Dynamics, Experiences, and Outcomes of Tolerance and Intolerance

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The project’s main objective is to develop a social psychological understanding of tolerance that works not only in theory, but also in practice in that it is realistic and acceptable to both the tolerant and the tolerated and advantageous to society as a whole. In line with the disapproval–respect model of tolerance, we start with the working assumption that tolerance can be fruitfully understood as disapproval restrained by respect (or, in complementary terms, as respect burdened with disapproval). We will put this understanding of tolerance to the test and examine its potential to enable both the tolerant and the tolerated to live their own lives without undue interference of others. In particular, we hope to learn more about the mutual reinforcement of such tolerance and authenticity, about facilitating factors as well as obstacles to this “virtuous circle,” and about the wider societal consequences of the practice of such tolerance. The work program consists of three work packages. In Work Package 1, we will examine the social psychological dynamics that play out on the side of those who show (or fail to show) tolerance in line with the disapproval–respect model. We will specifically focus on the roles of authenticity concerns and emotions, such as pride or joy and fear or disgust. In Work Package 2, we will examine the experiences of the recipients of such (in)tolerance and specifically focus on feelings of threat and further consequences with regard to recipients’ authenticity concerns and assertiveness. In Work Package 3, we will widen the perspective to bring into view the wider societal consequences of the practice of such (in)tolerance. We will specifically focus on the outcomes for intergroup relations and identity politics, such as conflict escalation or de-escalation, and for society as a whole, such as social disruption or social integration. Altogether we plan to conduct 12 experiments (6 laboratory experiments and 6 online experiments) and 3 longitudinal surveys, each with measurements at three time points. In order to gauge the robustness and generalizability of our findings, we will cover several types of social (intergroup) contexts, both in the experiments and in the surveys, such as political, lifestyle, religious, or ethnic contexts (i.e., encounters of people that differ in terms of political orientation, lifestyle, religion, or ethnicity).