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Behavioral Sciences
Special Issues
Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts
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Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Organizational Behaviors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 8325

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yiftach Ron

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Creative Arts Therapies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kibbutzim College, Tel Aviv 6250769, Israel
2. The Swiss Center for Conflict Research and the Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Interests: intergroup communication; psychology related aspects of intergroup conflict; life stories and narrativity; therapeutic processes in situations of acute distress; dialogue; peacebuilding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While intergroup conflicts are often rooted in competition over material resources and political or territorial control, they are made salient through the construction of group identities, worldviews and narratives that play a destructive role in preserving the conflict, and in denying the legitimacy of the other. These opposing group identities, perceptions and narratives associate the conflict with a heavy load of sentiments, including fear, disparagement, blame and grudge.

Studies of communication processes in situations of intergroup conflict demonstrate the manner in which narratives, attitudes and beliefs regarding the causes, the course and the resolution of the conflict, and perceptions regarding the out-group are shaped and expressed in various arenas of mass communication, social media and face-to-face intergroup dialogue. This special issue of Behavioral Sciences invites authors to investigate and reflect on the communication strategies and practices employed by individuals and groups in these arenas in situations of ethno-political conflict, and on the interrelations between communication, intergroup relations and conflict.

Empirical studies, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, narrative or topical reviews, and case studies are welcome. Contributions may take qualitative, quantitative or cross disciplinary perspectives.

Dr. Yiftach Ron
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • conflict
  • communication
  • intergroup relations
  • dialogue
  • social media
  • journalism
  • power asymmetry
  • conflict resolution

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 500 KiB  
Article
Abrahamic Family or Start-Up Nation?: Competing Messages of Common Identity and Their Effects on Intergroup Prejudice
by Tsafrir Goldberg and Laila Abo Elhija Sliman
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(4), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15040460 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 273
Abstract
Just as Israel brands itself as a progressive “Start-Up Nation”, Israeli citizens increasingly identify as religious. Religion plays an increasing role in intergroup tensions in Israel. Negative effects of religion and its public representations on intergroup attitudes are well researched, but little is [...] Read more.
Just as Israel brands itself as a progressive “Start-Up Nation”, Israeli citizens increasingly identify as religious. Religion plays an increasing role in intergroup tensions in Israel. Negative effects of religion and its public representations on intergroup attitudes are well researched, but little is known of its positive effects. We ask whether religion can also play a role in improving intergroup attitudes. This study explores the effects of three different public and media representations of shared identity and tolerance on interreligious prejudice among Israeli Muslim adolescents and young adults. The interventions included an interfaith similarities-based common ingroup identity (focusing on shared aspects of Judaism and Islam), a modern national universalistic approach (focusing on religious tolerance), and a modern academic technological identity (highlighting Israel as a “Start-Up Nation”). Findings indicate that the interfaith similarities-based intervention had the most substantial impact in reducing prejudice, specifically by decreasing stereotypes and increasing willingness for social encounters. In contrast, the national universalistic and technological identity interventions were less effective, and in some cases even increased perceived threat or failed to mitigate stereotypes. These findings highlight the potential for leveraging interfaith commonalities as a foundation for intergroup prejudice reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts)
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24 pages, 2667 KiB  
Article
Public Health Advocacy in Times of Pandemic: An Analysis of the Medicare-For-All Debate on Twitter During COVID-19
by Sushant Kumar, Shreyas Meher and Pengfei Zhang
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020223 - 16 Feb 2025
Viewed by 953
Abstract
COVID-19 has reinvigorated the policy debate for a universal healthcare system, attracting much attention on social media. In this paper, we study the online discourse of Medicare-For-All before and after COVID-19 by examining the Twitter feeds of two opposing health advocacy groups—Physicians for [...] Read more.
COVID-19 has reinvigorated the policy debate for a universal healthcare system, attracting much attention on social media. In this paper, we study the online discourse of Medicare-For-All before and after COVID-19 by examining the Twitter feeds of two opposing health advocacy groups—Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future (P4AHCF). Our empirical results show a sharp contrast between the two interest groups’ communication strategies. PNHP showed a consistent narrative before and after the onset of COVID-19 on 11 March 2020, marked by personalized stories, references to diverse demographic groups, and a growing number of Medicare-For-All tweets. In contrast, P4AHCF showed more scientific terminology and data-centric tweets and had an inconsistent narrative with a sudden surge in positive sentiments and a complete silence on Medicare-For-All right after 11 March. The difference in communication strategies is consequential. PNHP has higher engagement with Twitter users and is more adaptive to a pandemic narrative than P4AHCF. We discuss how distinctive social media strategies can be explained by the groups’ different audiences and resources. The findings add to our understanding of healthcare advocacy campaigns on social media and the implication of a pandemic for health policy reform. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts)
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28 pages, 1631 KiB  
Article
Interpersonal Conflict and Employee Behavior in the Public Sector: Investigating the Role of Workplace Ostracism and Supervisors’ Active Empathic Listening
by Hatem Belgasm, Ahmad Alzubi, Kolawole Iyiola and Amir Khadem
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020194 - 12 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1838
Abstract
In today’s dynamic organizational environments, interpersonal conflict and social exclusion can significantly impact employee behavior and organizational effectiveness. This study explores the complex interplay between interpersonal conflict, workplace ostracism, and interpersonal deviance in Jordan’s public sector, emphasizing the moderating role of supervisors’ active [...] Read more.
In today’s dynamic organizational environments, interpersonal conflict and social exclusion can significantly impact employee behavior and organizational effectiveness. This study explores the complex interplay between interpersonal conflict, workplace ostracism, and interpersonal deviance in Jordan’s public sector, emphasizing the moderating role of supervisors’ active empathic listening. Using the stressor–emotion model, conservation of resources (COR) theory, and conflict expression (CE) framework, this study examined these relationships through a two-wave survey design. Data were collected from 501 public sector employees using validated scales, and an analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS, with structural equation modeling employed for hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that interpersonal conflict strongly predicts workplace ostracism and interpersonal deviance. Workplace ostracism mediates the relationship between conflict and deviance, while supervisors’ active empathic listening moderates these effects, reducing the likelihood of deviant behaviors. These results underscore the importance of fostering empathetic leadership and inclusive workplace environments to mitigate conflict’s negative impact. This research contributes to understanding workplace dynamics by highlighting the critical role of supervisors in moderating conflict and ostracism. The findings have practical implications for public sector organizations. Beyond training programs, supervisors can implement active empathic listening in practical settings by regularly holding one-on-one meetings in which they actively listen to employee concerns, using verbal and non-verbal cues to show engagement, asking open-ended questions to encourage deeper discussion, reflecting employee emotions to validate their feelings, and following up on issues raised to demonstrate concrete action based on what they have heard; this creates a culture of open communication in which employees feel heard and valued, leading to increased employee engagement and improved problem-solving abilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts)
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25 pages, 2121 KiB  
Article
Understanding Reactions to Informative Process Model Interventions: Ambivalence as a Mechanism of Change
by Nimrod Rosler, Ori Wiener-Blotner, Orel Heskiau Micheles and Keren Sharvit
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1152; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14121152 - 2 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1196
Abstract
Transforming the course of protracted and bloody conflicts requires changing the behaviors and minds of society members who take part in these conflicts. While studies examining the psychology of such societies point to the barriers that conflict-supporting narratives create for changing minds and [...] Read more.
Transforming the course of protracted and bloody conflicts requires changing the behaviors and minds of society members who take part in these conflicts. While studies examining the psychology of such societies point to the barriers that conflict-supporting narratives create for changing minds and behavior, a novel psychological intervention offers a new direction to facilitate openness for attitude change based on the Information Process Model (IPM). Previous studies indicated the effectiveness of this intervention in creating an unfreezing of conflict attitudes and increasing support for peace negotiation in different conflict areas. However, since the psychological process underlying its effectiveness remains underexplored, the aim of the current research is to examine the experiences of participants exposed to IPM-based messages and the role of cognitive and emotional ambivalence in facilitating the unfreezing of conflict-supporting narrative and contemplating alternative beliefs. The first study (n = 234) examines how IPM (vs. control) videos increase engagement with and ambivalence towards conflict-supporting narratives using quantitative and qualitative analysis of written Decisional Balance responses. The second study (n = 24) delves into the expressions of cognitive and emotional ambivalence following exposure to different segments of an IPM video using semi-structured interviews, and further assesses their potential influence on facilitating contemplation with newly provided information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts)
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19 pages, 2659 KiB  
Article
Telerobotic Intergroup Contact: Acceptance and Preferences in Israel and Palestine
by Avner Peled, Teemu Leinonen and Béatrice S. Hasler
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 854; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090854 - 23 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1510
Abstract
We explore telerobotics as a novel form of intergroup communication. In this form, remotely operated robots facilitate embodied and situated intergroup contact between groups in conflict over long distances, potentially reducing prejudice and promoting positive social change. Based on previous conceptual frameworks and [...] Read more.
We explore telerobotics as a novel form of intergroup communication. In this form, remotely operated robots facilitate embodied and situated intergroup contact between groups in conflict over long distances, potentially reducing prejudice and promoting positive social change. Based on previous conceptual frameworks and design hypotheses, we conducted a survey on the acceptance and preferences of the telerobotic medium in Israel and Palestine. We analyzed the responses using a mixed-method approach. The results shed light on differences in attitudes between the groups and design considerations for telerobots when used for intergroup contact. This study serves as a foundation for the implementation of a novel method of technology-enhanced conflict resolution in the field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts)
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15 pages, 989 KiB  
Article
Share If You Believe, Comment If You Doubt: The Effect of Source of Information, Trust, and Belief in Conspiracy Theories on Engagement with Facebook Posts
by Erga Atad and Yossi David
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080673 - 3 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1923
Abstract
This study examines the effect of one of three sources of information: a politician (authority figure), a physician (expert), and an ordinary person (non-expert) who appeared in a personal story related to a controversial issue (COVID-19 vaccination) on Facebook, on the willingness to [...] Read more.
This study examines the effect of one of three sources of information: a politician (authority figure), a physician (expert), and an ordinary person (non-expert) who appeared in a personal story related to a controversial issue (COVID-19 vaccination) on Facebook, on the willingness to engage with it. Using a between-subjects experiment (N = 848) conducted among Israeli adults (18 and older), we found a higher likelihood of sharing the story in interpersonal conversations than in other types of communications, regardless of the source that appeared in the story. However, respondents with high levels of institutional trust preferred sharing a politician’s story, while conspiracy believers tended to comment on an ordinary person’s story. The findings of the different patterns of communication behavior among conspiracy believers and people with high trust in political institutes contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the spread of misinformation in the digital age and during times of crisis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication Strategies and Practices in Conflicts)
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