Personal/Project Information

Researcher’s Name: / Kulani Panapitiya Dias
Advisor: / Dr. Johanna Ray Vollhardt
Dept./Box Address: / Clark University Psychology Department
Title of Research Project: / Justifying Atrocities: Moral Disengagement, Ingroup Glorification & Victimization in Sri Lanka
Grant Agency: / Steinbrecher Fellowship

Survey Information

1. The Nature of Your Subjects:

This study will follow up on, and be an extension of, a previously IRB-approved study aimed at identifying mechanisms of Moral Disengagement (Bandura, 1999) and ingroup glorification (Leidner et al., 2010) linguistically used by Sinhalese and Tamils in judging violence committed by ingroup versus outgroup members in the context of the conflict in Sri Lanka. The pilot study conducted in December 2011 was used to interview and survey both Sinhalese and Tamil individuals residing in Colombo (the commercial capital of Sri Lanka) and Kelaniya (a city just outside Colombo). The present study aims to interview and survey Tamil individuals from Jaffna (which is a city that is predominantly Tamil-populated) and Sinhalese from Galle (which is a city predominantly Sinhalese-populated). I will interview and survey 24 Tamil and Sinhalese individuals from Colombo, 30 adults aged 21 and above in Jaffna and Galle, Sri Lanka, respectively -- i.e., 30 Tamils from Jaffna and 30 Sinhalese from Galle.

Participants will include all socio-economic classes. No circumstances will compromise participants’ ability to consent.

2. Identification of Subjects:

Participation is voluntary and subjects will not be coerced in any way. The participants will be approached at random, through personal contacts and word of mouth in Colombo, Jaffna and Galle. Individuals will be approached in person and asked for oral consent (see Appendix A: Oral recruitment script). All participants will take part in the study in quiet rooms in their homes or in public but quiet spaces within the vicinity of their respective workplaces. All subjects will participate on an individual basis, that is not in a group setting. They will have privacy while completing the interview and survey questions (see below).

3. Testing Procedure:

The study will last 40 to 60 minutes maximum per participant. Each subject will take part in the study individually, that is not in a group setting that would compromise confidentiality. They will be given privacy while completing the interview and survey questions. The first part of the study will be a questionnaire (lasting approximately 15-20 minutes) and the second part an interview (lasting approximately 20-30 minutes). Participants will first be addressed with the oral consent procedure (see justification below and Appendix B: oral consent form) and have time to voice questions or concerns. They will be provided with the researcher and her advisor’s contact information to enable them to voice any questions or concerns at following the termination of the study. The primary researcher Kulani Panapitiya Dias will be accompanied by a Tamil translator for Tamil translation purposes. Questionnaires (see Appendix C: Questionnaire) will be translated into the participants’ native language.

Likewise, the interviews (see Appendix D: Interview Scenarios) will be conducted in the language participants feel most comfortable with: English, Sinhalese or Tamil. The interview will consist of 3 brief scenarios, each depicting an infamous violent attack that occurred between 1999 and 2000 in the context of the conflict in Sri Lanka:

1)  The Kebithigollewa attacks (2006): Tamil perpetrators, Sinhalese victims.

2)  Allaipiddy attack (2006): Sinhalese perpetrators, Tamil victims

3)  The bombing of hospitals in Mullivaikal (2009): ambiguous perpetrators, Tamil victims

No active deception will be involved in the study, although we will not be able to reveal the full hypothesis because it would alert participants and bias their responses. In addition, in order not to upset participants, in describing the study we will not mention the term used in the literature, “moral disengagement”, but instead use the more neutral term “moral reasoning”. Nevertheless, there is minimal risk involved in this study. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic of the study and its scenarios, participants may experience some psychological discomfort. The recollection of violent attacks and persecution mentioned in the scenarios may cause mild distress. However, participants will have complete personal control over what information they wish to disclose and they can refuse to answer or withdraw from the study at any point. Moreover, it must be noted that the discussion of such violence is very common in post-war Sri Lanka, and participants will have been exposed to the discussion of these events in the past. Careful wording of the questionnaire and interview (keeping them as neutral as possible) will ensure that participants will not be offended by the depiction of their group as a perpetrator in these scenarios. The oral consent form will also prepare them for the sensitive nature of the study and the issues addressed. All participants will have the opportunity to voice any further questions or concerns at the end of the study.

4. Subjects Rights:

a)  This study carries minimal risks. Due to the sensitive nature of the study, the issues concerned and the violent attacks mentioned in the scenarios, participants may experience some mild psychological distress. However, participants can choose not to answer any part of the questionnaire/interview they do not wish to answer, and they can withdraw at any point during the study. These events are also common knowledge in Sri Lanka and thus discussion of such events will not be new to the participants. All scenarios and the questionnaire will be carefully worded (as neutrally as possible) so that participants will not feel offended at the depiction of their group as a perpetrator in these acts of violence. Participant distress will be minimized by preparing subjects for the sensitive topic during the oral consent procedure, providing them with a pleasant atmosphere in which they will be assured that they are free to not answer/withdraw from the study at any point, and that all data will be kept confidential. Counseling services as in the U.S. are not easily available in Sri Lanka, and visits to counselors are culturally less accepted, even stigmatized. Therefore counseling information will not be provided. However, researchers will be alert for any signs of participant distress and will terminate the study if this is the case, and they will be present during and after the study to discuss the content and alleviate distress. Participants will also be encouraged to voice any questions or concerns during and after the study. No physical, legal or social risk to the participants or to the researcher is expected. Participants will be given the researcher’s and her advisor’s contact information at the beginning of the study, which could be used to voice any questions or concerns after the study.

b)  Participants will be assured of strict confidentiality pertaining to all data collected during the study. The interview data will be collected using a digital recorder and then transcribed. The original audio file will be deleted by June 2013, when the study is completed. At the beginning of the study, random numerical IDs will be generated, and used instead of participant names. Only these numbers will be attached to the transcriptions, and referenced in the study. Participants will only be referred to by their code numbers during data analysis, and at no point during the study will names be recorded (including the consent procedure, which will be oral instead of written to be culturally appropriate and will therefore not require the recording of names). Data will be stored in a locked drawer in the home or hotel room of the researcher during the stay in Sri Lanka, accessible only to the researcher. While travelling back to the U.S., all data will be carried in well-protected hand luggage to ensure safety of materials. In the U.S., questionnaire data will be kept in a locked file cabinet (in the researcher’s room) only accessible to the researcher and her advisor. The digital recordings as well as other electronic data files will be kept on password protected personal computers of the researchers (Kulani Panapitiya Dias and her advisor, Johanna Vollhardt) at Clark University.

c)  Participants will be debriefed at the end of the study. While the study does not involve active deception, the researcher believes it is important from an ethical point of view to inform participants of the nature of the study and research questions. The study does not seek to alter the opinions, beliefs, attitudes or emotions of participants. It only seeks to understand participants’ views and moral reasoning in regard to various events during the past conflict. Participants will be reassured about the confidentiality of their answers at the beginning and end of the study. This will be done by reiterating that participants will only be identified by randomly assigned numbers not by their actual names. All participants will be given the researcher’s and her advisor’s contact information at the beginning of the study, which could be used to voice any questions or concerns after the study.

5. Consent Form:

Please see attached Appendix B: Oral consent form.

6. Program Necessity:

No active deceit is involved in this study. Participants will be informed of the general nature of the study before deciding to participate. Oral consent will be obtained in place of written consent as discussion of violence in post-war Sri Lanka is sensitive, and signing forms may raise suspicion and strong mistrust because they would be mistaken for government forms. In this sociopolitical context participants will be more comfortable giving oral consent instead of written consent. Written consent would raise implications of confidentiality and even fear of exposure in expressing opinions on these sensitive topics in this post-conflict context. Therefore, oral consent will be obtained and recorded on audiotapes.

Participants will be debriefed at the end of the study. While the study does not involve active deception, the researcher believes it is important from an ethical point of view to inform participants of an overview of the nature of the study.

Debriefing script: [will be translated into Sinhalese and Tamil]

Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this study! The purpose of this study was to examine moral reasoning in conflict. It is important to study this reasoning in a culturally diverse country such as Sri Lanka, which has undergone much conflict in the past. Keep in mind that in such a study as this, there is no “right” or “wrong” answer. We are simply interested in your views regarding the conflict. I would also like to remind you again that your names have not been recorded at any point during the study, and all data collected will be used strictly for my own research at Clark University in the United States, for my honor’s thesis. This data will not be released to, or affiliated with any governmental or other such political organizations. If you have any additional questions about this study please feel free to ask me now. You can also choose to e-mail me at or call +94112919910. You can also contact my advisor, Professor Johanna Ray Vollhardt at with any questions or concerns.

Thank you again for contributing to this research!

7. Risks

In your estimation, do the procedures involve any risk for the subject (e.g., physical, psychological, social, legal or other)? If so, assess their likelihood and seriousness. Please justify your answer whether or not you feel there is risk (e.g. no risk if no personal or political value to study; subject matter is innocuous, etc.) Do not respond with just “no risk”.

The risks to the subjects in this project are minimal. Due to the sensitive nature of the study, the issues concerned and the violent attacks depicted in the scenarios, participants may experience some psychological distress. However, if at any time a subject feels uncomfortable answering questions, s/he has the right to refuse to answer any part of the questionnaire and interview, or withdraw from participating in the study. These events are also common knowledge among subjects in Sri Lanka and thus discussion of such events happens regularly and will not be new to the participants. All scenarios and the questionnaire will be carefully worded (as neutrally as possible) so that participants will not feel offended at the depiction of their group as a perpetrator in these acts of violence. Participant distress will be minimized by preparing subjects for the sensitive topic during the oral consent procedure, providing them with a pleasant atmosphere in which they will be assured that they are free to not answer/withdraw from the study at any point, and that all data will be kept strictly confidential. Researchers will be alert for any signs of participant distress. No physical, legal or social risk is expected. All participants will receive the researcher’s and her advisor’s contact details at the beginning of the study. They will be asked to to voice any further questions or concerns at the end of the study.

The previously approved study took place in the capital, Colombo. The new locations for the present study have the following implications for the researcher’s safety and risks:

Jaffna being the city where the war primarily took place, it is still militarized and under some surveillance. However, the researcher will be hosted by a contact provided by Professor Jude Fernando. Professor Fernando has traveled to Jaffna and conducted research there as well and has talked to the researcher about safety in this region. The researcher will only interview individuals who have been identified by this host (who is familiar with the area and the individuals of the area). Further, Jaffna is a much safer city than it was during the war, and there is very little risk to the researcher. The researcher will also be accompanied by a friend or family friend(s) during her stay there.