Unwavering Confidence Over Adversaries
In a bid to promote openness, perspective-taking, and trust-building, a unique project is underway. Funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and the Volkswagen Foundation, this initiative aims to develop psychological interventions that can be effectively implemented in various contexts and among different groups.
The project, titled "Using Self-Affirmation to Reduce Intergroup Hostility and Facilitate Intergroup Contact in the Israel-Palestinian Conflict," is led by Professor Eran Halperin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who specialises in intervention and conflict research. His colleague, Dr. Timur Sevincer from the Institute for Sustainability Psychology at Leuphana University of Lueneburg, is an expert in self-regulation.
The goal of this project is to reduce hostilities between groups and promote positive contacts, particularly in the context of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. The project plans to conduct eight studies in four different contexts: Israelis and Palestinians in Israel, German left- and right-wing extremists, religious Muslims in Western and Arab countries, and pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli students in the USA.
The interventions will be video-based, short, entertaining, and spread via social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok. The content will focus on appealing to one's own core values and encouraging a change of perspective, using positive examples of reconciliation.
Professor Halperin values the diverse backgrounds of the participating project teams and their external perspective in viewing the conflict objectively. He is joined by David Sherman, an expert in self-affirmation from the University of California in Santa Barbara, who is also part of the Lower Saxony-Israeli cooperation.
Notably, the state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation increased funding amounts and extended durations of existing projects due to the war situation in October 2023. The projects funded in the current round with four million euros cover a wide range of topics, including digital health policy, bilingualism under challenging listening conditions, and an ancient temple excavated near Jerusalem.
The Israel-Palestine conflict, currently causing global tension and concern, is the primary focus of this project. However, the interventions developed are designed to be applicable in various situations, with the aim of fostering contacts between groups and counteracting fears and feelings of one's own threat.
Since 1977, the ministry and the foundation have been supporting scientific exchange between Lower Saxony and Israeli universities and research institutions in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences, Bio and Life Sciences, Medicine, Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering Sciences. The current project is a testament to this long-standing cooperation and its commitment to promoting understanding and collaboration.
