One world in diversity – A social-psychological intervention to foster international collective action intention

• Published in: Journal of social and political psychology Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 8 - 26
• Main Authors: Knab, Nadine, Steffens, Melanie C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology 13.03.2018
• Subjects: collective action; diversity training; global issues; human rights; ingroup projection; international relations; Model United Nations; prototypicality; psychological intervention
• DOI: 10.5964/jspp.v6i1.601
• ISSN: 2195-3325

Although effective interventions to increase international collective action for human rights are highly desirable, the validation of theory-based interventions and their transfer to this practical field is still scarce. We investigated whether collective action intention can be improved by using a diversity intervention technique rooted in social psychology. The intervention builds on the ingroup projection model, postulating that negative intergroup relations are based on the perception of ingroups as more typical of a common superordinate group than outgroups (i.e., relative prototypicality). Thereby, the (quasi-)experimental study tested the ingroup projection model’s theoretical assumptions in the context of Model United Nations (MUN) conferences. We hypothesized that the diversity intervention leads to a higher perceived diversity within the superordinate group (the United Nations, UN) as well as identification with the superordinate group (UN). Furthermore, we hypothesized an indirect effect of the intervention on collective action intention mediated by perception of diversity of, and identification with, the superordinate group. In comparison to the control group (n = 45), those participants who received the diversity workshop intervention (n = 55) perceived less relative prototypicality and more diversity of the UN. In addition, we provide evidence of a serial mediation: Compared to the control group, the diversity workshop group perceived the UN as relatively more diverse, facilitating identification with the UN. In turn, this was associated with a stronger intention to act collectively. This study shows the importance of including psychological theories in the field of international relations. Background The world is currently facing the highest number of refugees since the aftermath of World War II. In addition, climate change poses another urgent challenge that is discussed on an international level. Decisions made by national leaders have far-reaching consequences for current and future generations. Nevertheless, national leaders are humans who are subject to psychological biases in decision making. Why was this study done? As social-psychological factors could inhibit or promote intentions to collaborate in support of human rights at the global level, we conducted a training for future diplomats in the context of Model United Nations simulations to reduce perception biases that could influence decision making. As a theoretical basis for the training we used a social psychological model (ingroup projection model), proposing that people perceive the group they belong to (e.g., their country) as more prototypical than other groups (e.g., other countries). Past research found a relationship of this prototypicality perception with prejudice against other groups, but also a way to reduce such prejudice. Namely, a group that includes subgroups (in our study: the United Nations, UN) needs to be mentally represented as diverse. What did the researchers do and find? We used an existing method to activate diversity and adapted it to the United Nations context. We conducted several trainings and investigated their effects on the intention to collaborate with other nations regarding human rights issues and on related processes (i.e., diversity perception of the UN and identification with the UN). Results indicated that the workshop reduced the prototype perception bias, as intended. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the diversity training increased perceived diversity of the UN, which in turn was positively related to the intention to act together with other nations. What do these findings mean? As negotiation settings within the political areas have major implications for people around the world, methods for reducing biases in perception seem especially useful. Based on our first evidence, one could cautiously assume that diversity perceptions and identification with a superordinate group (UN in our case) influence and foster the intention to work together. Policies simultaneously aiming at diversity and identity management could pave a fruitful avenue towards improving intergroup relations and collaborative action in general.