סמינר בהתנהגות ארגונית

Power and intergroup encounters/ Tamar Saguy, IDC Herzliya

Prejudice reduction is one of the most widely studied areas in social psychology. This extensive work has united around the following challenge: how to get individuals from different groups to like one another? In my research I investigate the implications of prejudice reduction efforts for social change. Specifically, I examine how the shining example of prejudice reduction, intergroup contact, relates to the persistence of inequality between groups. Across correlational and experimental studies I demonstrate that the outcomes of intergroup contact can undermine recognition of inequality and motivation for social change among members of disadvantaged groups; and that members of advantaged groups show a general avoidance from recognizing inequality in situations of contact. I further demonstrate the implications of these processes for intergroup negotiations, both at the political level and at the level of work disputes. Together, this research underscores the role of group power, and associated psychological processes, in shaping intergroup encounters, and subsequent social change.