Three related social psychological
themes in the context of the
Jewish-Palestinian conflict
Yechiel Klar, Noa Schori, Hadas Baram
& Dennis T. Kahn
Department of Psychology
Tel-Aviv University
From a lecture given by David Grossman, Israeli
novelist, in PEN American center (April 07)
And I feel the heavy toll that I, and the people I know and
see around me, pay for this ongoing state of war. The
shrinking of the “surface area” of the soul that comes in
contact with the bloody and menacing world out there. The
limiting of one’s ability and willingness to identify, even a
little, with the pain of others; the suspension of moral
judgment. The despair most of us experience of possibly
understanding our own true thoughts in a state of affairs
that is so terrifying and deceptive and complex, both
morally and practically. Hence, you become convinced, I
might be better off not thinking and opt not to know perhaps
I’m better off leaving the task of thinking and doing and
establishing moral norms in the hands of those who might
“know better.”
A few questions




What makes us responsive or non-responsive to
outgroup’s pain and suffering?
What makes us responsive or non-responsive to
the ingroup’s pain and suffering?
What makes us willing to endure a prolonged
conflict (e.g., passing up opportunities to better
ingroup members’ condition)?
More generally, what makes us able or unable to
relate to the story of the outgroup?
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Three Themes

Three concepts will be presented:



Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation (PIVO)
The group as a trans-generational entity (TGE)
Commitment to Ingroup Narrative (CIN)
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Perpetual Ingroup
Victimhood Orientation
What makes us responsive or nonresponsive to outgroup’s pain and
suffering?
Past suffering and collective memory




Most national-ethnic groups’ histories are rife
with suffering, persecution and violence.
Such traumatic events often serve as a basis for
common identity (Volkan, 1997), and are never
completely absent from the group’s narrative.
Past suffering is frequently used by groups and
their members to provide an interpretive
framework for contemporary events and
experiences.
The past is never truly past.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation


Collective victimhood: the belief that ingroup has been
harmed intentionally and immorally by an outgroup.
Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation (PIVO) is
made up of three components:




Uniqueness of past trauma (“No group or people have ever
been harmed as we have”)
Need for mistrust (“History teaches us that we must be
suspicious of other groups' intentions toward us”)
Past and present threat (“All our enemies throughout history
share a common denominator – the will to annihilate us”)
The threat is perceived as posed not only by
contemporary enemies but also by past adversaries,
embodied in new rivals.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Amalek
Remember what Amalek did to you
on the way as you came out of Egypt; how he
attacked you on the way when you were faint and
weary, and cut off your tail, those who were
lagging behind you, and he did not fear God;
Therefore when the Lord your God has given you
rest from all your enemies around you, in the land
that the Lord your God is giving you for an
inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the
memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall
not forget.
Deuteronomy 25, verses 17-19
“Think Amalek”
I recently asked one of (prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s)
advisers to gauge for me the depth of Mr. Netanyahu’s anxiety
about Iran. His answer: “Think Amalek.”
If Iran’s nuclear program is, metaphorically, Amalek’s arsenal,
then an Israeli prime minister is bound by Jewish history to seek its
destruction, regardless of what his allies think.
In our recent conversation, Mr. Netanyahu avoided metaphysics
and biblical exegesis, but said that Iran’s desire for nuclear
weapons represented a “hinge of history.”
Jeffery Goldberg, New York Times, 16/5/09
IThey
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they
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grandmother
grandfather
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all Amaleks.
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not return
to beindoormats.
MP
Aryeh
Eldad
MP
Uri Ariel
SE Model: the effects of PIVO are fully
mediated by Moral Entitlement
.62*
PIVO
Moral Entitlement
-.68*
R2=.55
Group-based
Guilt
R2=.73
-.23*
-.41*
.28*
MA
.66*
Tolerance to
collateral damage
χ2 (60; N = 103) = 78.544. NFI, NNFI, CFI = .95, .98, .98, respectively, and RMSEA = .052 [.000 -.081].
All coefficients are statistically significant at p < .01.
R2=.44
Current threat, PIVO and group-based guilt



The goal of this study was to examine the
effect of threat, one of the components of
PIVO, on group-based guilt.
We sought to explore the impact of situational
changes on the relations between PIVO and
group-based guilt.
Hypothesis: different levels of PIVO would be
affected by conflict-related threat, but not
other types of threat.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Current threat and PIVO: method



71 Jewish-Israeli Participants were randomly
assigned to one of three groups: control, general
threat, or conflict-related threat.
After completing the PIVO questionnaire,
participants were required to put in logical order two
sets of scrambled instructions. Each double set
represented a different condition.
Following that task, participants filled a group-based
guilt questionnaire about the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Group-based guilt
Victimhood, threat and group-based guilt:
results
Type of threat
The effects of real-life conflict-related threat:
PIVO and consequences during and 2 months after a large
military operation in the Gaza strip
The “Collateral Damage” experiment
Security forces received intelligence about the whereabouts and movements of
Mahmoud Al-Dahduh, a senior member of the military branch of the Islamic
Jihad. Dahduh, known as Abu Ubeida, is a commander in the organization and
one of its prominent explosives specialists. He was involved in various terrorist
acts, including the launch of "grad" missiles, preparing large explosive devices
and striking Israeli civilians.
The security system decided to commit "focused thwart" on the wanted
Dahduh. Various alternatives were weighed and evaluated, and it was decided
to proceed by launching missiles from air force fighter jets. Now is the time to
decide the strength of the missiles to be launched. The stronger the weapon,
the greater the chance of finishing off the wanted man. The collateral damage
also increases, i.e. the number of civilians who might also be harmed.
Several options for the thwart will now be presented to you, as well as their
implications. You need to choose the option which you think is best and most
suitable.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Collateral Damage experiment (cont.)
Type of missile
Probability of killing Estimated number
Al-Dahduh
of civilians hurt
Option A
X1
40%
0 people
Option B
X2
50%
1-2 people
Option C
X3
70%
Up to 5 people
Option D
X4
90%
Up to 10 people
Option E
X5
100%
Up to 20 people
Please write down, in as much detail as possible, the considerations that guided
you in making your choice.
% of responses
The effect of threat on tolerance of
collateral damage
Number of expected casualties
Where was the dot?
Group-based guilt
Interaction between PIVO and experimental condition as
predictor of group-based guilt
The group as a transgenerational entity
What makes us responsive or non-responsive to
the ingroup’s pain and suffering?
• What makes us willing to endure a prolonged
conflict (e.g., passing up opportunities to better
ingroup members’ condition)?
•
The Paradox of Commitment



Committed to the Group
or
Committed to the Group Members
In some situations, commitment to the
group may entail willingness to harm or
sacrifice the members of the group for the
sake of the group
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Background

The study of group perception has produced a
wealth of research in the last decade
(Yzerbyt, Judd, & Corneille, 2004)

Entitativity – the group is an independent entity
(Campbell, 1958; Brewer & Harasty, 1996; Hamilton & Sherman, 1996; Lickel, Hamilton,
Wieczokowska, Lewis, Sherman, & Uhles, 2000)

Psychological essentialism – the group stems
from a unique group essence
(Haslam, )2003 ,namleG ;2000 ,tsnrE & dlihcshtoR ,malsaH ;1998
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Background cont.

Time is a crucial building block in the
construction and maintanence of social identity
(Anderson, 1991; Hobsbawn, 1990; Reicher & Hopkins, 2001; Liu & Hilton, 2005)


Social Psychological research has been virtually
non-existent
Recent exception – Perceived Collective
Continuity (PCC) – the group has remained
unchanged through history
(Sani, Bowe, Herrera, Manna, Cossa, Miao & Zhou, 2007; Sani, F., Herrera, M., & Bowe, M., 2009).
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Background cont.



In addition to being perceived as entitative
(constituting an independent entity) and:
continuous (unchanged through history), we
propose that large-scale social groups can be
perceived as
Trans-generational Entities (TGEs). We define
TGE as perceiving the group as an entity
including all past and future generations of the
group.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Perception of the group as a Trans-Generational
Entity
1.
The group exists at a certain time
1.
2.
The group is a collection of individuals
2.
The group has a history and a future (eternal)
The group is an independent entity
For the sake of the group is not necessarily for the sake of its members
For the sake of the group members is not necessarily for the sake of
the present day group members
Trans-generational Entity Scale
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Study 1 & 2
Study 1, N = 103; Study 2, N = 119
Goal: Create a measure for the concept of TGE and test the
hypothesized relations between TGE, Group Primacy and Endurance of
Ingroup Suffering
Scales
• Trans-generational Entity (sample item: “For me, my national group
includes all the generations of group members that ever have and ever
will exist");
• Group Primacy (e.g., “It is justified that members of my national group
sometimes need to sacrifice themselves for the good of the group")
• Endurance of Ingroup Suffering (e.g. “Even if the conflict will require
present day suffering from us, we have to be ready to endure it for as
long as it takes for the sake of the future of the group”
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Religiosity
.33**(.35**)
Group Primacy
Trans-generational
Entity
.39**(.28**)
Right wing Political
Orientation
.36**(.39**)
(.33**)
.24*(15 n.s.)
Conflict
Endurance
Figure 1: Relation between antecedents and consequences of TGE, study 1 & 2. Results from
study 2 are in parentheses
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
For the good of the country or for the
good of one Israeli?
Gilad Shalit
Study 3, N = 152
 Gilad Shalit questions:
(sample item: “The people of
Israel is morally justified to ask from Gilad
Shalit's family to put the national interest
before their personal interest”)

Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Mediation
Group Primacy
.33**
.66**
Trans-generational
Entity
.27**
(.10)
Willingness to
sacrifice Gilad Shalit
for the sake of the
national group
Figure 3: Standardized regression coefficients for the relationship
between TGE and willingness to sacrifice Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit
for the sake of the national group as mediated by Group Primacy.
The regression coefficient when controlled for Group Primacy is in
parentheses.
Commitment to Ingroup
Narrative
what makes us able or unable to relate
to the story of the outgroup?
Commitment to Ingroup Narrative


Commitment to Ingroup Narrative (CIN) reflects
the extent to which individual group members
adhere to the consensual ingroup story.
CIN is measured on a 12-items scale:



“The history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which we have
grown up with, is the truest one”.
“To retain our unity as a group, we must believe we
are right”.
“People who cast doubt on our basic justifications in
the conflict are assisting the other side”.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
A student sample
-.297**/-.060, n.s
.283**
-.513**
.707**
.574**
-.222*/-.008, n.s
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
A sample of new immigrants from USSR,
relating to the Nakba Bill
.176/-.077, n.s
.450**
.573**
.703**
.611**
.309*/.005, n.s
Figures 1, 2: Standardized regression coefficients for the relationship between Identification with
the group (Attachment and Glorification) and Intention to participate in Narrative Challenging
Activities / Agreement with the Nakba bill, as mediated by Commitment to Ingroup Narrative
(CIN). The regression coefficient when controlled for CIN is in parentheses.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
A Tale of Two Stories

Thirty two Students at a preparatory program for the
Technion in Haifa completed the CIN and PIVO (Perpetual
Ingroup Victimhood Orientation, sample item: “No group or
people have ever been harmed as much as we have”) scales,
and read a story about a commander of a military
underground group, presented either as an Israeli (Abraham
Stern, the Lechi) or Palestinian (Muchamad Abu-Hazna, the
Palestinian Jihad), captured and killed by the ruling security
forces (either the British Mandate Police or the IDF). Except
for the names and the period, the two stories were identical
in all respects. Following Bartlett’s (1932) classical
methodology, participants were asked to reconstruct the
story they read after three hours. We tested how these
stories were recalled and recounted by the participants.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
A Tale of Two Stories: method

Two independent judges rated the text for
"added positivity", the amount of positive
information added to the text, "added
negativity", the amount of negative added
information, and "omitted negativity", the
amount of negative information omitted from
the text. Ratings were on a 6 point scale,
ranging from 0 (not at all) to 5 (very much).
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Predictions
1.
2.
When relating the outgroup story, group
members will add negative information
(unmentioned in the text) and not omit
negative information (mentioned in the text).
The opposite was predicted when relating
the ingroup story.
This tendency should be especially marked
among high (vs. low) CIN participants.
Introduction
PIVO
TGE
CIN
Reconstruction of Ingroup/Outgroup stories
Memory for Israeli vs. Palestinian Narrative
4.4643
4.5
4
3.5
2.7045
2.5
Israeli Narrative
Palestinian Narrative
3
2.5
1.8333
2
1.5
1
0.2273
0.5
0.0714
0
added positivity
added negativity
*omitted negativity
* Omitted negativity:
This measure refers to the amount of negative information that participants did not recall. The
higher the score, the more negative the information in the text that was not recalled.
Reconstruction of Ingroup/Outgroup
stories
Memory for Palestinian Narrative among
low and high CIN participants
2.95
2.9
3
2.7
2.1
2.5
2
Low CIN
1.5
High CIN
1
0.2
0.3
0.5
0
added positivity
added negativity
*omitted negativity
The two-judges ratings are on a 6 point scale, differences are significant at
the 0.05 level
CIN: Conclusions



Individual group members differ in their
commitment to the ingroup narrative.
CIN mediates the influence of identification with
the national group (i.e., attachment and
glorification) on the intention to participate in
narrative challenging activities and on
agreement with the Nakba bill.
High (vs. low) CIN individuals exhibit a positivity
bias in the ingroup story and a negativity bias in
the outgroup story.