Examples of research
Message effectiveness
Opinion surveys based on social psychology
Civic and political attitudes and involvement among young residents of Israel’s periphery
The mood in Israel in recent years has been one of stagnation, despair and a sense of futility about efforts to create meaningful social or political change. Historically, such change often starts with young people, particularly those from less advantaged communities in geographically peripheral areas. A study of the attitudes and involvement of young Israelis in such marginalized areas examined the underlying social, political and psychological factors that can explain these attitudes as compared with those of young people not living in the periphery.
Research for a media campaign to advance Israelis of Ethiopian origin
Israelis of Ethiopian origin have long experienced discrimination both from the establishment and from the rest of the population, exclusion from public spaces, discrimination in higher education and employment, and negative stereotyping. They are subject to physical and verbal violence. The research sought to map the barriers to and catalysts for the eradication of racism toward Israelis of Ethiopian origin. The findings provided the basis for formulating effective social media messages as a way to change public attitudes.
Intraorganizational research
Diagnosing diversity and inclusion at a startup
To integrate women and other groups not sufficiently represented in the realm of entrepreneurship, we conducted intraorganizational diagnoses at startups, examining the components of diversity and inclusion at each organization. Based on the findings of this research, we were able to offer solid advice and develop research-based intervention programs.
Diagnosing schools to promote education for partnership
This project was a system-wide effort designed to help Israeli secondary schools institutionalize a professional, research-based infrastructure for education for partnership between different groups. We believe that the right school-based infrastructure is crucial for coping with current trends toward growing extremism and fragmentation in Israeli society. This is especially important in order to bring closer secular Jews, national-religious Jews, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arabs, who make up the four separate sectors of the nation’s school system. Based on the school diagnosis process, we were able to assemble an up-to-date and reliable picture of the situation at the outset of the project and assist the school’s leadership in formulating psychoeducational intervention programs to be tested for effectiveness over time.
Effectiveness of interventions
Education for partnership among Jewish and Arab young people thr
The Israel Futures project of the Israel Association of Community Centers is designed to promote good neighborly relations between Arabs and Jews in mixed cities in Israel. Our study examined the effectiveness of the programs conducted in community centers, in order to help them operate more effectively in achieving their social goals
Intervention research based on the use of virtual reality tools
A massive influx of Syrian refugee students into Turkish schools generated numerous tensions between Syrian and Turkish students. Teachers were challenged to cope with the changed atmosphere. One response was a project designed to provide teachers with practical tools to increase the sense of belonging among the students, using virtual reality technology that allows experiencing events from students’ perspectives and practicing classroom situations in a safe virtual environment. A study accompanied this intervention to measure its effectiveness.
Benchmark studies
Urban accessibility index
This study, conducted for four years in a row, examined trends in public attitudes toward people with disabilities. The goal was to identify the main psychological barriers preventing people with disabilities from fully integrating into an organization, and raising awareness about the challenges facing them. The study sampled attitudes among residents from 20 selected cities in Israel and compared the data to a national sample.