Long-Term Effects of School Desegregation Experiences on Interpersonal Relations in the Israeli Defense Forces

Effects of school desegregation were assessed during basic training in the army. Soldiers completed cognitive, affective, and behavioral measures of interpersonal relations in their platoons. The pattern of current relations differed as a function of measure focus. Cognitive measures reflected asymmetry: Regardless of ethnic origin, all soldiers gave more positive evaluations to Western than Middle Eastern platoon members. Behavioral and affective measures revealed symmetrical relationships: Western and Middle Eastern soldiers exhibited in-group preferences in social acceptance and liking. Platoon relationships were not associated with school programs desig7ned to facilitate integration. However, three school desegregation effects were found: On both the behavioral and the affective indexes, the larger the educational gap, the greater the level of in-group bias; lower levels of in-group bias in social acceptance appeared among soldiers from schools with higher percentages of disadvantaged students; and a heightened in-group bias in social acceptance was found among soldiers from religious as opposed to secular schools.

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