As well as observing the extent and development of group-focused
enmity, we also seek scientific explanations. That means identifying
and verifying the factors that determine the strength of group-focused
enmity.
Pursuing an explicitly interdisciplinary approach allows us to
integrate potential explanatory factors from a wide range of different
fields and theoretical perspectives. A phenomenon as complex as group-
focused enmity cannot be explained by a single factor. Many different
conditions interact to make a person more or less humane or hostile.
We can identify factors associated with group-focused enmity all levels
from macro (contextual, social structures and conditions), through meso
(e.g. relations between groups) to micro (including generalized
ideologies and values and individual characteristics and opinions). Our
theoretical model is flexible and open to the additional of new
explanatory factors. Each annual survey examines a different set of
explanatory factors.
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