This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. If the origins of intergroup conflict can be understood and prevented, human health and welfare will be enhanced worldwide. Proposed is a program of research to test a theoretical model of intergroup relations that will provide intensive research training for undergraduate students. This model, called the Intergroup Relations Model (IRM), was developed by the PI. The IRM predicts that intergroup behavior is most proximally caused by intergroup emotion, that is itself caused by ethnocentrism (i.e., a belief that one's own group is superior to other groups) and negative out-group stereotypes. The IRM is a mediational model in which cognitive processes determine affect that, in turn, causes intergroup behavior. Past studies permitted correlational analyses of the relationships among the IRM constructs, and are consistent with the predictions of the IRM. However, the correlational data are inadequate for testing the validity of the model. The research proposed will test experimentally the theoretical predictions of the IRM. Undergraduate and one graduate students will be actively involved in all phases of this research. Students will receive supervised training in theoretical derivation of hypotheses, development of research methods and operations, skill in running participants through the experimental protocol, organization and management of data, analysis of data, organization of results, writing and publication of findings, and presentation of results at scientific conferences.
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