Are two better than one? Playing singly, playing in dyads in a computerized simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The study examined a computerized simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a peace education tool for Israeli female undergraduate students of Palestinian and Jewish origin. To win the game, players are required to arrive at a two-state solution of the conflict. 100 Israeli female students of Palestinian and Jewish origin either supporting or opposing this solution played the game singly or in dyads. The rules of the study required players in dyads to reach mutual agreement on every action in the game. Results indicated that 19 out of 25 dyads resolved the conflict in the game as opposed to 16 out of 50 single players. In addition, players in dyads took more political actions and less security actions than single players did. Finally, players in dyads preferred to focus more on political actions than on security actions in the game. The abovementioned results point out three key implications for peace education. First, PeaceMaker reduces the tension and the charged atmosphere between Jewish and Palestinian players. Second, the game should be played in dyads and not singly. Finally, dyads should be comprised of a Jewish player and a Palestinian player in order to challenge their interaction and game behavior.