This article explores the idea that racial segregation is a process operating across
a range of scales of social life. The focus is upon the way segregation unfolds and
is (re)produced at what can be termed the ‘micro-ecological’ scale—that is, in the
everyday, interpersonal interactions between people in informal settings. To illustrate
this argument, a case study is presented of relations in the night-time economy of
Long Street, Cape Town. It is shown how such relations comprise micro-ecological
practices of contact and isolation that occur at levels of resolution seldom captured
by segregation research.

I am almost confident that most of you would not open the door to a Syrian refugee if you have the slightest doubt that this person could harm you in any way. I am also confident that this doubt and fear could be explained and dissolved and that inclusion could triumph.
In this paper, I posit that the similarity-attraction hypothesis, the integrated threat theory(ITT), the contact hypothesis, the common in-group identity model, and the mutual identity differentiation model could clarify some of the factors that are at stake when it comes to the inclusion and the integration of the Syrian refugees in host societies.

In order to understand when and why social change occurs, we must first
understand the psychological processes that lead people to act in ways that sustain
or challenge the status quo. This chapter discusses two psychological models of
social change: a prejudice reduction model, focused on getting people to like one
another more, and a collective action model, focused on political mobilization.
Recent research on these models has highlighted some fundamental – and some
would say irreconcilable - points of tension between them. Our chapter not only
explores this emerging debate, but also proposes a resolution that seeks to
transcend a simple ‘prejudice reduction versus collective action’ formulation. We
argue that the efficacy of any psychological model of change is contextually
contingent. This means that generic frameworks for understanding change must be
complemented by historical and sociological analysis of local patterns of
discrimination. In certain contexts, prejudice reduction may improve intergroup
relations, notably by encouraging the historically advantaged to treat others better.
In other contexts, the project of getting us to like one another more may distract
from, or even impede, the more important project of mobilizing the disadvantaged
to challenge the status quo.

Failure to adapt is one of the most often cited reasons for the premature return of expatriate assignees. This chapter reviews and builds on research that suggests that the expatriate socialization process involves multiple stakeholders. We review the state of the expatriate socialization literature and introduce recent theoretical developments on the process of expatriate socialization by adopting the host country national's (HCN) perspective, and propose that HCNs have a potentially important role as socializing agents for expatriates. Drawing on social identity and justice theories, we identify relevant social cognitions and organizational practice that influence HCN coworkers' decision to play this role-providing social support and sharing information with expatriates. A broader definition of expatriate success that includes the outcomes of HCNs is also proposed. We conclude by highlighting new theoretical perspectives and research directions for developing our understanding of the expatriate socialization processes.

Do social cohesion activities change the attitudes of the participants? This paper uses intergroup contact theory to explore attitude change resulting from contact with out-group(s) in social cohesion activities. Results from a pre-test/post-test design with fifty-five participants in two bicommunal camps in Cyprus show how attitudes change at the immediate end of these activities; an analysis of fourteen participants’ comments after one, thirteen, and twenty-five months provides a medium- to long-term assessment of attitude change. Not all participants were completely positive towards the other community before they took part, as assumed by some. There is clearly space for impact in terms of attitude change. Social cohesion activities represent indispensable tools for reducing prejudice and improving relationships between former enemies in post-conflict countries.

Im Zuge der Flüchtlingsbewegungen taucht immer wieder die Frage auf, wie man eine Willkommenskultur in Deutschland aufbauen und erhalten kann. Die sozialpsychologische Forschung legt nahe, dass eine vergleichsweise einfache Maßnahme - Kontakt – die Einstellung gegenüber Geflüchteten positiv beeinflusst. Wir fassen die Forschung zu dieser These – der Kontakthypothese – zusammen und zeigen auf, wie die Ergebnisse für den Umgang mit Geflüchteten genutzt werden könnten.

Previous research has devoted a great deal of attention to describing the long-term patterns and relationships among trait-level or situation-specific variables. The present discussion extracts kernels of wisdom, based on the literatures on language anxiety and language learning motivation, that are used to frame the argument that choosing to initiate communication at a particular moment in time can be conceptualized as a volitional (freely chosen) process. The result is a degree of willingness to communicate (WTC) with the potential to rise and fall rapidly as the situation changes. Previous research based on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies is described that demonstrates the complexity of the processes involved in creating WTC. It is argued that methodologies must be adapted to focus upon the dynamic process of choosing to initiate or avoid second language communication when the opportunity arises.

Our research speaks to the ongoing debate over the extent and severity of partisan political divisions in the American society. We employ behavioral experiments to probe for affective polarization using dictator, trust, and public goods games with party identification treatments. We find that subjects who identify politically with the Democratic or Republican Party and ideologically as liberals and conservatives display stronger affective biases than politically unaffiliated and ideological moderates. Partisan subjects are less altruistic, less trusting, and less likely to contribute to a mutually beneficial public good when paired with members of the opposing party. Compared to other behavioral studies, our research suggests increasing levels of affective polarization in the way Americans relate to one another politically, bordering on the entrenched divisions one commonly sees in conflict or post- conflict societies. To overcome affective polarization, our research points to inter-group contact as a mechanism for increasing trust and bridging political divides.

Co-Authors: Sam Whitt (corresponding author), Ali Yanus, Brian McDonald, John Graeber, Mark Setzler, and Martin Kifer

While European nations are in the process of schooling large numbers of refugee youth from the Middle East
and Northern Africa, empirical research on successful methods of social integration of this vital next generation of citizens is sparse. To address this void of knowledge, we review relevant lessons learned about school-based interethnic relations in the United States (U.S.) that offer some insights into successful social integration. By focusing on refugee youth’s needs to feel safe and connected in school, we focus specifically on social policies and educational practices that separate vs.
integrate different ethnic groups together in schools and classrooms. To understand how and why segregation of groups fosters prejudice, while diversity promotes greater school safety and connectedness, we specifically highlight the role of cross-group friendships and the development of multiple social identities. Recommendations for new research directions on refugee youth are also provided.

The incidence of interracial marriage is considered a measure of the dissolution of social and cultural barriers, and therefore of social and cultural integration. Attitudes towards those who are in interracial marriages and relationships, however, give further insights into acceptance of the dissolution of social and cultural barriers – even if individuals themselves are not part of an intergroup relationship. Such sentiments form part of a much bigger picture of progress made in terms of reconciling South Africans after apartheid. Thus, attitudes
towards interracial marriages are regarded as an indicator that helps us understand how far South Africans have come in terms of integration and addressing prejudices.

This paper explores attitudes towards inter-racial marriages using data from the South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB) from 2003-2015. Approval of interracial marriages – in particular,
in terms of a close relative marrying someone from another race group as portrayed through SARB data from 2003–2015 – has been slow to adjust. Some positive change (albeit incremental) in terms of approval of a close relative marrying a person from another race group has happened – as can be seen in a decrease in disapproval, as well as an increase in neutral responses.

Assuming a cultural psychology approach, this study examines the life stories of 30 Israeli and Palestinian adolescent participants in a coexistence program. Prior to participation, youth identity was characterized by polarization in which an ingroup ideology is internalized with little understanding of the outgroup's ideological perspective. Three identity-related outcomes emerged following participation. Identity transcendence, in which a reduction in salience of ingroup ideology was accompanied by increased recognition of outgroup ideological legitimacy, characterized the most common immediate outcome. Identity accentuation characterized the long-term impact for most youth, whose ideological identifications ultimately conformed to an ingroup identity narrative. Identity conflict occurred among youth who struggled to integrate the experience of coexistence into the life story. Findings suggest (a) the challenges of identity intervention in the context of intractable conflict, and (b) a context-specific theory of identity in which polarized identities contribute to the reproduction and intractability of the conflict across generations.

We bridge the theorizing on mediated and imagined contact and integrate these two contact forms in one sequence within a single design. We experimentally examine whether (1) encouraging people to imagine a positive intergroup encounter prior to reading a personal story of an outgroup member as well as (2) mediated contact with an outgroup member similar or dissimilar to the ingroup prototype, improve outgroup attitudes. We also test the affective and cognitive mediators through which these effects emerge. Data from four different countries that test attitudes toward four distinct immigrant groups find that although imagined contact and similarity do not consistently improve outgroup attitudes, enhanced interest in the story of an outgroup member and positive emotions mediate the effects from similarity, and – in two countries – from imagined contact. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Recent research demonstrates that intergroup contact effectively reduces prejudice even among prejudice-prone persons. But some assert that evidence regarding the benefits of contact among prejudice-prone individuals is “mixed,” particularly for those higher in social dominance orientation (SDO), one of the field’s most important individual differences. Problematically, person variables are typically considered in isolation despite being intercorrelated, leaving the question of which unique psychological aspects of prejudice proneness (e.g., authoritarianism, antiegalitarianism, cognitive style) are responsive to intergroup contact unresolved. To address this shortcoming, in a large sample of White Americans (N = 465) we simultaneously examined the contact–attitude association at varying levels of ideological (SDO, right-wing authoritarianism), cognitive style (need for closure), and identity- based (group identification) indicators of prejudice proneness. Examining a broad range of intergroup criterion measures (e.g., racism, support for racial profiling) we reveal that greater contact quality is associated with lower levels of intergroup hostility for those both lower and higher on a variety of indicators of prejudice proneness, simultaneously considered.

Abstract in Englisch:
This diploma thesis is a critique of the concept of “contact”. The central starting point for this critical analysis is the identification of “Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation” as “uncontacted”, or “Uncontacted Tribes”. This critique is centred on the meaning of “contact” in and for Eurocentric colonial and imperial contexts. Here, “contact” is identified as the mission, message and proclamation of Eurocentric power, which transmits, translates, differentiates and claims perception, identification and space. Taking this perspective, “contact” is identified as a central concept for Eurocentric ("post"-) colonial and imperial structure and oppression, as well as pursuit and projection of the frontier, the “self” and the “other”. The pursuit of “contact” is marked by the increased importance of messengers and travellers, along with their messages and travel stories, for example about the priest king Prester John, which makes them identifiable as precursors of conquistadors and “discoverers”.
A central point for deconstructing “contact” as Eurocentric differentiation and power proclamation is the problématique of the uncertainty of perception. With this uncertain perception, challenges for the Eurocentric “self” are identifiable. These challenges are discussed through the “uncanny” in the Freudian sense, as well as through the paternalistic identification of “women”, which opens the concluding analysis of “isolation”. The final argument of the thesis seeks to understand the term “isolation”, as in the case of “Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation”, as questioning the territoriality of states, because it undercuts the hidden claims of “contact”-”ability”, the Eurocentric message, mission, proclamation and claim of “contact”, and thus the legitimisation of its “self”-perception, colonial structures and access to space and life. The thesis closes by advocating a perspective which makes ways of encounter and messaging discussable elements which can significantly translate, occupy and enforce perceptions and structures, as with the claim of “isolation” and “contact”.

Keywords in Englisch:
ability, perception, encounter, mission/message, frontier, isolation, Indigenous Peoples, unknown, contact, eurocentrism

Abstract in Deutsch:
Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit setzt sich kritisch mit dem Konzept „Kontakt“ auseinander. Die kritische Analyse der Identifikation von „Indigenen Völkern in freiwilliger Isolation“ als „unkontaktiert“, bzw. „Unkontaktierte Stämme“ ist hierfür zentraler Ausgangspunkt. Die Kritik wird anhand der Bedeutung von „Kontakt“ in und für eurozentrisch kolonial-imperiale Kontexte ausgeführt. Hierbei wird „Kontakt“ als Botschaft und Proklamation eurozentrischer Macht verortet, welche Wahrnehmung, Identifikationen und Räume vermittelt, übersetzt, differenziert und beansprucht. Aufbauend auf dieser Perspektive, wird „Kontakt“ als zentrales Konzept für eurozentrisch („post“-) kolonial-imperiale Strukturen und Unterdrückung, sowie Streben und Projektion des Grenzraums, des „Selbst“ und des „Anderen“ identifiziert. Entscheidend für dieses „Kontakt“-Streben ist die gestiegene Bedeutung von Botschafter*innen und Reisenden, bzw. ihrer*seiner Botschaften und Reisegeschichten über z.B. den Priesterkönig Johannes, wodurch sie als Vorgänger zu Konquistadoren und „Entdecker*innen“ identifiziert werden.
Zentraler Ansatzpunkt für die Dekonstruktion von „Kontakt“ als eurozentrische Differenzierung und Macht-Proklamation, ist die Problematik der unscharfen Wahrnehmung. Anhand dieser unscharfen Wahrnehmung werden Herausforderungen für das eurozentrische „Selbst“ identifiziert. Diese Herausforderungen werden als „unheimlich“ im Sinn von Freud und anhand der paternalistischen Identifizierung der „Frau“ thematisiert und eröffnet dadurch die abschließende Analyse von „Isolation“. Das Schlussargument der Arbeit ist, das „Isolation“, wie im Fall „Indigener Völker in freiwilliger Isolation“, Territorialstaatlichkeit in Frage stellt, da es den dahinter liegenden Anspruch auf „Kontakt“-Fähigkeit, bzw. die eurozentrische Botschaft, Proklamation und Beanspruchung von „Kontakt“, und somit der Legitimation von dessen „Selbst“-Wahrnehmung, kolonialer Strukturen und Zugang zu Räumen und Leben zuvorkommt. Die Diplomarbeit schließt mit dem Anspruch auf eine Perspektive welche Begegnungsweisen und Botschaften als Elemente diskutierbar macht, welche Wahrnehmung und Strukturen gesellschaftlich bedeutend übersetzen, besetzen und durchsetzen, wie durch den Anspruch von „Isolation“ und „Kontakt“.

Schlagwörter in Deutsch:
Fähigkeit, Wahrnehmung, Begegnung, Botschaft, Frontier, Isolation, Indigene Völker, das Unbekannte, Kontakt, Eurozentrismus

White Americans’ willingness to engage in dialogues about intergroup commonalities and power inequalities with Asian and African Americans were examined in two experiments. Because Whites
perceive that African Americans experience greater discrimination than do Asian Americans, we predicted that they would be more willing to engage in dialogues that would interrogate injustice and inequality with them. We also explored the role of common ingroup identity (as Americans) on willingness for dialogue about inequality. In both studies, Whites were less interested in engaging in power talk with Asian Americans than with African Americans, but the difference in willingness for commonality talk was smaller. Asian Americans were perceived as experiencing lower levels of discrimination (Studies 1 and 2) and identify less with America (Study 2) both of which predicted lower willingness for power talk with them. Common ingroup identity manipulations had marginal effects on willingness for power talk with African Americans and no effect on power talk with Asian Americans. Implications for improving social disparities between various groups were discussed.

Contact with the dominant group can increase opposition, among the disadvantaged, to social policies that would benefit their group. This effect can be explained in terms of contact promoting support for an ideology of meritocracy, which privileges the distribution of societal resources based on individual merit, rather than group-level disadvantage. We tested this ideological mechanism in a large, nationally representative sample of Māori (a disadvantaged group in New Zealand; N =1,008). Positive intergroup contact with the dominant group (New Zealand Europeans) predicted increased opposition to a topical reparative policy (Māori ownership of the foreshore), and this was fully mediated by increased support for
the ideology of meritocracy. Intergroup contact may enable the ideological legitimation of inequality among members of disadvantaged groups, engendering political attitudes that are detrimental to their group’s interests. Contact with ingroup members had the opposite effect, increasing support for reparative policy by reducing subscription to meritocratic ideology.

Based on intergroup contact theory, we conducted a social media campaign to improve the relationship between Chinese sojourners and Singaporeans. We found that perceived discrimination fully mediated the effects of face-to-face contact as well as imagined contact on intergroup prejudice. An investigation of joint effects showed that, for the campaign audience, online contact campaign, instead of face-to-face contact, significantly reduced their perceived discrimination, which in turn reduced intergroup prejudice. We discuss explanations for the impact of social media on intergroup relationships and implications of targeted social media campaigns in the context of a growing crisis in global immigration.

The core of social identity theory is that individuals define themselves in terms of the groups that they have strong ties with. In this chapter we seek to explore the circumstances in which individuals have multiple identities that are similar in certain dimensions but fundamentally distinct in others. Yet how such double edged affiliations, such as being Cypriot, Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot, Greek or Turkish, inform the intergroup relations is not clear. In this chapter we discuss the conditions underlying such complex affiliations and the relevant processes in the relatively complex context of Cyprus. We first discuss the historical background of the Cyprus conflict, the role of major stakeholders in this conflict, and the current state of affairs. Against this backdrop, we elaborate on the social-psychological dimensions of identity politics and how identity politics relate to the existing identities on the island. We then review the findings from our research and from other scholarly work. We conclude by a discussion of various forms of identification, germane to the Cyprus context and their relation to intergroup relations in Cyprus.

Contemporary Palestinian citizens of Israel must negotiate disparate identities as they construct a "hyphenated" self. Their status as a national indigenous minority places them in a particular location of subordination and existential insecurity within Israeli society, which has been accentuated during the intensification of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the occupied territories since 2000. This study examines processes of identity negotiation and reconciliation in the personal narratives of young Palestinian citizens of Israel who participate in intergroup contact with Jewish Israelis and Palestinians from the occupied territories. An interpretive thematic analysis of personal narratives reveals the discursive strategies youth employ as they traverse the limits of hyphenation, constructing configurations of identity that reconcile conflicting discourses. Pre-contact narratives suggested considerable variability in processes of identity negotiation. Post-contact narratives were characterized by three patterns: (1) Palestinian identity accentuation, in which youth came to identify more strongly with their Palestinian national identity over their Israeli civic identity; (2) temporal stability, in which youth whose pre-contact narrative was already characterized by Palestinian identity accentuation maintained that configuration; and (3) life at the hyphen, in which youth actively struggled with and vacillated between states of conflict and integration of their disparate identities.

This study offers new insights into the power of peer networks for shaping intergroup relations in a diverse school. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of sixth-eighth graders (N = 524; M ageT1 = 11.87; 48% girls; 9% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 28% African American, 13% Latino, 1% Native American, 31% White, 5% Other, and 11% Multiracial) in the Midwestern United States. Students with more positive inter-group contact attitudes (ICA) were most likely to be friends with similarly minded students. Students with more positive ICA were less likely to select friends of the same race/ethnicity than those with less positive ICA. Finally, students' ICA became more similar to their friends' ICA over time. Results implicate school-level norms and contagion in students' ICA.

Two studies investigated the role of perceived realistic and symbolic threats in predicting collective action tendencies, and in mediating effects of intergroup contact and social identity on collective action in the context of an intractable conflict. Extending earlier research on collective action, integrated threat theory, and intergroup contact theory, we tested whether realistic and symbolic threats would predict collective action tendencies and outgroup attitudes; and mediate the effects of intergroup contact and social identity on collective action tendencies and outgroup attitudes among the advantaged, Turks, and the disadvantaged, Kurds. Findings
from both studies (Study 1, N = 289 Turks; Study 2, N=209 Kurds) supported the predictive and mediating role of threats on collective action tendencies and outgroup attitudes. Overall findings suggest that advantaged and disadvantaged groups might not always have disparate psychologies regarding collective action and incorporating perceived threats as antecedents of collective action can help to explain collective
action tendencies among both groups especially in conflictual contexts.

Mixed-model encounters, focusing on both intergroup commonalities and status disparities, have become a popular intervention in efforts to improve relations between Jews and Palestinians within Israel. A quasi-experiment with Jewish and Palestinian encounter participants and nonparticipants as a control group (N 498) was conducted. Among Jews, the encounter enhanced readiness for contact by increasing empathy and hope and decreasing hatred. Elevated support for equal rights to Palestinian citizens was mediated by higher hope and lower perceived equality. Among Palestinians, more empathy and hope mediated the increase in readiness for contact, while lower perceived equality suppressed the increase in support for inclusion. Contrary to recent findings on positive contact, perceived equality decreased among both majority and minority members. The paper discusses important limitations of the present study as well as its practical implications.

Positive intergroup contact is effective in reducing prejudice in both high and low-status groups. However, it is important to study the impact of contact between groups in conflict-ridden societies on additional outcomes, such as attitudes toward reconciliation and peace-related policies. The current conditions in Turkey offer the opportunity to study the relations between intergroup contact, endorsement of conflict narratives, and peace-related attitudes in three different groups: a) the ethnic majority (Turks), b) a subgroup within the ethnic majority who feel excluded due to their political preferences (i.e., participants in the recent Gezi Park protests who developed a common identity as “çapulcu” [looter]), and c) the ethnic minority (Kurds). Bivariate correlations and multi-group path analysis suggested that intergroup contact may not lead majority-status groups to support pro-minority conflict narratives, but may lead them to support pro-minority policies, whereas it may lead majority-status groups who feel excluded to support both pro-minority narratives and policies. Results also indicated that contact may be counter-productive for minority groups by altering their endorsement of specific conflict narratives, which then reduces their support for changes that would benefit their group.

There is a rich literature on the nature of mental health-related stigma and the processes by which it severely affects the life chances of people with mental health problems. However, applying this knowledge to deliver and evaluate interventions to reduce discrimination and stigma in a lasting way is a complex and long-term challenge. We conducted a narrative synthesis of systematic reviews published since 2012, and supplemented this with papers published subsequently as examples of more recent work. There is evidence for small to moderate positive impacts of both mass media campaigns and interventions for target groups in terms of stigma-related knowledge, attitudes, and intended behaviour in terms of desire for contact. However, the limited evidence from longer follow-up times suggests that it is not clear whether short-term contact interventions have a lasting impact. The risk that short-term interventions may only have a short-term impact suggests a need to study longer term in...

This chapter reviews the extensive literature on bias in favor of in-groups at the expense of out-groups. We focus on five issues and identify areas for future research: (a) measurement and conceptual issues (especially in-group favoritism vs. out-group derogation, and explicit vs. implicit measures of bias); (b) modern theories of bias highlighting motivational explanations (social identity, optimal distinctiveness, uncertainty reduction, social dominance, terror management); (c) key moderators of bias, especially those that exacerbate bias (identification, group size, status and power, threat, positive-negative asymmetry, personality and individual differences); (d) reduction of bias (individual vs. intergroup approaches, especially models of social categorization); and (e) the link between intergroup bias and more corrosive forms of social hostility.

Two experiments investigated the role of intragroup communication in intergroup conflict (de-)escalation. Experiment 1 examined the effects of intragroup communication (vs. individual thought) and anticipated face-to-face intergroup contact (vs. no anticipated face-to-face
intergroup contact). The group discussions of stigmatized group members who anticipated face-to-face intergroup contact revolved more around intergroup hostility. This boosted ingroup identification and increased social creativity but also led to steeling (a hardening of perceived intergroup relations). In Experiment 2, new participants listened to the taped group discussions. The discussions of groups anticipating face-to-face intergroup contact evoked more intergroup anxiety-related discomfort than discussions of groups not anticipating face-to-face intergroup encounters. Together, these results support the idea that steeling is a defensive reaction to prepare for an anxiety-arousing intergroup confrontation. Although steeling is also associated with positive consequences such as increased ingroup solidarity and social creativity, this hardened stance may be an obstacle to conflict de-escalation.

Although hundreds of dialogue programs geared towards conflict resolution are offered every year, there have been few scientific studies of their effectiveness. Across 2 studies we examined the effect of controlled, dyadic interactions on attitudes towards the 'other' in members of groups involved in ideological conflict. Study 1 involved Mexican immigrants and White Americans in Arizona, and Study 2 involved Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Cross-group dyads interacted via video and text in a brief, structured, face-to-face exchange: one person was assigned to write about the difficulties of life in their society ('perspective-giving'), and the second person was assigned to accurately summarize the statement of the first person ('perspective-taking'). Positive changes in attitudes towards the outgroup were greater for Mexican immigrants and Palestinians after perspective-giving and for White Americans and Israelis after perspective-taking. For Palestinians, perspective-giving to an Israeli effectively changed attitudes towards Israelis, while a control condition in which they wrote an essay on the same topic without interacting had no effect on attitudes, illustrating the critical role of being heard. Thus, the effects of dialogue for conflict resolution depend on an interaction between dialogue condition and participants' group membership, which may reflect power asymmetries.

Two studies examined the role of temporal-based social categorizations for attitude change during intergroup contact between Polish and Jewish students. In Study 1 (N = 190 Polish students), a cross-sectional analysis showed that contact focused on contemporary issues had positive effects on both outgroup attitudes and perceived similarity to the outgroup. No such effects were observed when groups talked about past issues. Study 2 (N = 97 Jewish students) demonstrated this effect experimentally when ‘historical’ and ‘contemporary’ issues were discussed during contact. Contact about the present generated more positive attitudes toward contact partners and (unlike contact about the past) toward the generalized outgroup. The present fi ndings are discussed in the context of common ingroup identity model and collective guilt research.

Northern Ireland is characterised by extensive segregation between its predominantly Catholic and Protestant communities. With the aim of overcoming this segregation, the current study experimentally evaluated the effectiveness of electronic- or E-contact as a novel indirect contact and prejudice-reduction strategy. Here, Catholic and Protestant participants were not required to meet physically but were involved in a collaborative and goal-orientated online interaction with a member of the other community. As predicted, E-contact improved both Catholics’ and Protestants’ outgroup attitudes via improved contact expectancies and reduced intergroup anxiety. These findings provide support for the contemporary role of online interactions in actively overcoming the physical and psychological barriers that often prevent prejudice reduction in segregated communities.