A needs-based model of reconciliation: satisfying the differential emotional needs of victim and perpetrator as a key to promoting reconciliation.
The authors propose that conflict threatens different psychological resources of victims and perpetrators and that these threats contribute to the maintenance of conflict (A. Nadler, 2002; A. Nadler & I. Liviatan, 2004; A. Nadler & N. Shnabel, in press). On the basis of this general proposition, the authors developed a needs-based model of reconciliation that posits that being a victim is associated with a threat to one's status and power, whereas being a perpetrator threatens one's image as moral and socially acceptable. To counter these threats, victims must restore their sense of power, whereas perpetrators must restore their public moral image. A social exchange interaction in which these threats are removed should enhance the parties' willingness to reconcile. The results of 4 studies on interpersonal reconciliation support these hypotheses. Applied and theoretical implications of this model are discussed.
Shnabel
Nurit
N
Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, israel. nurit.shnabel@yale.edu
Nadler
Arie
A
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D017008:Negotiating; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012380:Role; D012938:Social Perception