When it comes to remembering the Holocaust, German students prefer more abstract stimuli (such as texts) and Jewish students prefer more concrete stimuli (such as pictures)
What causes conflicts between individuals and groups and how can they be helped to reconcile? Social psychology is a field that studies the influence of social groups on the individual, his thoughts, feelings and behavior. One of the topics of research in this field is reconciliation - settling disputes and conflicts - between individuals as well as between groups. "Research in psychology claims that at the same time as the struggle of individuals and groups over tangible things - for example territory, property and money - under the surface there is also a struggle between them over emotional resources. For example, who is the good side and who is the bad side in the conflict", says Prof. Nurit Shanval from the School of Psychological Sciences at Tel Aviv University.
Prof. Schnavel's research deals, among other things, with the needs-based reconciliation model, according to which the parties to the conflict need different emotional resources: the injured party needs empowerment, that is, the feeling that he is important, valuable and in control of the situation, while the offending party feels a threat to his moral identity and therefore needs moral-social acceptance . It was found that satisfying the various emotional needs of the perpetrators and victims and their communities increases their willingness to reconcile and helps to bridge the gap between them. According to Prof. Schnaval, "When the offenders satisfy the victims' need for empowerment, for example by apologizing to them and acknowledging their value, and the victims satisfy the offenders' need for moral acceptance, for example by forgiving them and expressing empathy for their plight, both parties feel confident in their identity. In this way, the victims restore their sense of respect and control and the offenders restore their moral image and do not fear ostracism, and both sides are more willing to dialogue and reconciliation."
In one of their latest experiments, which won a research grant from the National Science Foundation, Prof. Schnabel and her team wanted to check whether the emotional needs of offenders and victims translate into different representational preferences. That is, to examine the hypothesis according to which, in the presentation of the injury incident and in the dialogue between them, offenders prefer abstract representations (such as general facts, historical overviews, more texts and fewer pictures) and victims prefer concrete representations (such as personal testimonies, more pictures and less texts). In this way, the perpetrators distance themselves from the event and the moral threat, while the victims bring it closer. The concrete representations evoke stronger emotions, which increases the chance that the perpetrators will admit their moral duty and empower the victims. This hypothesis is based on the theory of the level of construction, according to which an event that is represented at the level of construction (abstract way of thinking) is perceived as psychologically distant (in terms of time, geography, social or hypothetical), and an event that is represented at the level of concrete construction is automatically perceived as psychologically close.
The subjects in one of the experimental groups were German and Jewish students. They were asked to indicate in questionnaires (reminiscent of an American test) which images they think should be presented on slides in discussions about the Holocaust that will take place in student exchange programs between Israel and Germany. It was found that the Germans preferred more abstract representations (eg textual) and the Jews preferred more visual representations. For example, the Germans preferred that Auschwitz, a swastika and a yellow patch be shown in captions and the Jews preferred that they be shown in pictures.
Later, the researchers sought to rule out the possibility that the preference for abstract or concrete representations stems from cultural differences. Therefore, the subjects were asked to choose how to represent, whether in text or in pictures, stimuli related to the genocide in Rwanda (such as mass graves and machetes). In this case no differences were found between Jews and Germans. That is, the difference in the representational preferences of the subjects was expressed in the context of the Holocaust only and not in other events where they are not the perpetrators or the victims.
The researchers also tested willingness to reconcile with the offending party according to his preference for concrete or abstract representation. It was hypothesized that members of aggrieved groups would prefer to reconcile with members of offending groups who have similar preferences to their own. The Jewish students were asked in the questionnaires with whom it would be easier for them to talk and reconcile - with German students who chose concrete representations of the Holocaust or those who chose abstract representations - and it was found that they preferred German students who chose concrete representations. At the same time, German students believed that it would be easier for them to talk and reconcile with Jewish students who chose abstract representations.
Other groups that were studied were vegans and meat eaters and Jews and Arabs (who referred to events such as the Maale Akrabev massacre or the Kfar Qasim massacre), and the patterns of findings obtained were similar to those of the Jews and Germans.
"These findings indicate that when trying to create a dialogue between members of groups of offenders and victims (for example, teenagers and students) - it is important to be aware of the difference between their representative preferences, to warn and explain it, in order to understand their different needs and reduce tensions. In most cases, and also in the case of Israel-Germany, both sides are interested in repair and healing and good relations, in order to fight anti-Semitism and racism together and promote democratic values. In other words, the interest of both sides is to reach a reconciliation", Prof. Schnaval concludes.
Life itself:
Prof. Nurit Shanval, 49, married + two (16, 13), lives in Herzliya. In her free time she likes to listen to music, dance and read as much as possible ("reads all possible genres").
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