Профессор Джорджтаунского университета объяснил четыре причины человеческой склонности к конфликтам

A Georgetown University psychology professor argued that there are four explanations for why humans are drawn to conflict in a new book published Sept. 4. Fathali Moghaddam’s book, “Theories of Intergroup Relations: Psychological Perspectives in Global Context,” analyzes four major theories of intergroup relations: irrationalist, materialist, justice-based and identity-based. Moghaddam positioned his research in the current political atmosphere, which he believes has led to increasing isolationism and social ostracism. Moghaddam said his book analyzes social groups’ tendency to exclude others, most notably in the Make America Great Again movement. “‘Making America Great Again’ is all about the category ‘American’ and the negative attitudes toward immigrants are about defining the boundaries: What is our group and what is the out-group?” Moghaddam told The Hoya. “I was born in Iran, so I come from a part of the world where the division is between Muslim and non-Muslim, but all these divisions are the same psychological processes.” The book examines four potential explanations for conflict between groups. Irrationalist theory argues that humans enter conflict without thinking, while materialist theory claims that humans engage in conflict to gain wealth. The final two theories are justice theory, which argues that humans create conflict to establish a sense of justice, and identity theory, in which conflicts help solidify a sense of identity. Moghaddam also said that creating divisions among social groups is natural. “There’s certain tendencies that are universal: for example, categorization,” Moghaddam said. “As soon as you categorize, people differentiate and exaggerate between groups. They are seen to be more different than they are, and also, within groups, they are seen to be more similar than they are. That’s interesting because you’ve been in so many different places and situations and you’re seeing this throughline through all of them.” Mackenzie Holian (GRD ’27), who created diagrams to supplement Moghaddam’s research, said she appreciates the accessibility of his work. “I feel like he tries to make the content as digestible as possible for the average reader in person,” Holian told The Hoya. “I think a lot of what we were focusing on with the diagrams was how to make that even more accessible.” Raimundo Salas-Schweikart (GRD ’25), a former doctoral student who Moghaddam mentored, said he admires Moghaddam’s ability to convey complex ideas. “He has a talent for avoiding unnecessary complexity — he prefers simple, straightforward ideas that anyone can grasp rather than convoluted writing or overly complex analyses,” Salas-Schweikart told The Hoya. “I try to carry these insights into my own writing and teaching.” Salas-Schweikart, who currently teaches and works as a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, Chile, said he appreciates Moghaddam’s use of recent global developments not included in his prior book, “Multiculturalism and Intergroup Relations.” “I regularly use a previous version, ‘Multiculturalism and Intergroup Relations,’ in my teaching, so an updated edition that may account for recent developments — like the rise of authoritarianism — and ties them to the underlying theory would be useful to me both as a researcher and as an instructor,” Salas-Schweikart said. Holian said she was excited to see Moghaddam’s written work and her visual contributions in print. “It’s always great to have the feeling of knowing that all of these things I’ve learned from him are now out there,” Holian said. “Other people will get to benefit from the same things he’s taught me, which is really exciting. He’s going to get to share his really large breadth of knowledge, and I’m really excited and grateful that I got to help contribute to that.” Holian said she learned about new psychological theories and the publishing process while working with Moghaddam. “It was really cool to not only get to see into his mind and how he comes up with these ideas and theories, but also to actually see the inner workings of what the publisher wants,” Holian said. Moghaddam said group dynamics are ingrained in human psychology. “Human beings have made tremendous progress in science and technology, but we are extremely primitive and backward with respect to relationships between groups,” Moghaddam said. “We continue to engage in destructive warfare. We continue to invest highly in destroying one another.” “Understanding the reasons for our destructiveness and our backward relationships at the group level is extremely important,” Moghaddam added. “It’s actually essential for our survival.”