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Anger, Exposure to Violence, and Intragroup Conflict: A “Lab in the Field” Experiment in Southern I srael
Author(s) -
Zeitzoff Thomas
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
political psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.419
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-9221
pISSN - 0162-895X
DOI - 10.1111/pops.12065
Subject(s) - anger , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , social psychology , psychology , punishment (psychology) , endowment , political science , law
I examine how anger stemming from violence in the I srael‐Palestine conflict influences intragroup retaliation. In J uly 2010 I conducted a series of experiments in two cities in the Southern District of I srael affected to varying degrees (high and low) by rocket fire from the G aza Strip. For each experiment, subjects were partnered anonymously with a member of their community. They were then exposed to one of two emotional manipulations: one that induced anger or one that did not. Finally, each subject was given an opportunity to keep an endowment or allocate it towards destroying a portion, or all, of their partner's income (“pay to punish”) in retaliation for their partner having taken money from them previously. This decision to “pay to punish” was designed to closely mimic the costly nature of conflict. The findings suggest that anger has a conditional effect on decisions to pay to punish: in S derot (most affected by rocket fire), anger decreases punishment, while in O fakim (less affected), it increases punishment. Additionally, higher exposure to violence made subjects more likely to engage in negative reciprocity.