out-group hostility One key difference, according

Perceptions of professional identity and interprofessional working in children's services

Abstract: Little is known about how frontline professionals’ perceptions of identity and interprofessional working (IPW) impacts on their ability to work collaboratively. This study contributes to a better understanding of the role of professional identity in collaborative working through an exploration of the views of four professional groups; early years professionals, health visitors, police officers and social workers, who come together within the framework of the team around the child (TAC). The research adopted a mixed-methods design using a questionnaire (n=124) and semi-structured interviews (n=36). The questionnaires were analysed by comparing the mean ratings professionals gave to their own professional characteristics and the other three professions and the interviews were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological approach to gain more insight into professionals’ perceptions of their identity and experiences of working together. The findings revealed that the professionals had a good understanding of their differing status within collaborative working and sought to maintain their professional identity rather than adopting an interprofessional persona. Working together was not viewed as a joint enterprise and professionals questioned whether it was necessary to develop interprofessional relationships to work effectively. Despite stating that they generally worked well together professionals were quite critical of each other’s practice and blamed each other when things went wrong. Issues were raised about the efficacy of the TAC model in terms of the lead role, the quality of information sharing and discussion, and the fear of discord between professionals. The study highlights that professionals are not as committed to IPW as policy makers and organisations assume. There needs to be more awareness at all levels of the impact of professional identity, intergroup theory and a supportive environment on IPW. The mindset that dismisses the importance of professional relationships must be changed to enhance the development of trust between professionals. A reconfiguration of services with more opportunities for contact between professionals would support this. It is recommended that the TAC model is restructured with independent leadership, clear guidelines of professional responsibility and improved organisational support. Realistic group conflict theory could be used as a framework to help professionals acknowledge and manage conflict between them. Further research is recommended to develop a wider understanding of professionals’ perceptions of professional identity and IPW.

Measuring Community Integration of Lusophone West African Immigrant Populations Through Needs Assessment, Human Security, and Realistic Conflict Theory

Abstract: This article describes the process of developing and validating an immigrant community integration factor score from three different indicators based on three theories: human security, needs assessment, and realistic conflict. Over twenty days in May/June of 2015, fifty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with Bissau-Guinean immigrants on Boa Vista and Santiago Islands of Cabo Verde in West Africa to pilot test this instrument. Questions asked measured study participants’ needs assessment, human security levels, and conflict experiences. These findings demonstrate the applicability of combining these three indicators into an aggregate integration score, validated through confirmatory factor analysis using partial least squares path modeling. This article shows how the immigrant community integration factor score accounts for the situational context, in this case, increasing population and resource pressures leading to tension, conflict, and outbursts of violence before various institutional and policy interventions calmed the situation. While this study serves as a test case, we are confident that the validated integration score can serve as an effective proxy for measuring the level of comprehensive community integration not along individual acculturation indices, but according to broader human security and conflict potential at the community level.

Intergroup struggles over victimhood in violent conflict: The victim-perpetrator paradigm

Abstract: Most groups in violent, intergroup conflict perceive themselves to be the primary or sole victims of that conflict. This often results in contention over who may claim victim status and complicates a central aim of post-conflict processes, which is to acknowledge and address harms experienced by the victims. Drawing from victimology scholarship and intergroup relations theory, this article proposes the victim-perpetrator paradigm as a framework to analyse how, why and to what end groups in conflict construct and maintain their claims to the moral status of victim. This interdisciplinary paradigm builds on the knowledge that groups utilise the ‘ideal victim’ construction to exemplify their own innocence and blamelessness in contrast to the wickedness of the perpetrator, setting the two categories as separate and mutually exclusive even where experiences of violence have been complex. Additionally, this construction provides for a core intergroup need to achieve positive social identity, which groups may enhance by demonstrating a maximum differentiation between the in-group as victims and those out-groups identified as perpetrators. The paradigm contributes greater knowledge on the social roots of victim contention in conflict, as well as how groups legitimise their violence against out-groups during and after conflict.

Outgroup members’ internal criticism promotes intergroup openness: The role of perceived risk

Abstract: Research suggests that hearing an outgroup member voice internal criticism increases individuals' openness to the outgroup's perspective. We replicate and extend these findings in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli participants exposed to a Palestinian official voicing internal criticism reported more openness to the Palestinian narrative of the conflict, an effect that was mediated by an increase in participants' perception that Palestinians are open-minded and a subsequent increase in their hope for more positive relations between the two groups. In our extension of these findings, we examined a complementary mechanism contributing to the effectiveness of the criticism manipulation, specifically the extent to which participants perceive that the Palestinian official took a risk voicing criticism of Palestinians. Positive messages from a hostile outgroup may be received with suspicion, but if they are articulated under great risk to the speaker, greater credibility may be granted. Across two studies, we demonstrate that the criticism conveys risk to the speaker and that this risk is predictive of the perceived credibility of the speaker, and participants' subsequent openness to the outgroup's perspective.