Multiple identities in Northern Ireland: Hierarchical ordering in the representation of group membership

Authors: Crisp R. J.¹; Hewstone M.²; Cairns E.³

Source: British Journal of Social Psychology, Volume 40, Number 4, December 2001 , pp. 501-514(14)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

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Abstract:

A study was conducted to explore whether participants in Northern Ireland attend to, and process information about, different group members as a function of a single dimension of category membership (religion) or as a function of additional and/or alternative bases for group membership. Utilizing a bogus 'newspaper story' paradigm, we explored whether participants would differentially recall target attributes as a function of two dimensions of category membership. Findings from this recall measure suggested that information concerning ingroup and outgroup members was processed as an interactive function of both religion and gender intergroup dimensions. Religion was only used to guide processing of more specific information if the story character was also an outgroup member on the gender dimension. These findings suggest a complex pattern of intergroup representation in the processing of group-relevant information in the Northern Irish context.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: University of Birmingham, UK 2: University of Oxford, UK 3: University of Ulster, UK