PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Horrors of war harden group bonds

2013-11-07
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Basil Waugh
basil.waugh@ubc.ca
604-822-2048
University of British Columbia
Horrors of war harden group bonds War is hell, and according to new research, experiencing the horrors of war can cause people to have a greater affinity for members of their own group, particularly if individuals are exposed to war during key periods of their life.

"These effects have the potential to explain why conflict sometimes leads to cycles of war and sometimes stimulates nation-building in its wake," says Joseph Henrich of the University of British Columbia, who helped conduct the study. The research appears in the journal Psychological Science.

Researchers conducted the study in war-torn nations of Georgia and Sierra Leone. They had participants play games in which they had to choose how to allocate tokens to themselves and an anonymous partner. In some cases, the anonymous partner was from the same village or school. In other cases, the partner was from a distant village or different school.

Those who had experienced war were more willing to sacrifice to reduce inequality if their partner was from the same village or school.

No such effects were present in participants younger than six or older than 20 when they experienced war. "These findings suggest that if war is experienced during a sensitive window in development between middle childhood and early adulthood, then it leaves an enduring mark," says co-author Michal Bauer of Charles University, Czech Republic.

The research may help to explain why war can lead to nation building or a perpetual cycle of war. "When people identify with an in-group that coincides with the state or nation, then nation-building can be enhanced," says Henrich, a professor in UBC's Depts. of Psychology and Economics. "For people who identify with a subnational identity, such as an ethnic group, war can sow the seeds of future conflicts."

BACKGROUND

The researchers collected data from 543 children in the Republic of Georgia following the brief but devastating war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. They also collected data from 586 adults in Sierra Leone following an 11-year civil war that ended in 2002, which led to the displacement of much of the population and the deaths of over 50,000 civilians.

Based on evolutionary theory, the researchers hypothesized that experiences with intergroup conflicts should lead individuals to become more focused on their own group's wellbeing, since individual survival is often linked to the fate of the group. Recruiting participants who had actually experienced war allowed the researchers to study human nature in the context of real-world conflicts.

"Our research shows that exposure to war affects human psychology in specific ways," says Bauer. "These 'war effects' emerge in the short-term and, importantly, they have long-term impact on psychology if war is experienced during middle childhood and adolescence."

### In addition to Henrich and Bauer, co-authors include Alessandra Cassar of the University of San Francisco and Julie Chytilová of Charles University. Henrich is UBC's Canada Research Chair in Culture, Cognition and Evolution.

For a copy of the article "War's Enduring Effects on the Development of Egalitarian Motivations and In-Group Biases," please contact Lucy Hyde at 202-293-9300 or lhyde@psychologicalscience.org. The research was supported by the Czech Science Foundation and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UCSF scientist asks, did inefficient cellular machinery evolve to fight viruses and jumping genes?

2013-11-07
UCSF scientist asks, did inefficient cellular machinery evolve to fight viruses and jumping genes? It might seem obvious that humans are elegant and sophisticated beings in comparison to lowly bacteria, but when it comes to genes, a UC San ...

Changes to fisheries legislation have removed habitat protection for most fish species in Canada

2013-11-07
Changes to fisheries legislation have removed habitat protection for most fish species in Canada University of Calgary and Dalhousie University fisheries biologists say federal Fisheries Act revisions were unscientific Federal government changes to Canada's ...

Tree nut consumption associated with reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in women

2013-11-07
Tree nut consumption associated with reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in women First prospective study to date on nut consumption and pancreatic cancer in the Bristish Journal of Cancer Davis, CA, November 7, 2013 – In a large prospective study published online ...

Getting to grips with seizure prediction

2013-11-07
Getting to grips with seizure prediction A device that could predict when a person with epilepsy might next have a seizure is one step closer to reality thanks to the development of software by researchers in the USA. Details are to be published in a forthcoming issue of the ...

Programmed nanoparticles organize themselves into highly complex nanostructures

2013-11-07
Programmed nanoparticles organize themselves into highly complex nanostructures New principle for the self-assembly of patterned nanoparticles published in NATURE may have important implications for nanotechnology and future technologies Animal ...

Hartz IV reform did not reduce unemployment in Germany

2013-11-07
Hartz IV reform did not reduce unemployment in Germany Impact of the Hartz IV reform on curbing unemployment in Germany proved to be exceptionally low The Hartz IV reform of the German labor market has been one of the most controversial ...

New study shows trustworthy people are perceived to look similar to ourselves

2013-11-07
New study shows trustworthy people are perceived to look similar to ourselves When a person is deemed trustworthy, we perceive that person's face to be more similar to our own, according to a new study published in Psychological Science. A team of scientists ...

Why stem cells need to stick with their friends

2013-11-07
Why stem cells need to stick with their friends Scientists at University of Copenhagen and University of Edinburgh have identified a core set of functionally relevant factors which regulates embryonic stem cells' ability for self-renewal. A key aspect ...

Nanoparticles can overcome drug resistance in breast cancer cells

2013-11-07
Nanoparticles can overcome drug resistance in breast cancer cells Nanoparticles filled with chemotherapeutic drugs can kill drug-resistant breast cancer cells, according to a study published in the scientific journal Biomaterials. Nanoparticles are just as small, ...

Research shows that the more chocolate you eat, the lower your body fat level is

2013-11-07
Research shows that the more chocolate you eat, the lower your body fat level is University of Granada researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences have scientifically disproven the old belief ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members

Robotic eyes mimic human vision for superfast response to extreme lighting

Racial inequities and access to COVID-19 treatment

Residential segregation and lung cancer risk in African American adults

Scientists wipe out aggressive brain cancer tumors by targeting cellular ‘motors’

Capturability distinction analysis of continuous and pulsed guidance laws

CHEST expands Bridging Specialties Initiative to include NTM disease and bronchiectasis on World Bronchiectasis Day

Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage

SwRI, UTSA selected by NASA to test electrolyzer technology aboard parabolic flight

Prebiotics might be a factor in preventing or treating issues caused by low brain GABA

Youngest in class at higher risk of mental health problems

American Heart Association announces new volunteer leaders for 2025-26

Gut microbiota analysis can help catch gestational diabetes

FAU’s Paulina DeVito awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Champions for change – Paid time off initiative just made clinical trials participation easier

Fentanyl detection through packaging

Prof. Eran Meshorer elected to EMBO for pioneering work in epigenetics

New 3D glacier visualizations provide insights into a hotter Earth

Creativity across disciplines

Consequences of low Antarctic sea ice

Hear here: How loudness and acoustic cues help us judge where a speaker is facing

A unique method of rare-earth recycling can strengthen the raw material independence of Europe and America

Epilepsy self-management program shows promise to control seizures, improve mood and quality of life

Fat may play an important role in brain metabolism

New study finds no lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human well-being

New insights on genetic damage of some chemotherapies could guide future treatments with less harmful side effects

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Novel modelling links sea ice loss to Antarctic ice shelf calving events

Scientists can tell how fast you're aging from a single brain scan

U.S. uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates expected to significantly increase by 2050

[Press-News.org] Horrors of war harden group bonds