Intergroup Misunderstandings

This book examines how misunderstandings occur in intergroup interactions as a consequence of the divergences between interactants’ subjective realities (i.e., interpretations), goals, and strategies and beyond their positive or negative intentions.

With insightful chapters from key social psychologists and peace scholars, this handbook offers an integrative and extensive overview of critical questions, issues, processes, and strategies relevant to understanding and addressing intergroup conflict.

This book describes how the violent dimension of intergroup relations can be better understood if the interplay between psychological and social-developmental factors is taken into account. Ten unique, innovative and original chapters by international scholars of social and developmental psychology address the way how social reality is constructed as a hierarchical order, and how social norms, beliefs and cognitive-behavioral patterns are learned, shared and repeatedly processed on how to uphold or challenge this social order. The volume covers diverse issues such as the effects (or lack thereof) of power and violent video games on people’s thinking and behavior, the acquisition of social norms and attitudes during childhood, minorities’ identity management strategies, the role of mothers’ educational beliefs and the impact of ideologies. This volume is inspired by the oeuvre of Maria Benedicta Monteiro, emphasizing the psychogenetic and sociogenic diacronies that are too often neglected by the predominantly synchronic paradigm of social psychology. It is therefore an indispensable reading for researchers and advanced students in social, community and developmental psychology, for scientifically interested practitioners working with families, school contexts or intergroup conflict, and for everyone interested in the expanding field of the social developmental approaches to attitudes and behaviour.

The book ventures into the explanation of intra-state communal conflict, more narrowly of the conflict between majority and minority communal groups, and develops arguments that highlight the causal impact of intergroup economic inequality. Its quest for empirical support has led to the compilation of three large, inter-related datasets, typifying the condition of minorities worldwide. They are mainly based on the Ethnic Power Relations, Minorities at Risk, and Quality of Government data, yet also involve information from a multitude of other sources, such as national statistics, cross-national demographic surveys, and the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. The group-level data, featuring 860 communal groups, show that an impressive forty-five percent of the world’s population do not belong to the majority communal group in their country. As reasonably feared, minorities are in general politically less empowered than their pluralities, and also poorer. Results from multivariate regression analysis corroborate the deleterious impact of horizontal economic inequality on inter-group hostility, measured either as group grievance or violent conflict. The double measurement substantiates the intuition that not all low-to-medium strength hostility is doomed to develop into violent conflict. In fortunate conditions, intergroup disputes can be solved, or compromises may be reached without turning to violence. Part of the analytical efforts have been directed towards detecting the differences between the causes of communal and non-communal social conflicts; and also towards deciphering which institutional conditions aggravate and which mitigate communal conflicts. A large number of variables in the regression models attempt to operationalize constellations that influence the evolution of conflicts either toward peaceful solutions or toward armed collision. The policy implications of the findings are not trivial. Positive discrimination, which in the United States is known as Affirmative Action, is often resisted by denying the unfortunate facts that make it necessary. In addition, currently the policies recommended for heterogeneous societies are also fiercely debated between advocates of power-sharing arrangements and those who would like to facilitate the communal homogenization of each state. This latter type of constitutional engineering is at variance with the political empowerment of minorities, a measure that could alleviate tensions rooted in economic disadvantages.

The diversity education literature, both nationally and internationally, is broad and diffuse. Consequently, there needs to be a systematic and logical way to organize and present the state of research for students and professionals. American citizens need to understand the dynamics of their increasingly diverse communities and institutions and the global world in which we live, work, and lead. With continually evolving information on diversity policies, practices, and programs, it is important to have one place where students, scholars, teachers, and policymakers can examine and explore research, policy, and practice issues and find answers to important questions about how diversity in U.S. education—enriched with theories, research and practices in other nations—are explained and communicated, and how they affect institutional change at both the K-12 and postsecondary levels. With about 700 signed entries with cross-references and recommended readings, the Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education (4 volumes, in both print and electronic formats) will present research and statistics, case studies, and best practices, policies, and programs at pre- and postsecondary levels. Diversity is a worldwide phenomenon, and while most of the entries in the Encyclopedia will focus on the United States, diversity issues and developments in nations around the world, including the United States, are intricately connected. Consequently, to illuminate the many aspects of diversity, this volume will contain entries from different nations in the world in order to illuminate the myriad aspects of diversity. From A-to-Z, this Encyclopedia will cover the full spectrum of diversity issues, including race, class, gender, religion, language, exceptionality, and the global dimensions of diversity as they relate to education. This four-volume reference work will be the definitive reference for diversity issues in education in the United States and the world.

This highly regarded text--now revised and expanded with 50% new material--helps students and professionals build their knowledge and competencies for effective intercultural communication in any setting. The authors' comprehensive, updated theoretical framework (integrative identity negotiation theory) reveals how both verbal and nonverbal communication are affected by multilayered facets of identity. Written in a candid, conversational style, the book is rich with engaging examples illustrating cultural conflicts and misunderstandings that arise in workplace, educational, interpersonal, and community contexts. Readers learn how to transform polarized conversations into successful intercultural engagements by combining knowledge about culture with mindful listening and communication skills. New to This Edition *Extensively revised to reflect the ongoing development of integrative identity negotiation theory, nearly 20 years of research advances, the growing diversity of the United States, and global trends. *Chapter providing a mindfulness lens on intercultural and intergroup communication competence. *Chapter on culture shock in sojourners (international students, global businesspeople, and others). *Chapter on immigrants' acculturation processes. *Lively chapter-opening case examples, including compelling personal stories. *End-of-chapter summaries, "Mindful Guidelines" to put into practice, and critical thinking questions. *New and expanded discussions of hot topics: cross-cultural workplaces, community building, peace building, romantic relationships, prejudice and discrimination, microaggressions, and ethical issues.

"Description: This highly regarded text--now revised and expanded with 50% new material--helps students and professionals mindfully build their knowledge and competencies for effective intercultural communication on any setting. The authors' comprehensive, updated theoretical framework (integrative identity negotiation theory) reveals how both verbal and nonverbal communication are affected by multilayered facets of identity. Written in a candid, conversational style, the book is rich with engaging examples illustrating cultural conflicts and misunderstandings that arise in workplace, educational, interpersonal, and community contexts. Readers learn how to transform polarized conversations into successful intercultural engagements by combining culture-specific knowledge with mindful listening and communication skills. Key Words: intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication, human communication, communication skills, cultural competence, ethnic relations, ethnic studies, multicultural counseling, international business relations, cultural diversity, cross-cultural psychology, ethnography, mindful communication, mindfulness, intergroup communication, integrative identity negotiation theory, acculturation, adjustment, immigration, immigrants, listening skills, textbooks, texts, college classes, college courses, college students, undergraduates, graduates, foreign students, refugees, social psychology, sociolingustics, international competence"--

Stigma leads to poorer health. In 'The Oxford Handbook of Stigma, Discrimination, and Health', leading scholars identify stigma mechanisms that operate at multiple levels to erode the health of stigmatized individuals and, collectively, produce health disparities. This book provides unique insights concerning the link between stigma and health across various types of stigma and groups.