In times of heightened polarization, when nations fracture along moralized ideological lines and international alliances are strained by widening gaps in shared values, questions about the role of morals, values, and norms in intergroup processes have become increasingly urgent.
Building on the view that groups serve as moral anchors [1], recent research examines how moral judgments inform group identity [2] on the one hand, and how group identity shapes moral expectations [3] on the other.
Studies further show that prejudice depends on personal values as well as perceived values [4] and can be reduced by exposure to moral ingroup members [5] or by exposure to moral outgroup members [6,7].
By connecting morals, values, and norms with intergroup processes, this preconference aims to illuminate the moral underpinnings of intergroup conflict and reconciliation.
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Keynote Speakers:
Sabina Čehajić-Clancy (Stockholm University)
Naomi Ellemers (Utrecht University)
Lukas Wolf (University of Bath)​​​​​​​​​
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Organizing committee:
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Adi Amit (The Open University of Israel)
Gregory Maio (University of Bath)
Zaur Afandiyev (Stockholm University)
Tal Moran (The Open University of Israel)
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For questions, please feel free to contact
Greg Maio at: gm659@bath.ac.uk or
Tal Moran at: talmo@openu.ac.il
References:
[1] Ellemers, N. (2017). Morality and the regulation of social behavior: Groups as moral anchors. Routledge.
​[2] Amit, A., & Venzhik, E. (2024). Morality, social inclusion, and in-group superiority: The differential role of individualizing and binding foundations in perceptions of the social identity of in-group and out-group members. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 01461672241262367.
[3] Venzhik, E., Ruisch, B. C., & Amit, A. (2025). Own or Other Integrity in Expected Moral Judgments? Moral Pluralism and Political Partisanship. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506251375514.
[4] Wolf, L. J., Weinstein, N., & Maio, G. R. (2019). Anti-immigrant prejudice: Understanding the roles of (perceived) values and value dissimilarity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 117(5), 925–953.
[5] Čehajić-Clancy, S., & Olsson, A. (2024). Threaten and affirm: The role of ingroup moral exemplars for promoting prosocial intergroup behavior through affirming moral identity. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 27(1), 99-117.
[6] Čehajić-Clancy, S., & Bilewicz, M. (2021). Moral-exemplar intervention: A new paradigm for conflict resolution and intergroup reconciliation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(4), 335-342.
[7] Moran, T., & Walther, E. (2025). Learning to Like the Enemy: Moral Learning Reduces Affective Polarization. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506251343667.