Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict: Representations of Arabs in Israeli Jewish Society

by Daniel Bar-Tal, Yona Teichman

Overview

Focusing on the issue of Arab representation in the Israeli-Jewish society, this study describes the negative intergroup psychological repertoire about the enemy (Arabs) that evolves in the context of intractable conflict (Arab-Israeli conflict). This analysis is of special importance because the negative psychological intergroup repertoire feeds the continuation of the conflict, and thus, serves as a major obstacle to conflict resolution and the peace making process. The major challenge of changing the negative psychological intergroup repertoire is emphasized.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521127035
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/03/2009
Pages:	504
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Daniel Bar-Tal is Professor of Social Psycholofy at the School of Education, Tel-Aviv University. He is the Coeditor in Chief of the Palestine Israel Journal, Director of the Walter Lebach Research Institute for Jewish-Arab Coexistence Through Education, and Co-Director of the European Summer Institute in Political Psychology.

Yona Teichman is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University. Her research and publications cover domains in social and clinical psychology.

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; General overview; 1. The psychological basis of intergroup relations; 1.1 Intergroup behaviour; 1.2 Psychological intergroup repertoire; 1.3 Formation of the psychological intergroup repertoire; 1.4 Conclusions; 2. Psychological intergroup repertoire in intractable conflicts; 2.1 Intractable conflicts; 2.2 Societal beliefs in intractable conflicts; 2.3 Negative psychological intergroup repertoire; 2.4 Conclusions; 3. The context: The Arab-Israeli intractable conflict; 3.1 Socio-cultural context; 3.2 The intractable nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict; 3.3 The Jewish narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict; 3.4 Israeli Jewish ethos of conflict; 3.5 Conclusions; 4. Representation of Arabs in public discourse; 4.1 The impact of mass media; 4.2 Public discourse before the establishment of the State; 4.3 Public discourse by leaders; 4.4 Public discourse through the media in the State of Israel; 4.5 Research on the presentation of Palestinians in the Israeli mass media; 4.6 Research on the presentation of Arab citizens of the State of Israel in the media; 4.7 Conclusions; 5. Representation of Arabs in school textbooks; 5.1 Presentation of Arabs in school textbooks of the pre-state period; 5.2 Presentation of Arabs in school textbooks from 1948 up to the early 1970s; 5.3 Presentation of Arabs in school textbooks between the mid 1970s and 1990s; 5.4 Conclusions; 6. Representation of Arabs in cultural products; 6.1 Adult Hebrew literature; 6.2 Children's literature; 6.3 Hebrew drama; 6.4 Israeli films; 6.5 Conclusions; 7. Representation of Arabs by Israeli Jews: review of empirical research; 7.1 Psychological repertoire towards Arabs; 7.2 Views about Arab-Israeli relations; 7.3 Views about Arabs; 7.4 Citizens of Israel; 7.5 Conclusions; 8. The development of shared psychological intergroup repertoire in a conflict: theory and methods; 8.1 The cognitive foundations of social representations; 8.2 Personality development, personality states, and social representations; 8.3 The context of social representations; 8.4 An integrative developmental-contextual approach for the acquisition and development of stereotypes and prejudice; 8.5 Assessment of children's social representations - general considerations; 8.6 Conclusions; 9. Studies with preschoolers; 9.1 Objectives and overview; 9.2 Words, concepts, identities, stereotypes, and attitudes; 9.3 Images, stereotypes, and attitudes in different social environments; 9.4 General discussion; 9.5 Conclusions; 10. Studies with school children, adolescents, and young adults; 10.1 Objectives and overview; 10.2 Image acquisition; 10.3 Influences of specific environments; 10.4 Differentiation and generalisation; 10.5 Sense of knowledge, perceived similarity, and perceived quality of relations as predictors of stereotypes and attitudes; 10.6 General discussion; 10.7 Conclusions; 11. The reflection of social images in human figure drawing; 11.1 The development and meaning of drawings; 11.2 Obtaining and scoring the drawings; 11.3 Scoring the beliefs and intentions questionnaire; 11.4 Research overview and objectives; 11.5 General discussion; 11.6 Conclusions; 12. General conclusions and implications; 12.1 Conclusions; 12.2 Changing the shared psychological intergroup repertoire of people involved in intractable conflict: general observations; 12.3 Changing the psychological intergroup repertoire in the context of intractable conflict: thoughts about intervention; 12.4 Final words; 12.5 References.

Editorial Reviews

"A genuine contribution to the field...I shall be citing the book often in my future writings on contact theory." Thomas F. Pettigrew, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz

"Deals with an important issue...and presents a very impressive perspective. The approach is centrally relevant to issues here in the US, including racial stereotyping and, since 9/11, the perception of Muslims as terrorists....I'll be recommending it to both colleagues and students in the US and everywhere else." Philip A. Cowan, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkely

"All educators, all politicians — in fact, everyone — should read this book." — Haaretz

"An intelligent, timely, and useful discussion that involves the application of basic tenets of social psychology to a real-world problem of intergroup conflict....An invaluable read for anyone who has ever wondered why intergroup conflict is so difficult to tackle and why stereotypes and prejudice are so resistant to change. Readers of this book will gain a profound understanding about the nature of intergroup conflict and change." Contemporary Psychology

"Bar-Tal and Teichman's book is the most extensive review and analysis of the recent social psychological literature on stereotypes and prejudice towards Arabs in the Israeli-Jewish society, especially among the younger generations." Israel Studies, Dan Bar-On, Ben Gurion University

"I think that Bar-Tal and Teichman were very courageous to confront the Israeli-Jewish society, mirroring to us the depth and width of our own stereotypes and prejudices towards Arabs in general and toward the Palestinians in particular, which is partially based in conflict but also partially a product of our ignorance." Israel Studies, Dan Bar-On, Ben Gurion University

"This book is the work of a lifetime. It clarifies prejudice. It can advance the peace process in the Middle East. It is of excellent scientific quality. It is socially highly relevant. It is in the heart of political psychology."
Alexander George Award Committee

"An impressive treatise on the Israeli/Palestine conflict. It should be read by scholars interested in this particular conflict and by psychologists interested in intractable conflicts." Political Psychology

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