Self-perception and interpersonal peacefulness: the mediating role of theory of mind and harmony
| Date | 27 June 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-10-2018-0383 |
| Published date | 27 June 2019 |
| Pages | 180-199 |
| Author | Zahra Khayyer,Hamidreza Oreyzi,Karim Asgari,Sverker Sikström |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Self-perception and interpersonal
peacefulness: the mediating role of theory
of mind and harmony
Zahra Khayyer, Hamidreza Oreyzi, Karim Asgari and Sverker Sikström
Abstract
Purpose –A wide range of variables, including cognitive, emotional and relational factors, could affect the
level of peacefulness. The purpose of this paper is to examine key variables (theory of mind (ToM) and
harmony) that mediate the personality trait of peacefulness.
Design/methodology/approach –The participants were 182 university students recruited from three
universities in Isfahan,Iran. Some differentscales wereapplied in order to measurethe intendedpeace variables.
Findings –The findings demonstrate that ToM, as the ability to attribute mental states, significantly mediates
the association between interpersonal peacefulness and inhibition skill, interpersonal peacefulness and
conflict resolution abilities, and interpersonal peacefulness and level of aggression. In addition, harmony
mediates the relationship between intrapersonal peacefulness, hope, intrapersonal peacefulness and
self-compassionate competency.
Practical implications –These findings indicate that peaceful feelings enable a person to provide more
attention to the concerns of others and to relationship issues.
Originality/value –This an original type of study in the field of peace psychology.
Keywords Harmony, Personality, Mediation analysis, Interpersonal peacefulness,
Intrapersonal peacefulness, Theory of mind
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Peace psychology seeks to study the psychological effects of violence, conflict resolution and
cooperation among people and nations. From an individual perspective, peace psychology
examines how individuals relate to themselves in a harmonious manner as well as their internally
experienced level of positivity (Sims et al., 2014). Peace psychology systematically reviews how to
maintain interpersonal and intrapersonal peacefulness (Mayton, 2009). Being peaceful may also be
considered a secondary personality trait. This determines possible peaceful responses at different
times and in different situations during interactions with others and within oneself (Nelson, 2014a).
Furthermore, according to Sheldon and Kasser (1995), inner peace as reflected in measures of
personality, such as coherence and congruence, is positively correlated with experiences of positive
emotions. Mayton (2009) describes peaceful personality characteristics, such as anger
management, empathy and forgiveness, and find that agreeableness is relevant to a peaceful
person on several levels. For instance, in a study by Heuchert (2003), college students who were
more supportive of peace exhibited significantly higher levels of agreeableness compared to students
who were more likely to support war. Also, Blumberg et al. (2017) showed that Big 5 agreeableness
was negatively associated with the war scales and positively associated with the peace scales.
Peace-related variables
A wide range of variables, including personal and social factors, affect the level of peacefulness
(Mayton, 2009; Sims et al., 2014). Low levels of aggression and stress, conflict resolution and
Received 14 October 2018
Revised 21 November 2018
18 February 2019
26 March 2019
Accepted 28 March 2019
Conflicts of interest: there are no
conflicts of interest. Ethics
approval: the study was approved
by the Ethics Committee of the
Department of Educational
Sciences and Psychology,
University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
The authors are grateful to express
the gratitude to all the directors
and staff at the University of
Isfahan who helped the authors
with this research, as well as the
students who participated
in the research.
Zahra Khayyer, Hamidreza
Oreyzi and Karim Asgari are all
based at the Educational
Sciences & Psychology
Department, University of
Isfahan, Isfahan, Islamic
Republic of Iran.
SverkerSikström is based at the
Department of Psychology,
Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
PAGE180
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VOL. 11 NO. 3 2019, pp.180-199, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599 DOI 10.1108/JACPR-10-2018-0383
relational skills, or high levels of self-compassion and positivity constitute major predictors of a
peaceful personality. However, little is known concerning how these variables affect peacefulness
as a trait (Mayton, 2012; McCullough et al., 2001; Neff et al., 2007). As a whole, the rejection of
violence is a core value among peaceful individuals.
Believing in peacefulness as a personality trait would imply that individuals exhibit a relatively
consistent level of peaceful emotions and behaviors across various situations. Consistency in
peacefulness would predict individual behaviors in a wide range of relationship domains (Nelson,
2014a). Furthermore, grouping peace-related variables into motivational and enabling factors
was first suggested by Nelson (2014a). He believed that enhancing problem-solving skills, conflict
resolution competencies, optimism and forgiveness may influence people to become more
peaceful. However, more research is needed in terms of designing interventions that develop and
strengthen personality factors influencing personal peacefulness. In order to reach this goal,
reviewing peacefulness in two major areas of relationships could be advantageous.
Interpersonal peacefulness
In the interpersonal domain, an individual exhibiting a higher level of peacefulness is less likely to act
aggressively toward others and is more likely to act cooperatively, thoughtfully, and friendly.
Subsequently, a peaceful person is someone who tries to create and maintain trusting and forgiving
attitudes and behaviors in their relationships (Galtung, 1981). Marriage, contact with friends, group
participation, work engagement and social support are among the most significant social relationship
domains. The quality of relationships in these areas may represent a topic of study in the field of peace
psychology. All of these domains are relevant with regard to the construct of a peaceful personality (as
a common trait), as they represent important relationship contexts in which individuals experience
peace and conflict. Since personality refers to consistent patterns in relation to thinking and behavior
(Burger, 2000), at least some people are consistent in terms of the level of peace they exhibit over time.
Conflict is a common phenomenon in each relationship domain. Furthermore, responses a
person has learned in order to address relational conflicts in one domain are likely to generalize to
other domains. With regard to the generalization hypothesis (Christiansen, 1959/1974), in terms
of new situations, humans bring along tendencies to behave, feel and think in ways that have
seemed useful in similar situations in the past. On the other hand, the values, competencies and
cognitive dispositions that promote peacefulness in one domain are also likely to play an active
role in promoting peacefulness in other domains (Nelson, 2014a). In fact, the aim of peace studies
is, on the one hand, seeking ways of creating more harmonious relations and, on the other hand,
decreasing the level of conflict.
Consequently, identifying people’s general rules in relationships enables us to know more about
their quality of life (Thibaut, 2017). That is because, in Galtung’s view, peace is what we get when
creative conflict transformation occurs non-violently. This means that understanding the causes
of conflicts and how to transform them is necessary for achieving peace. For example, the ability
to emphasize with others contributes to us looking upon other people’s basic emotions and
responses as more peaceful. Rather than emotional empathy, mental perspective-taking or
theory of mind (ToM) seems to play a central role in social communication by predicting people’s
overt behavior (Batson and Ahmad, 2009). Given this fact, relational, emotional and cognitive
elements may be considered variables influencing peacefulness.
Intrapersonal peacefulness
With regard to intrapersonal peace, researchers have found evidence for considerable
consistency in terms of emotions, particularly in tendencies in terms of experiencing positive vs
negative emotions, across a wide range of situations (Eisenkraft and Elfenbein, 2010; Kożusznik
et al., 2018). Therefore, intrapersonal peacefulness, when defined as a disposition to experience
peaceful emotions, tends to be consistent across time and across situations, which is why it may
be conceptualized as a common trait.
In Nelson’s(2014a) view, thisaspect of peacefulness is associatedwith experiencing more harmony
and congruence between different aspects of self through emotionally positive self-attitudes, such
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