The goal of the present study was to investigate how empathy and gender-empathic constructions affect the levels of support for political compromise in an intractable conflict. Gender-empathic constructions relate to perceptions that individuals hold about self or others as having feminine-empathic gender traits. We hypothesized that empathy will be positively associated with support for compromise, but that perceiving one’s own group as feminine empathic will be negatively associated with such attitudes, with empathy being a significant mediator. Data were collected through a public opinion survey conducted with a representative sample of Israeli-Jewish adults (N = 511). The findings supported our hypotheses, thus indicating that perceiving one’s own group as having feminine-empathic traits and empathy toward opponents made significant contributions to explaining Jewish-Israeli willingness to compromise with Palestinians. The implications of our findings for understanding the role of gender-empathic constructions and of empathy in conflict resolution are discussed.
AharoniS. B.2014. “The Gender-culture Double Bind in Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations: A Narrative Approach.” Security Dialogue45 (4): 373–90.
2.
AharoniS. B.2016. “Who Needs the Women and Peace Hypothesis? Rethinking Modes of Inquiry on Gender and Conflict in Israel/Palestine.” International Feminist Journal of Politics. doi:10.1080/14616742.2016.1237457.
3.
AoláinF. N.2009. “Women, Security, and the Patriarchy of Internationalized Transitional Justice.” Human Rights Quarterly31 (4): 1055–85.
4.
BaronR.KennyD.. 1986. “The Moderator-mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology51 (6): 1173–82.
5.
Bar-OnD.2008. The Others within Us: Constructing Jewish-Israeli Identity. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
6.
Bar-TalD.2011. Intergroup Conflicts and Their Resolution: A Social Psychological Perspective. New York: Psychology Press.
7.
Bar-TalD.2013. Intractable Conflicts: Socio-psychological Foundations and Dynamics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Bar-TalD.HalperinE.. 2013. “The Psychology of Intractable Conflicts: Eruption, Escalation and Peacemaking.” In Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology, edited by HuddyL.SearsD. O.LevyJ. S., 923–56. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
9.
BatsonC. D.2009. “These Things Called Empathy: Eight Related but Distinct Phenomena.” In The Social Neuroscience of Empathy, edited by DecetyJ.IckesW., 3–15. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
10.
BatsonC. D.2011. Altruism in Humans. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
11.
BatsonC. D.CokeJ. S.. 1981. “Empathy: A Source of Altruistic Motivation for Helping?” In Altruism and Helping Behavior: Social, Personality, and Developmental Perspectives, edited by RushtonJ. P.SorrentinoR. M., 167–87. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
BaumeisterR. F.HastingsS.. 1997. “Distortions of Collective Memory: How Groups Flatter and Deceive Themselves.” In Collective Memory of Political Events: Social Psychological Perspectives, edited by PennebakerJ. W.PaezD.RiméB., 277–93. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
13.
BemS. L.1981a. Bem Sex-role Inventory: Professional Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
14.
BemS. L.1981b. “Gender Schema Theory: A Cognitive Account of Sex Typing.” Psychological Review88:354–64.
15.
ButlerJ.1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
16.
ButlerJ.1993. Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. New York: Routledge.
17.
CameronC. D.PayneB. K.. 2011. “Escaping Affect: How Motivated Emotion Regulation Creates Insensitivity to Mass Suffering.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology100:1–15.
18.
CaprioliM.BoyerM.. 2001. “Gender, Violence, and International Crisis.” Journal of Conflict Resolution45 (4): 503–18.
CheonB. K.MathurV. A.ChiaoJ. Y.. 2010. “Empathy as Cultural Process: Insights from the Cultural Neuroscience of Empathy.” World Cultural Psychiatry Research Review5: 32–42.
21.
ChoiJ. K.BowlesS.. 2007. “The Coevolution of Parochial Altruism and War.” Science318 (5850): 636–40.
22.
ChoiN.FuquaD. R.NewmanJ. L.. 2007. “Hierarchical Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Bem Sex Role Inventory.” Educational and Psychological Measurement67:818–32.
23.
CikaraM.BruneauE. G.SaxeR. R.. 2011. “Us and Them Intergroup Failures of Empathy.” Current Directions in Psychological Science20 (3): 149–53.
24.
CikaraM.PaluckE. L.. 2013. “When Going Along Gets You Nowhere and the Upside of Conflict Behaviors.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass7 (8): 559–71.
25.
DavidY.MaozI.. 2015. “Gender Perceptions and Support for Compromise in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology21 (2): 295–98.
26.
DavidY.RoslerN.EllisD.MaozI.. 2016. “Gendering Human Rights: Threat and Gender Perceptions as Predictors of Attitudes towards Violating Human Rights in Asymmetric Conflict.” Peace and Conflict Studies23 (1): 1–26.
27.
De DreuC. K.2012. “Oxytocin Modulates Cooperation within and Competition between Groups: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda.” Hormones and Behavior61 (3): 419–28.
28.
De DreuC. K.GreerL. L.HandgraafM. J.ShalviS.Van KleefG. A.BaasM.Ten VeldenF. S.Van DijkE.FeithS. W.. 2010. “The Neuropeptide Regulates Parochial Altruism in Intergroup Conflict among Humans.” Science328 (5984): 1408–11.
29.
De DreuC. K.GreerL. L.Van KleefG. A.ShalviS.HandgraafM. J.. 2011. “Oxytocin Promotes Human Ethnocentrism.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences108 (4): 1262–66.
30.
De WaalF. B.2008. “Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy.” Annual Review of Psychology59:279–300.
31.
Del ZottoA. C.2002. “Weeping Women, Wringing Hands: How the Mainstream Media Stereotyped Women’s Experiences in Kosovo.” Journal of Gender Studies11 (2): 141–50.
32.
DonnellyK.TwengeJ. M.. 2016. “Masculine and Feminine Traits on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, 1993–2012: A Cross-temporal Meta-analysis.” Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-016-0625-y.
33.
DovidioJ. F.JohnsonJ. D.GaertnerS. L.PearsonA. R.SaguyT.Ashburn-NardoL.. 2010. “Empathy and Intergroup Relations.” In Prosocial Motives, Emotions, and Behavior: The Better Angels of Our Nature, edited by MikulincerM. E.ShaverP. R., 393–408. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
34.
EaglyA. H.WoodW.. 2011. “Feminism and the Evolution of Sex Differences and Similarities.” Sex Roles64:758–67.
35.
EichenbergR. C.2003. “Gender Differences in Public Attitudes toward the Use of Force by the United States, 1990–2003.” International Security28 (1): 110–41.
36.
EidelsonR. J.EidelsonJ. I.. 2003. “Dangerous Ideas: Five Beliefs that Propel Groups toward Conflict.” American Psychologist58 (3): 182–92.
37.
EisenbergN.MillerP. A.. 1987. “The Relation of Empathy to Prosocial and Related Behaviors.” Psychological Bulletin101 (1): 91–119.
38.
FeldmanR.WellerA.Zagoory-SharonO.LevineA.. 2007. “Evidence for a Neuroendocrinological Foundation of Human Affiliation Plasma Oxytocin Levels across Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period Predict Mother-infant Bonding.” Psychological Science18 (11): 965–70.
39.
FernándezJ.Ángeles-QuirogaM. A.Del-OlmoI. D.. 2006. “Is There Any Relationship between Sexual Attraction and Gender Typology?” The Spanish Journal of Psychology9 (1): 3–9.
40.
FrijdaN. H.2004. “Emotions and Action.” In Feelings and Emotions: The Amsterdam Symposium, edited by MansteadA. S.FrijdaN.FischerA., 158–73. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
41.
FrijdaN. H.KuipersP.Ter SchureE.. 1989. “Relations among Emotion, Appraisal and Emotional Action Readiness.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology57 (2): 212–28.
42.
FrithC. D.FrithU.. 2012. “Mechanisms of Social Cognition.” Annual Review of Psychology63:287–313.
43.
GalinskyA. D.MadduxW. W.GilinD.WhiteJ. B.. 2008. “Why It Pays to Get Inside the Head of Your Opponent the Differential Effects of Perspective Taking and Empathy in Negotiations.” Psychological Science19 (4): 378–84.
44.
GingesJ.AtranS.. 2009. “What Motivates Participation in Violent Political Action.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences1167 (1): 115–23.
45.
GordonC.ArianA.. 2001. “Threat and Decision Making.” Journal of Conflict Resolution45 (2): 196–215.
46.
GrewenK. M.GirdlerS. S.AmicoJ.LightK. C.. 2005. “Effects of Partner Support on Resting Oxytocin, Cortisol, Norepinephrine, and Blood Pressure before and after Warm Partner Contact.” Psychosomatic Medicine67 (4): 531–38.
47.
GutsellJ. N.InzlichtM.. 2010. “Empathy Constrained: Prejudice Predicts Reduced Mental Simulation of Actions during Observation of Outgroups.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology46 (5): 841–45.
48.
HalperinE.2011. “Emotional Barriers to Peace: Emotions and Public Opinion of Jewish Israelis about the Peace Process in the Middle East.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology17 (1): 22–45.
49.
HalperinE.2016. Emotions in Conflict: Inhibitors and Facilitators of Peace Making. New York: Routledge.
50.
HalperinE.RussellA. G.TrzesniewskiH. K.GrossJ. J.DweckS. C.. 2011. “Promoting the Peace Process by Changing Beliefs about Group Malleability.” Science333 (6050): 1767–69.
51.
HayesA. F.2013. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-based Approach. New York: Guilford Press.
52.
HerzogH.1998. “Homefront and Battlefront: The Status of Jewish and Palestinian Women in Israel.” Israel Studies3 (1): 61–84.
53.
HofstedeG.2001. Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
HurlemannR.PatinA.OnurO. A.CohenM. X.BaumgartnerT.MetzlerS.DziobekI.GallinatJ.WagnerM.KendrickK. M.. 2010. “Oxytocin Enhances Amygdala-dependent, Socially Reinforced Learning and Emotional Empathy in Humans.” The Journal of Neuroscience30 (14): 4999–5007.
55.
IckesW.1993. “Empathic Accuracy.” Journal of Personality61 (4): 587–610.
56.
JuddC. M.James-HawkinsL.YzerbytV.KashimaY.. 2005. “Fundamental Dimensions of Social Judgment: Understanding the Relations between Judgments of Competence and Warmth.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology89:899–913.
57.
KaukiainenA.BjörkqvistK.LagerspetzK.ÖstermanK.SalmivalliC.RothbergS.AhlbomA.. 1999. “The Relationships between Social Intelligence, Empathy, and Three Types of Aggression.” Aggressive Behavior25 (2): 81–89.
58.
KelmanH. C.1998. “Social–psychological Contributions to Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in the Middle East.” Applied Psychology47 (1): 5–28.
59.
KelmanH. C.1999. “Transforming the Relationship between Former Enemies: A Socio-psychological Analysis.” In After the Peace: Resistance and Reconciliation, edited by RothsteinR. L., 193–205. London, UK: Lynne Rienner.
60.
KeriS.BenedekG.. 2009. “Oxytocin Enhances the Perception of Biological Motion in Humans.” Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience9 (3): 237–41.
61.
KnightG. P.JohnsonL. G.CarloG.EisenbergN.. 1994. “A Multiplicative Model of the Dispositional Antecedents of a Prosocial Behavior: Predicting More of the People More of the Time.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology66 (1): 178–83.
62.
KopperB. A.EppersonD. L.. 1991. “Women and Anger: Sex and Sex-role Comparisons in the Expression of Anger.” Psychology of Women Quarterly15 (1): 7–14.
63.
KotefH.2011. “Baking at the Front Line, Sleeping with the Enemy: Reflections on Gender and Women’s Peace Activism in Israel.” Politics and Gender7 (4): 551–72.
KriesbergL.DaytonB. W.. 2012. Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution. 4th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
66.
LeachC. W.SpearsR.. 2009. “Dejection at In-group Defeat and Schadenfreude toward Second- and Third-party Out-groups.” Emotion9 (5): 659–65.
67.
MackieD. M.SmithE. R.. 2015. “Intergroup Emotions.” In APA Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology, Volume 2: Group Processes, edited by MikulincerM. E.ShaverP. R.DovidioJ. F.SimpsonJ. A., 263–93. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
68.
MackieD. M.ThierryD.SmithE. R.. 2000. “Intergroup Emotions: Explaining Offensive Action Tendencies in an Intergroup Context.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology79 (4): 602–16.
69.
MaozI.2009. “The Women and Peace Hypothesis? The Effect of Opponent-negotiators’ Gender on Evaluation of Compromise Solutions in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” International Negotiation14:519–36.
70.
MaozI.McCauleyC.. 2005. “Psychological Correlates of Support for Compromise: A Polling Study of Jewish-Israeli Attitudes toward Solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” Political Psychology26 (5): 791–807.
71.
MaozI.McCauleyC.. 2008. “Threat, Dehumanization, and Support for Retaliatory Aggressive Policies in Asymmetric Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution52 (1): 93–116.
72.
MaozI.McCauleyC.. 2009. “Threat Perceptions and Feelings as Predictors of Jewish-Israeli Support for Compromise with Palestinians.” Journal of Peace Research46 (4): 525–39.
73.
MaozI.McCauleyC.. 2011. “Explaining Support for Violating Out-group Human Rights in Conflict: Attitudes toward Principles of Human Rights, Trust in the Out-group, and Intergroup Contact.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology41 (4): 895–905.
74.
MehrabianA.1997. “Relations among Personality Scales of Aggression, Violence, and Empathy: Validational Evidence Bearing on the Risk of Eruptive Violence Scale.” Aggressive Behavior23 (6): 433–45.
75.
MitchellJ. P.AmesD. L.JenkinsA. C.BanajiM. R.. 2009. “Neural Correlates of Stereotype Application.” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience21 (3): 594–604.
76.
NacosB. L.2005. “The Portrayal of Female Terrorists in the Media: Similar Framing Patterns in the News Coverage of Women in Politics and in Terrorism.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism28 (5): 435–51.
77.
NelsonM. R.BrunelF. F.SupphellenM.ManchandaR. V.. 2006. “Effects of Culture, Gender, and Moral Obligations on Responses to Charity Advertising across Masculine and Feminine Cultures.” Journal of Consumer Psychology16 (1): 45–56.
78.
OlekalnsM.2014. “Natural-born Peacemakers? Gender and the Resolution of Conflict.” In The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice, 3rd ed., edited by ColemanP. T.DeutschM.MarcusE. C., 355–83. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
79.
OzkanT.LajunenT.. 2005. “Masculinity, Femininity, and the Bem Sex Role Inventory in Turkey.” Sex Roles52 (1-2): 103–10.
80.
PaganoS. J.HuoY. J.. 2007. “The Role of Moral Emotions in Predicting Support for Political Actions in Post-war Iraq.” Political Psychology28 (2): 227–55.
81.
PelligraV.2011. “Empathy, Guilt-aversion, and Patterns of Reciprocity.” Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics4 (3): 161–73.
82.
PerryA.BentinS.ShalevI.IsraelS.UzefovskyF.Bar-OnD.EbsteinR. P.. 2010. “Intranasal Oxytocin Modulates EEG Mu/Alpha and Beta Rhythms during Perception of Biological Motion.” Psychoneuroendocrinology35 (10): 1446–53.
83.
PliskinR.Bar-TalD.SheppesG.HalperinE.. 2014. “Are Leftists More Emotion-driven than Rightists? The Interactive Influence of Ideology and Emotions on Support for Policies.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin40 (12): 1681–97.
84.
PruittA.RubinJ.KimS. H.. 2004. Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
85.
RichardsonD. R.HammockG. S.SmithS. M.GardnerW.SignoM.. 1994. “Empathy as a Cognitive Inhibitor of Interpersonal Aggression.” Aggressive Behavior20 (4): 275–89.
86.
RiemM. M.Bakermans-KranenburgM. J.PieperS.TopsM.BoksemM. A.VermeirenR. R.Van IJzendoornM. H.RomboutsS. A.. 2011. “Oxytocin Modulates Amygdala, Insula, and Inferior Frontal Gyrus Responses to Infant Crying: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Biological Psychiatry70 (3): 291–97.
87.
RosenbergH.MaozI.. 2012. ““Meeting the Enemy”: The Reception of a Television Interview with a Female Palestinian Terrorist among Jewish Youth in Israel.” Communication Review15 (1): 45–71.
88.
RoslerN.Cohen-ChenS.HalperinE.. 2017. “The Distinctive Effects of Empathy and Hope in Intractable Conflicts.” Journal of Conflict Resolution61 (1): 114–39.
89.
Sasson-LevyO.2011. “Research on Gender and the Military in Israel: From a Gendered Organization to Inequality Regimes.” Israel Studies Review26 (2): 73–98.
90.
ShamirJ.ShamirM.. 2000. The Anatomy of Public Opinion. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
91.
ShamirJ.ShikakiK.. 2010. Palestinian and Israeli Public Opinion: The Public Imperative in the Second Intifada. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
92.
ShawL. L.BatsonC. D.ToddR. M.. 1994. “Empathy Avoidance: Forestalling Feeling for Another in Order to Escape the Motivational Consequences.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology67 (5): 879–87.
93.
ShechtmanZ.BasheerO.. 2005. “Normative Beliefs Supporting Aggression of Arab Children in an Intergroup Conflict.” Aggressive Behavior31 (4): 324–35.
94.
SingerT.LammC.. 2009. “The Social Neuroscience of Empathy.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences1156 (1): 81–96.
95.
SjobergL.2013. Gendering Global Conflict: Toward a Feminist Theory of War. New York: Columbia University Press.
96.
SjobergL.GentryC. E.. 2007. Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics. London, UK: Zed Books.
97.
SkjelsboekI.SmithD.. 2001. “Introduction.” In Gender, Peace and Conflict, edited by SkjelsboekI.SmithD., 1–13. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
98.
SmithR. H.PowellC. A. J.CombsD. J. Y.SchurtzR. D.. 2009. “Exploring the When and Why of Schadenfreude.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass3: 530–46.
99.
SpenceJ. T.HelmreichR. L.. 1978. Masculinity & Femininity: Their Psychological Dimensions, Correlates, and Antecedents. Austin: University of Texas Press.
100.
StaubE.1996. “Preventing Genocide: Activating Bystanders, Helping Victims, and Creation of Caring.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology2 (3): 189–200.
101.
SteinbergS.Bar-OnD.. 2002. “An Analysis of the Group Process in Encounters between Jews and Palestinians Using a Typology for Discourse Classification.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations26 (2): 199–214.
102.
StollerR. J. [1968] 1974. Sex and Gender, Volume I: The Development of Masculinity and Femininity. New York: Jason Aronson.
103.
StotlandE.1969. “Exploratory Investigations of Empathy.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology4:271–314.
104.
TateC. C.2014. “Gender Identity as a Personality Process.” In Gender Identity: Disorders, Developmental Perspectives and Social Implications, edited by MillerB. L., 1–22. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science.
105.
Ten VeldenF. S.BaasM.ShalviS.KretM. E.De DreuC. K.. 2014. “Oxytocin Differentially Modulates Compromise and Competitive Approach but Not Withdrawal to Antagonists from Own vs. Rivaling Other Groups.” Brain Research1580:172–79.
106.
TesslerM.WarrinerI.. 1997. “Gender, Feminism, and Attitudes towards International Conflict: Exploring Relationships with Survey Data from the Middle East.” World Politics49 (2): 250–81.
107.
Uvnäs-MobergK.1998. “Oxytocin May Mediate the Benefits of Positive Social Interaction and Emotions.” Psychoneuroendocrinology23 (8): 819–35.
108.
VafaeiA.AlvaradoB.TomásC.MuroC.MartinezB.ZunzuneguiM. V.. 2014. “The Validity of the 12-item Bem Sex Role Inventory in Older Spanish Population: An Examination of the Androgyny Model.” Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics59 (2): 257–63.
109.
WaytzA.ZakiJ.MitchellJ. P.. 2012. “Response of Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Altruistic Behavior.” The Journal of Neuroscience32 (22): 7646–50.
110.
WhiteR. K.1984. Fearful Warriors: A Psychological Profile of U.S.-Soviet Relations. New York: Free Press.
111.
WoodW.EaglyA. H.. 2015. “Two Traditions of Research on Gender Identity.” Sex Roles73:461–73.
112.
Yuchtman-YaarE.HermanT.. 1997. The Peace Index Project: Findings and Analyses, June 1996–May 1997 (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv, Israel: Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Tel Aviv University.
113.
ZakiJ.2014. “Empathy: A Motivated Account.” Psychological Bulletin140 (6): 1608–47.
114.
ZakiJ.MitchellJ. P.. 2013. “Intuitive Prosociality.” Current Directions in Psychological Science22 (6): 466–70.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
