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9 - The Contact Hypothesis Reconsidered: Interacting via Internet: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Yair Amichai-Hamburger
Edited by
Azy Barak
Yair Amichai-Hamburger
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya
Azy Barak
Affiliation:
University of Haifa, Israel
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Summary

Intergroup conflict is sadly part of our existence. Such conflicts exist around the globe originating through differences, for example, in beliefs, religion, race, and culture. The degree of conflict between rival groups varies from mild hostility to all-out war, leading to the loss of thousands of lives every year. The field of intergroup conflict has attracted the attention of many social psychologists who have attempted to understand the phenomenon and to provide solutions to end it.

These scholars concentrated their research on the structure of such conflicts that they perceived as comprising three major aspects: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. The cognitive aspect is demonstrated by the stereotype held by one group toward the other; the affective aspect by the prejudice held regarding the other group, and the behavioral aspect by discrimination against this group.

The fundamental component found in intergroup conflict is the stereotype – the negative perception of the other group. Stereotypes may include negative perceptions of a variety of characteristics such as traits, physical characteristics, and expected behaviors. People generally believe that their group (the ingroup) is a heterogeneous group, whereas members of the other group (the outgroup) are all similar to one another. This perception, known as the homogeneity effect, is one of the bases for our tendency to stereotype the members of the outgroup and claim that they are all, for example, hostile, liars, and lazy (Linville, Fischer, & Salovey, 1989; Linville & Jones, 1980).

Type
Chapter
Information
Psychological Aspects of Cyberspace
Theory, Research, Applications
 , pp. 209 - 227
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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