Effects of Humor on Intergroup Communication in Intractable Conflicts: Using Humor in an Intergroup Appeal Facilitates Stronger Agreement Between Groups and a Greater Willingness to Compromise

• Published in: Political psychology Vol. 40; no. 3; pp. 467 - 485
• Main Authors: Nir, Nimrod, Halperin, Eran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01.06.2019; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Arab Israeli relations; Barriers; Between-subjects design; Communication; Compromises; Conflict resolution; Constraints; Humor; intergroup communication; Narratives; Palestinian people; Persuasion; Power; psychological barriers; psychological interventions
• ISSN: 0162-895X; 1467-9221
• DOI: 10.1111/pops.12535

Overcoming sociopsychological barriers within intergroup communications may bring forth new, practical methods for conflict resolution, particularly crucial for groups engulfed by intractable conflict. This article examines the use of humor—an extremely effective technique of persuasive communication—as one potential route whose potency in resolving intractable conflicts has thus far been neglected. In Study 1, Palestinians who read a message from an "Israeli representative" (conveying the Israeli narrative of the conflict) agreed more with the Israeli perspective once three short humorous asides were added to the original statement. When these humorous asides targeted Jewish-Israelis, Palestinian-Israeli participants were more willing to compromise on various aspects of the conflict. In Study 2, Jewish-Israelis who read a messagefrom a "Palestinian representative were more agreeable to the Palestinian message (portraying the Palestinian narrative) once three short humorous asides were added to the original statement. When these humorous asides were general in nature (but not when they targeted Palestinian-Israelis), Jewish-Israeli participants were more willing to compromise on various aspects of this intractable conflict. These findings further demonstrate the power of psychological barriers in intractable conflicts and the potential of humor to overcome them. Implications and limitations of the current research are discussed.