Diverse societies often feature exclusionary preferences, yet cross-group cooperation is increasingly vital. Using a large-scale lab-in-the-field experiment in Israel, this study investigates how Jewish citizens' exclusionary attitudes toward Palestinian Citizens of Israel (PCIs) predict costly non-cooperation on collective action problems.
Data & Methods: Lab-in-the-field experiment conducted in Israel.
We find that these preferences are stable symbolic attitudes dominating other influences. They show especially strong effects among low-status majority group members and appear unaffected by factors typically thought to mitigate exclusionary tendencies, such as contact or perceived legitimacy.
Key Findings: Exclusionary attitudes strongly predict costly non-cooperation on collective action problems; this relationship is robust across different conditions.
This demonstrates that exclusionary preferences translate into discriminatory behavior, highlighting their role in persistent social divides and challenges to collective governance.
