Strategies for Reducing Intergroup Conflicts: A Psychology Essay

This essay delves into the complexities of intergroup conflicts, identifying prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination as primary catalysts. It explores how these factors fuel conflicts, hindering communication, fostering superiority complexes, and creating biased perceptions. The paper provides a detailed analysis of individual and intergroup processes to reduce conflict, including motivational and dissonance-based approaches, along with intergroup contact strategies like decategorization, recategorization, and cross-categorization. It emphasizes the importance of developing respect, establishing superordinate goals, and changing perceptions to overcome negative attitudes and behaviors. The essay concludes by suggesting practical activities, such as organizing litter collection and cultural events, to foster cooperation and reduce bias among boys in a detention center.

Running head: INTERGROUP CONFLICTS 1
Reducing Intergroup Conflicts
Name:
Institution:

Intergroup Conflicts 2
Abstract
This paper analyzes the stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination as concepts that cause
conflicts between groups. Further analysis is made to determine how these ideas have caused
intergroup conflicts. A provision of strategies to reduce intergroup conflicts is made together
with ways in which negative attitudes and behaviors can be overcome. Additionally, activities in
which deliquescent boys can engage in to develop a positive attitude have been discussed.
Factors that lead to intergroup conflicts
One of the factors that lead to conflict between groups is prejudice. Prejudice results in
unjustified negative attitude towards an individual mainly by the individual’s tendency to
associate to particular group (Gaertner and Dovidio, 2014). The stereotype is where one team
develops negative and irrational beliefs towards another group; this is associated with ignorance
and hatred. It exists as an assumption on which inactive and unavoidable roles exist for each
cluster. Discrimination is whereby a limitation to the essential opportunities and choices of a
minority group is done compared to a dominant group.
Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination have perpetuated the ongoing intergroup
conflict but first, they have inhibited proper communication between the groups (Sherif, 2015).
Insufficient communication between the groups leads to suspicion and absence of trust amongst
the groups and causes misunderstanding (Al Ramiah and Hewstone, 2013). Discrimination
mainly lowers the level of communication, and one group is made to feel that it is not doing well
in comparison to other groups.

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Secondly, they perpetuate intergroup conflict by causing superiority complex. One group
is lead to believe to be superior to another group as a result of stereotypes. Members of one
group will then expect members of other groups to be their subjects and obey them to the later
(Halperin, Potat and Wohl, 2013). The local gangs have no desire to follow orders from other
groups, and therefore, a different situation results among the groups. Thirdly, stereotypes,
prejudice, and discrimination cause biased perception among the groups. The feeling of bias
gives rise to conflicting ideas that creates conflict between the local gangs in the detention center
(Dovidio, Schellhass and Hewstone, 2017). In the reduction of intergroup conflicts, because of
its psychological and social components, both individual and intergroup processes are considered
as strategies.
Individual process.
The logic factors which underline prejudice in adolescents can be manipulated to target
subtle, unintentional and implicit conflicts that are hardly recognizable and not easily susceptible
to change (Tropp, 2010). By using a direct approach, a motivational process is used to create
interventions in an attempt to reduce bias. Consideration of prejudice is made where solutions to
solve it are available. Individuals are also encouraged to focus on positive ideologies, embrace
positive values and to make people see the negativity in their bias. Indirect approaches at a
different level reduce bias indirectly by using dissonance principles. Non-prejudiced behavior is
induced from individuals whose attitudes subsequently displayed less bias together with their
behavior.
Intergroup process

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The intergroup process focuses on increasing the quality and quantity of contact between
groups. A categorization process acts as the major moderator of communication that underlines
intergroup contact. During reducing the salience of category distinctions, decategorization is
done. The approaches adapted is the differentiation approach and the personalization approach.
Differentiation seeks to create a distinction between out-group members while customization
enables the viewing of out-group members regarding their uniqueness and about the self
(Hewstone, Lollist, Voci, Al Ramia and Cairns). Bias is reduced when in-group members are
made former by creating less focus on themselves and directing their attention towards out-group
members leading to a reduction of favoritism in groups and reducing bias.
Re-categorization seeks to improve attitude towards former out-group members with the
aim of reducing bias. An improvement in mood improves intergroup relations over time. The
results of re-categorization are not immediate. More self-disclosing interactions with former
outgroup members and subordinate group with positive biases are encouraged and lead to more
distinct impressions of the team.
In maintaining the salience of category distinction, the maintenance of important group
boundaries is takes place intergroup contact. Generalization is promoted across members of out-
group when boundaries are maintained. Moreover, a difference in each team regarding expertise
and experience it offers to the contract situation should be made. The result is a respective group
differentiation as recognition and valuing of mutual superiorities and inferiorities is made. The
positive effect is the reduction of bias when different groups are assigned distinct roles which
positively maintain their distinctiveness and creates cooperation.

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Social categorization increases complications to groups, the dual identity model intends
to increase the benefit of a classification approach, by reducing bias in subgroups by encouraging
them to consider themselves as sharing one superordinate identity rather than members of
different groups. Equal status interacts enhanced to reduce bias, and no motivation to achieve
distinctiveness is encouraged.
In cross-categorization, it states that other members can be classified as in-group
members simultaneously or as out-group members. By overlapping membership in the
categories, biases are reduced because social categorization is made more complicated (Christ,
Schmid, Lolliot, Stolle, Tausch and Hewstone, 2014). Negative attitudes and behaviors can be
overcome by firstly, developing respect for other group’s norms. Intergroup group conflicts can
be reduced when members of groups recognize and develop sensitivity to the patterns of various
groups. Secondly, an introduction of super-ordinate goals. Different groups can be subjected to
having the same purpose; this will reduce negative attitudes and behaviors towards each other as
the goals are beneficial to both parties enabling both groups to work cooperatively. Lastly,
changing perceptions of group members will help in the reduction of negative attitude and
behavior towards each other through persuasion and educational appeals. Groups will be
portrayed differently as a result.
The boys in the detention center can be encouraged to participate in social activities such
as organizing litter collection in the detention center. Garbage collection will provide the
different local gangs a super-ordinate goal and therefore foster cooperation among them. A
cultural event can be organized, and the boys called upon to perform. The event enables contact

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between the groups hence reducing bias. Furthermore, the boys will develop respect for each
other.

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References
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Christ, O., Schmid, K., Lolliot, S., Swart, H., Stolle, D., Tausch, N., ... & Hewstone, M. (2014).
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Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (2014). Reducing intergroup bias: The common ingroup identity
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Halperin, E., Porat, R., & Wohl, M. J. (2013). Extinction threat and reciprocal threat reduction:
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Hewstone, M., Lolliot, S., Swart, H., Myers, E., Voci, A., Al Ramiah, A., & Cairns, E. (2014).
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Sherif, M. (2015). Group conflict and co-operation: Their social psychology (Vol. 29).
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