The spiral of conflict: Naïve realism and the black sheep effect in attributions of knowledge and ignorance.

Abstract

Naïve realism research has demonstrated the fact that individuals deprecate alternative perspectives to preserve their own. With reference to an outgroup, this bias may be compounded by ethnocentrism. We present an operationalized measure of naïve realism in terms of attributions of knowledge and ignorance. We hypothesized that respondents would make higher attributions of knowledge to those who agree with them than those who disagree with them (naïve realism). We further hypothesized that respondents would attribute more knowledge to their ingroup than to an outgroup (ethnocentrism). Findings confirmed our hypotheses except for a black sheep effect marking higher attributions of knowledge to the outgroup with whom respondents disagreed relative to the ingroup. These findings demonstrate that social cognition is biased toward being more divisive and exclusive than open and inclusive. We suggest that overcoming the epistemic challenge may thus need to be the first step in conflict resolution attempts that successfully avoid the spiral of conflict.

Introspective Projection: Prototypical Representations of Policing in the Service of Rule of Law

“…In this way, mass protests are catalytic in generating progress through social change (Drury & Stott, 2011 ; Reicher, 2011 ). This, however, necessitates competition between diverse coalitions-for-action (Buhagiar & Sammut, 2020 ; Sammut et al, 2015a , 2015b ). For example, the Black Lives Matter marches were countered by the All Lives Matter rallies pursuing an opposite agenda.…”

“…that precipitates collective protests and civil unrest. We argue that understanding the identity concerns underlying social movements serves in managing public expectations towards ensuring maintenance of social order and the neutralisation of conflict spirals between opposed coalitions-for-action (Buhagiar & Sammut, 2020 ; Sammut et al, 2015a , 2015b ).…”

“…In this paper, we adopt a social representations approach (Sammut & Howarth, 2014 ; Sammut et al, 2015a , 2015b ) to investigate social identity processes underlining support or resistance towards the Police Corps in Malta. Like other countries, Malta has seen its share of mass protesting in recent years.…”

There’s no such thing as a good Arab: Cultural essentialism and its functions concerning the integration of Arabs in Europe

“…In turn, this is tied to, or leads to, a perception of cultural differences as being unbridgeable (Taguieff, 2001). Such beliefs undermine positive intercultural relations and may instantiate a spiral of conflict between diverse ethno-cultural groups, making it worthwhile to look at the socio-cultural conditions legitimating sense-making in these beliefs and vice versa (Sammut, Bezzina, & Sartawi, 2015; Sammut & Buhagiar, 2017).…”

In the name of truth: People’s reactions to ingroup and outgroup members who self-disclose a severe error

“…Moreover, they tend to select moral groups and are happy if their groups show moral superiority over other groups (Branscombe, Ellemers, Spears, & Doosje, 1999;Ellemers, Pagliaro, Barreto, & Leach, 2008), primarily because an important part of people's self-concept is derived from the group they belong to (Brewer & Hewstone, 2004;Hewstone, Rubin, & Willis, 2002;Presaghi & Rullo, 2018;Tajfel & Turner, 1979). For the same reason, they are often motivated to protect the positive identity of their group, upgrading moral group members over moral outgroup members and, additionally, derogating immoral and negative ingroup members (more so than outgroup members) that put the group's positive identity at stake (a phenomenon called black sheep effect, Abrams, Travaglino, Marques, Pinto, & Levine, 2018;Marques & Paez, 1994;Marques, Paez, & Abrams, 1998;Marques, Abrams, & Serôdio, 2001;Rullo, Presaghi, Livi, Mazzuca, & Dessi, 2017;Sammut, Bezzina, & Sartawi, 2015).…”