Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict

During the last twenty years, a discernible increase in the analysis of stereotypesand the role they assume during conflicts has occurred, with significantinterest emanating from the field of social psychology. For the authors ofStereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict: Representations of Arabs in IsraeliJewish Society, years of research have culminated in a publication thatunflinchingly explores such diverse topics as delegitimization tactics andunity as well as the development of perceptions among pre-schoolers.Daniel Bar-Tal, a professor in Tel Aviv University’s Psychology Department,is the author of several notable works on the issue, including SocialPsychology of Intergroup Conflict (Springer-Verlag: 1998) and HowChildren Understand War and Peace (Jossey Bass: 1999). Likewise, YonaTeichman, a clinical psychologist at Tel Aviv University, brings a level ofexpertise honed from extensive research on the development and applicationof an implicit, free-response measure of social representations based on thesystematic analysis of human figure drawings. Through this dynamic, theystrive to contribute to future peace endeavors by prompting the criticalanalysis of one’s own society and the processes that impede conflict resolution,while encouraging new perspectives that will end the violent cycles thatsustain conflict.From a strong opening chapter, the authors negotiate through twelvechapters adeptly, the most notable of which include chapter 4, “Representationof Arabs in Public Discourse”; chapter 5, “Representation of Arabs inSchool Textbooks”; and chapter 10, “Studies with Schoolchildren, Adolescents,and Young Adults.” All of these chapters are supported by a plethoraof tables comprising generalization, characterization, and negativity; color ...