Minority v. Majority: Structural Determinants of Conflict and Cooperation in Heterogeneous Societies

• Applicant: Dora Simunovic, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 461494677

Diversity is hardly a new phenomenon. Nevertheless its prevalence and visibility has certainly increased in the 21st century. While this is something to celebrate, diversity has often presented hurdles for the communities living together. Research shows that the presence of distinct groups in the same society has led to discrimination, segregation and a collapse of common resources. This research project is aimed at indetifying the underlying structural motivations which cause such conflict in heterogeneous societies.Previous research in social psychology has been focused on intrapersonal, cognitive and affective motivations for conflict and cooperation between groups. I argue this has led to an over-reliance on such processes as the sole explantions for these phenomena. In my dissertation, I argue that minorites and majorities should be viewed in a complex context of interactions on the group level. Specifically, the fact that heterogeneous groups often share resources in a recognizable structure which can be likened to a Public Goods game. I further arguet that it is this structure which motivates discrimination against ethnic, religious and cultural minorities, perpetuating conflict and preventing cooperation.Indeed, my previous work has shown that when resources are shared between a minority and a majority group, majority members begin to discriminate against the minority to a greater extent than the other way around. This was the first time such behaviour has been captured in the laboratory. When a heterogeneous group generates and shares common resources, as is the case in most of our contemporary societes, majority group members reduce minority members‘ relative standing through discrimination. The reason for this seems to be the belief that minority members will take advantage of common resources. In this interdisciplinary and multi-method project, my goal is to expand on this topic with a further 5 studies. The first step will be to replicate my previous findings in a simple, more streamlined experimental design. The second laboratory study will focus on the resource exchange itself, measuring cooperation rates, while the third will assess the extent and effects of diversity with regard to defensive aggression. The final two studies will depart from the laboratory, and attempt to find the same patterns in survey data both on the individual and the group-level.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Klaus Boehnke; Professor Dr. Ulrich Kühnen