Is Contact Theory Still Valid in Acute Asymmetrical Violent Conflict? A Case Study of Israeli Jewish and Arab Students in Higher Education

Zehavit Gross, Rotem Maor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Considering possible criticisms of contact theory’s validity for reducing negative attitudes in cases of intractable, complex intergroup conflict, this study examines the attitudes and intergroup relations of Israel’s Jewish majority and Arab minority by comparing two university campuses that differed in Arab student enrollment rates and levels of religiosity. Participants were 100 Jewish and 100 Arab students. Blue University, with 20% Arab students, offered more opportunities for intergroup contacts than did the predominantly Jewish Orange University (1.9% Arab enrollment). As expected, findings showed more positive attitudes and relations between Jewish and Arab students at Blue University than at Orange University, thus corroborating the validity of contact theory in a major conflict situation. In operative terms, our findings suggest that in places wherein there exist intractable conflicts, it is worth establishing higher education campuses where students from the different groups can study together.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)211-215
JournalPeace and Conflict
Volume30
Issue number2
Early online date23 Jan 2020
DOIs
StateE-pub ahead of print - 23 Jan 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Psychological Association.

Keywords

  • Arab
  • Attitudes
  • Contact theory
  • Jewish
  • Social relations

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