How to Get Along: Prosocial Intergroup Behavior Effects on Prosocial Intergroup Attitudes as a Potential Novel Pathway to Improve Intergroup Relations

随着世界范围内群体分化的加剧，促进群体间合作对于社会的良好运转至关重要。本项目将研究小组间过程中未被充分探索的基本机制，并研究新开发的促进小组间合作的方法。研究人员目前用来促进群体间亲社会的方法在应用于现实世界的情况下，其有效性是有限的。这是因为研究人员经常针对对另一个群体的消极、抗拒改变的态度（“因”），并相信亲社会的群体间行为会随之而来（“果”）。本研究表明，为了增加亲社会行为，干预需要直接针对行为（“因”），亲社会态度将紧随其后（“果”）。本研究从纵向和实验两方面考察了群体间态度行为的因果关系。第一项研究将使用最先进的纵向统计模型和高频测量爆发来解决长期被忽视的“因果序列”问题，这是在英国公民的日常生活中进行的群体间态度-行为研究。第二项研究将在第一项研究的基础上，通过观察多个参与者过去的行为和态度如何影响他们在实验室模拟冲突中的互动，来实验调查群体间态度和行为的因果顺序。最后的研究将在实验室模拟现实世界的冲突中测试上述过程，涉及多个群体。这项研究很重要，因为它解决了一个重要研究领域中长期存在的理论空白，并为现代世界中最困难和最持久的问题之一——鼓励人们和睦相处——提供了实用和易于实施的解决方案。

With polarization across group divides on the rise worldwide, promoting intergroup cooperation is crucial for well functioning societies. This project will examine underexplored foundational mechanisms in intergroup processes and investigate newly developed methods for promoting intergroup cooperation. The methods researchers currently employ to promote prosociality between groups are limited in their effectiveness when applied to real-world situations. This is because researchers often target negative, resistant-tochangeattitudes towards the other group ('cause'), and believe prosocial intergroup behavior will follow ('effect'). This project suggests that in order to increase prosocial behavior,interventions need to target behavior directly ('cause'), and prosocial attitudes will follow ('effect'). This research investigates this suggestion by examining intergroup attitude behavior causation both longitudinally and experimentally. The first study will use state of the art longitudinal statistical modeling and high frequency measurement bursts to address this long-neglected 'causal sequence' problem in intergroup attitude-behavior research within UK citizens as they go about their daily lives. The second study will experimentally investigate the causal sequence of intergroup attitudes and behavior, above and beyond the first, by seeing how the past behavior and attitudes of multiple participants affect their interactions during laboratory simulated conflict. The final study will test the processes above in a laboratory simulation of real-world conflict, involving multiple groups. This research is important because it addresses long-standing theoretical gaps in an important area of research and offers practical and easy to implement solutions for one of the most difficult and enduring problems of the modern world: encouraging people to get along.