HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: Psychology

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Oded Adomi Leshem

Coordinator Email: oded.leshem@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: To be coordinated with the student upon request

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Leshem Oded

Course/Module description:
The course will focus on the psychological basis required in order to understand the evaluation and dynamics of intergroup relations, and the psychological grounds of conflict resolution.
Specifically, we will define the concepts and psychological theories explaining conflict escalation. We will focus on describing the psychological barriers preventing conflict resolution even in times when it is allegedly objectively possible. Finally, we will suggest a number of principles that may enhance peaceful conflict resolution. The course will focus on intergroup conflicts, but many of the concepts that will be discussed may be applied also to interpersonal conflicts. The course will include relevant examples from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other similar conflicts.

Course/Module aims:

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Read and analyze articles in the realm of psychology of conflicts
- Integrate and apply Psychological theories on real life events

Attendance requirements(%):
80% attendance is required in order to take the final exam

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:

Course/Module Content:
Class 1:
Introduction: Psychology, Political Psychology and Intergroup Conflict.

Class 2:
Power relations in intergroup Conflicts – psychological perspective

Class 3:
Psychological barriers to peaceful resolution of conflicts – Integrative Model

Class 4:
First Group of Psychological Barriers - General Beliefs, values and ideology

Class 5:
Second Group of Barriers – Cognitive and Motivational Biases

Classes 6:
Third Group of Barriers - Emotional Barriers to Peace- introduction

Classes 7:
Hostile emotions in intractable conflicts: Hatred, Anger and contempt

Classes 8:
Life in a hostile world- Fear and anxiety in intractable conflicts.

Class 9:
Hope and despair in intractable conflicts

Class 10:
Emotional responses to "the other"s suffering- Empathy and schadenfreude in intractable conflicts

Class 11 & 12:
Psychological interventions to overcoming psychological barriers

Class 11:
Classic approaches: Contact

Class 12:
Cuurent approaches

Class 13:
Introduction to the home exam

Required Reading:
Please see below the recommended readings for the course.
The requested reading for each class is marked by the asterisk.

Class 1:

Azar, E.E. (1985). Protracted international conflicts: Ten propositions. International Interactions, 12, 59-70.
Kelman, H.C., & Fisher, R. J. (2003). Conflict analysis and resolution. In D. O. Sears, L. Huddy, R. Jervis (Eds.) Oxford handbook of political psychology (pp. 315-353). New York: Oxford University Press.
*Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33-48). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Class 2:
*Shnabel, N. & Nadler, A. (2008). A Needs-Based Model of Reconciliation: Satisfying the differential emotional needs of victim and perpetrator as a key to promoting reconciliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 94, 2008.
*Knowles, E. D., Lowery, B. S., Chow, R. M., & Unzueta, M. M. (2014). Deny, Distance, or Dismantle: How White Americans manage a privileged identity. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 594-609.

Class 3:
*Bar-Tal, D & Halperin, E (2011). Socio-psychological barriers to conflict resolution. In D, Bar-Tal (Ed) Intergroup conflicts and their resolution: Social psychological perspective, pp. 217-240, New-York: Psychology Press.
* Ross, L., & Ward, A. (1995). Psychological barriers to dispute resolution. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 27 (pp. 255-304). San Diego: Academic Press.
Bar-Tal, D. (2007). Sociopsychological foundations of intractable conflicts. American Behavioral Scientist, 50, 1430-1453.

Class 4:
*Jost, J. T. (2006). The end of the end of ideology. American Psychologist, 61, 651-670.
Adorno, T.W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D.J. & Sanford, R.N. (1950). The authoritarian personality. New York: Harper.
Altemeyer, B. (1981). Right-wing authoritarianism. Winnipeg, Canada. University of Manitoba Press.
Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (1999) Social dominance. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Class 5:
*Maoz, I., Ward, A., Katz, M. & Ross L. (2002). Reactive devaluation of an Israeli and a Palestinian peace proposal. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 46, 515-546.
Rouhana, N. N., O'Dwyer, A., Morrison Vaso, S. K. (1997). Cognitive biases and political party affiliation in intergroup conflict. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 37-57.
Suggested Reading:
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Kahneman, D & Tversky, A. (1995). Conflict resolution: A cognitive perspective. In Barriers to conflict resolution (pp. 44-61). In K. Arrow, R. Mnookin, L. Ross, A. Tversky, & R. Wilson (Eds.), New York: Norton.

Class 6:
*Halperin, E. & Reifen-Tagar, M. (2017). Emotions in conflicts: Understanding emotional processes sheds light on the nature and potential resolution of intractable conflicts. Current Opinion in Psychology, 17, 94-98
*Mackie, D. M., Devos, T., & Smith, E. R. (2000). Intergroup emotions: Explaining offensive actions in an intergroup context. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 602–616.
*Halperin, E. (2015). Emotions in conflict: Inhibitors and facilitators of peace making. Routledge.‏

Goldenberg, A., Garcia, D., Halperin, E., & Gross, J.J. (2020). Collective emotions. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 29(2), 154-160.
Halperin, E & Sharvit, K., & Gross, J. J. (2011). Emotions and emotion regulation in conflicts. In D, Bar-Tal (Ed) Intergroup conflicts and their resolution: Social psychological perspective, pp. 83-103, New-York: Psychology Press.

Class 7:
*Fischer, A., Halperin, E., Canetti, D & Jasini, A. (2018). Why we hate. Emotion Review, 10(4), 309-220.
*Halperin, E., Russel, A. G., Dweck, S. C., & Gross, J. J. (2011). Anger, hatred, and the quest for peace: Anger can be constructive in the absence of hatred. Journal of Conflict Resolution. 55(2), 274-291.
Lerner, J. S., Gonzalez, R. M., Small, D. A., & Fischhoff, B. (2003). Effects of fear and anger on perceived risk of terrorism: A national field experiment. Psychological Science, 14, 144-150.
Tam, T., Hewstone, M., Cairns, E., Tausch, N., Maio, G., & Kenworthy, J. (2007). The impact of intergroup emotions on forgiveness in Northern Ireland. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 10, 119-135.

Class 8:
*Huddy, L., Feldman, S., Taber, C., & Lahav, G. (2005). Threat, anxiety, and support of antiterrorism policies. Journal of Political Science, 49, 593-608.
*Jarymowicz, M., & Bar-Tal, D. (2006). The dominance of fear over hope in the life of individuals and collectives. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 367-392.
Wohl, M. J., Squires, E. C., & Caouette, J. (2012). We were, we are, will we be? The social psychology of collective angst. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6(5), 379-391.
Kahn, D. T., Björklund, F., & Hirschberger, G. (2021). The intent and extent of collective threats: A data-driven conceptualization of collective threats and their relation to political preferences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

Class 9:
*Cohen-Chen, S., Crisp, R. J., & Halperin, E. (2017). A new appraisal-based framework underlying hope in conflict resolution. Emotion Review, 9(3), 208-214.
*Hasan-Aslih, S., Pliskin, R., Van Zomeren, M., Halperin, E., Saguy, T. (2019). A darker side of hope: harmony-based hope ironically decreases collective action intentions among the disadvantaged. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(2) 209–223.
Rosler, N., Cohen-Chen, S., & Halperin, E. (2017). The distinctive effects of empathy and hope in intractable conflicts. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 6(1), 114-139.
Leshem, O. A., & Halperin, E. (2020). Hope during conflict. In S. C. van den Heuvel (Ed.), Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope (pp. 179–196). Springer International Publishing.

Class 10:
*Zaki, J. (2014a). Empathy: A motivated account. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1608-1647.
*Cikara, M., Bruneau, E., Van Bavel, J. J., & Saxe, R. (2014). Their pain gives us pleasure: How intergroup dynamics shape empathic failures and counter-empathic responses. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 55, 110-125.
Cameron, C. D., & Payne, B. K. (2011). Escaping affect: How motivated emotion regulation creates insensitivity to mass suffering. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(1), 1-15.
Hasson, Y., Tamir, M., Brahms, K.S., Cohrs, J.C., & Halperin, E. (2018). Are liberals and conservatives equally motivated to feel empathy toward others? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(10), 1449-1459.

Class 11:
*Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751– 783.
*Maoz, I. (2011). Does contact work in protracted asymmetrical conflict? Appraising 20 years of reconciliation-aimed encounters between Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Journal of Peace Research, 48, 115–125.
Ron, Y., Solomon, J., Halperin, E. & Saguy, T. (2017). Willingness to engage in intergroup contact: A multi-level approach. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 23(3), 210-218.

Class 12:
*Paluck, E.L., Porat, R., Clark, C.S., & Green, D.P. (2020). Prejudice reduction: Progress and challenges. Annual Review of Psychology.
*Hameiri, B., Bar-Tal, D., & Halperin, E. (2014). Challenges for peacemakers: How to overcome the socio-psychological barriers. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1, 164-171.
Mousa, S. (2020). Building social cohesion between Christians and Muslims through soccer in post-ISIS Iraq. Science. 369 (6505), 866-870

Additional Reading Material:

Grading Scheme :
Essay / Project / Final Assignment / Referat 70 %
Submission assignments during the semester: Exercises / Essays / Audits / Reports / Forum / Simulation / others 30 %

Additional information:
Active participation in class is required.