The following is an excerpt of the intervention methodology. For more information, please see the full text of the article on the publisher's website or through your institution's library.

Four studies showed that beliefs about whether groups have a malleable versus fixed nature affected intergroup attitudes and willingness to compromise for peace. [...]

In study 1, a nationally representative sample of 500 Israeli Jews was interviewed. We assessed their general beliefs about groups (whether or not they believed that groups had a fixed inherent nature) through their level of agreement with statements such as “Groups can’t change their basic characteristics.” We also assessed their attitudes toward Palestinians and their willingness to compromise with Palestinians [...].

To determine whether people’s beliefs actually play a causal role, in study 2 we randomly assigned 76 Israeli-born Jewish participants to read an article that portrayed aggressive groups as having a fixed nature or a malleable nature. [...] Later, as part of what was ostensibly another study, attitudes toward Palestinians and support for compromise with Palestinians were assessed. [...]

In study 3, we tested the same psychological mechanism among 59 Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCIs), a minority group in Israel constituting 19% of the population. [...]

Study 4 was conducted with 53 Palestinian adults in Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian National Authority, more than half of whom were members of political and militant organizations such as Fatah or Hamas. We repeated the procedure from studies 2 and 3, again making appropriate changes to match the context. [...]