The Devoted Actor: Sacred values, identity fusion and intergroup conflict

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Common approaches to resource and political conflicts often assume adversaries understand the world on the basis of rational cost-benefit choices. In contrast, research with populations in conflict zones around the world indicate that many violent or intractable conflicts involve what are called "devoted actors", whose often violent actions are driven not by cost-benefit judgments but by a commitment to sacred values (e.g. "My values are not for sale"; "Do the right thing regardless of the consequences)", a feeling of fusion with the group, and a set of perceptions of the motives of adversary groups. The goal of this research is to create a theoretical framework that explores how these aspects of human psychology interact and will lead to novel insights that will help answer questions such as: How do people trade off competing sets of sacred values, and ties to groups they are fused with (e.g., to family or nation)? Why do some devoted actors choose to use violence while others refrain from violence? The results of this work may expand possibilities for conflict reduction, including counter-radicalization efforts and negotiation and adjudication of conflicting values over transcultural boundaries. The research also contributes to building the infrastructure of science and involves not only training of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellow whose diversity mirrors the diversity of the cultures studied, but also the research team continues to engage with the communities in the research and to foster the research training of members in these communities.The aim of the proposed research is to understand how sacred values (SVs), identity fusion theory (IFT), and beliefs about the nature and motives of adversary groups influence intergroup conflicts, including their escalation into seemingly intractable violence. This involves developing and testing theory regarding how these three phenomena interact to produce devoted actors, people willing to sacrifice material concerns and responsibility to primary reference groups and suffer, die, and kill for abstract ideals (such as nation, religious or ideological groups). Studies in the United States, the West Bank/Gaza, Morocco and Spain investigate (a) the identity function of SVs, (b) the way SVs and identity fusion interact under threat to influence moral trade-offs between competing sacred values and identity groups, (c) the moderating role of beliefs about the outgroups in facilitating violent parochial altruism, that is, self-sacrifice for the ingroup; and (d) leverage this knowledge to develop interventions that facilitate more cooperative intergroup interactions. To do this, the research team employs the complementary talents of senior researchers and students in three disciplines (social psychology, political psychology, anthropology) who have played leading roles in developing knowledge about SVs, IFT and the way morally motivated choices play out in resource and political conflicts. Using innovative online and offline behavioral and self-report measures the team has developed, the methodology integrates basic and applied research, combining laboratory and field experiments, surveys, and interviews in order to provide "real-world" relevance for policy makers.