INTERGROUP CONTACT THEORY 117
are pupils and staff from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds), and ‘Shared
Education’ classes (in which pupils from traditionally religiously distinct schools
move between schools for classes in particular subjects) aim to bring children into
contact from typically segregated areas (McAleavy, Donegan and O’Hagan 2009).
Additionally, there have been short-term projects to bring Catholic and Protestant
young people together, most notably the ‘Education for Mutual Understanding
Promoting School Project’.
Despite the advantages of contact, Amir’s (1969) review of the contact hypothesis
argued that contact theory as perceived by lay organisations was ineffective, and that
everyday contact situations did not produce the positive effects expected. His
evidence for this was the everyday prejudice and discrimination during contact
between white and black Americans. Interventions by lay organisations often appear
to lack the presence of the optimal conditions during intergroup exposure, and Amir
(1969: 319) demonstrates that successful contact only occurs under optimal
“favourable” conditions. Hewstone (2003) similarly acknowledges the need to correct
the over-optimistic view of contact as a cure-all of prejudice without carefully
considering these factors. In sum, for contact to succeed, it is important that the
optimal conditions are present.
An initial exploration of research indicates that contact between Northern Irish
Catholics and Protestants is effective in reducing prejudicial attitudes. Paolini et al
(2004) analysed survey data of students and the general public, finding that contact
through cross-group friendships reduced prejudiced attitudes and perceptions of
homogeneity in the out-group. Tam et al (2009) found that positive out-group
attitudes, as well as out-group trust (to a much greater degree) balanced the
relationship between intergroup contact and increased positive and reduced negative
intergroup behavioural tendencies among the two groups. Turner et al (2013)
investigated the effects of intergroup contact through the integrated education system
in Northern Ireland. They identified a relationship between cross-group friendships
and reduced levels of prejudice, mediated by the sharing of personal information
known as self-disclosure. This generated increased out-group empathy, resulting in