Intergroup contact and the potential for post-conflict reconciliation: Studies in Northern Ireland and South Africa.

Abstract

With surveys of Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, and Whites and Blacks in South Africa, this research examines how both contact quality and exposure to intergroup conflict predict attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors relevant to intergroup reconciliation. Across both studies, contact of higher quality predicted more positive intergroup attitudes, trust, more positive perceptions of outgroup intentions in working toward peace, and greater engagement in reconciliation efforts. These effects were observed when controlling for exposure to conflict-related violence in one's neighborhood growing up, and the extent to which one has personally suffered due to the conflict. Implications of these findings for future work on intergroup contact and reconciliation efforts are discussed.

Cross‐group friendships and psychological well‐being: A dual pathway through social integration and empowerment

“…Cross‐group friendships may also foster well‐being by creating a collective sense of self‐efficacy among group members, which has been found to be a critical antecedent of collective action tendencies (e.g., Cakal et al ., ; Cocking & Drury, ). Finally, our research also included a strong and positive form of intergroup contact, cross‐group friendship quality, which has been previously demonstrated to have more permanent and positive influences on outgroup attitudes and behaviours (e.g., Tropp, Hawi, et al ., ; Tropp, Mazziotta, et al ., ). It may be interesting to examine whether less powerful or indirect contact experiences also contribute to psychological well‐being through the same mechanisms among minorities.…”

“…A recent criticism to the classical intergroup contact theory has been the neglect of contact's unintended consequences, such as reduced motivation for social change (Pettigrew & Hewstone, ; Tropp, Hawi, et al ., ; Tropp, Mazziotta, et al ., Wright & Lubensky, ). This newly emerging research avenue has suggested that contact may create false expectancies about intergroup equality and thereby have some detrimental consequences for minority group members who are likely to display reduced levels of motivation for social change after successful intergroup experiences, a phenomenon that is known as the irony of harmony (e.g., Cakal et al ., ; Dixon et al ., ; Saguy, Tausch, Dovidio, & Pratto, ; Wright & Lubensky, ).…”

“…While majorities’ attitudes are likely to be guided by their own beliefs about diversity, minorities’ outgroup attitudes and behaviours are more likely to be determined by their perception of majority group members’ beliefs and values about diversity and social integration (Tropp & Bianchi, ; Zagefka, González, & Brown, ). Moreover, compared to majority group members for whom intergroup anxiety stems from being accused as prejudiced, minority group members’ intergroup anxiety often stems from their negative expectations from the majority group (Devine & Vasquez, ; Tropp, Hawi, et al ., ; Tropp, Mazziotta, et al ., ), which suggests that for the minority group in particular, the perception of the majority group's attitudes towards the minority group may be an immediate consequence of intergroup contact. In line with this, previous studies demonstrated that positive contact experiences could improve minorities’ perception of majority group's attitudes and beliefs (Bagci, Piyale, & Ebcim, ; Tropp, Hawi, et al ., ; Tropp, Mazziotta, et al ., ) and such expectancies from the outgroup are likely to shape own outgroup attitudes (e.g., López‐Rodríguez, Zagefka, Navas, & Cuadrado, ; Zagefka et al ., ).…”

“…We concentrated exclusively on cross‐group friendships as the strongest form of intergroup contact, because cross‐group friendship functions as a reciprocal, long‐term, and stable intergroup relationship that include critical interpersonal mechanisms such as self‐disclosure and support (e.g., Bagci et al ., ; Pettigrew, ; Pettigrew et al ., ). Moreover, we focused on the quality aspect of contact, as previous research has indicated that quality of contact, rather than its mere quantity, is more beneficial on improving intergroup attitudes (Tropp & Pettigrew, ; Tropp, Hawi, et al ., ; Tropp, Mazziotta, et al ., ). Confirming this, previous research has shown that the quality of cross‐group friendships, but not their quantity, were related to higher levels of psychological well‐being and resilience among minority group children (Bagci et al ., ).…”

The Social Psychology of Intractable Conflicts

“…Findings from the last decade also reveal that positive contact is associated with a greater willingness to forgive among ethnic communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Čehajić et al 2008), greater trust toward Palestinians among Jewish Israelis (Maoz and McCauley 2011), and greater forgiveness and trust among religious communities in Northern Ireland (Hewstone et al 2006;Tam et al 2008). Studies with Black and White South Africans, and with Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, also show that friendly, cooperative, and equal status contact with members of the other community predicts not only more positive attitudes and greater trust but also more positive beliefs about the other community's intentions in working toward peace (Tropp et al 2015) .…”