Antecedents and Consequences of Social Identity Complexity: Intergroup Contact, Distinctiveness Threat, and Outgroup Attitudes

Social identity complexity defines people's more or less complex cognitive representations of the interrelationships among their multiple ingroup identities. Being high in complexity is contingent on situational, cognitive, or motivational factors, and has positive consequences for intergroup relations. Two survey studies conducted in Northern Ireland examined the extent to which intergroup contact and distinctiveness threat act as antecedents, and outgroup attitudes as consequences, of social identity complexity. In both studies, contact was positively, and distinctiveness threat negatively, associated with complex multiple ingroup perceptions, whereas respondents with more complex identity structures also reported more favorable outgroup attitudes. Social identity complexity also mediated the effects of contact and distinctiveness threat on attitudes. This research highlights that the extent to which individuals perceive their multiple ingroups in more or less complex and differentiated ways is of central importance to understanding intergroup phenomena.

Contact and Culture: Mechanisms of Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and Israel

In Northern Ireland and Israel schools have long been recognised as key sites for addressing the problems of poor intergroup relations (see Dunn, 1990; Murray, 1985). The developments of integrated schools which welcome members of the main communities have been regarded as a key development which is likely to be instrumental in promoting more harmonious relations. Although the schools have been regarded in the media as a ‘good news story’ the qualitative processes through which teachers within these schools foster reconciliation is not always clear. The purpose of this chapter is thus to explore this question by drawing on contact theory and interviews with teachers in Northern Ireland and Israel.

Measurement of Polymer-to-Polymer Contact Friction in Thermoforming

Contact friction plays a critical role in all the major thermoforming processes for polymers. However, these effects are very difficult to measure in practice and, as a result, have received little scientific investigation. In this work, two independently developed test methods for the measurement of elevated temperature polymer-to-polymer contact friction are presented, and their results are compared in detail for the first time. One is based on a modified moving sled friction test, whereas the other uses a rotational rheometer. In each case, friction tests were conducted between two plug and two sheet materials. The results show that broadly similar coefficients of friction were obtained from the two test methods. The measured values were quite low (<0.3) at lower temperatures and typically were higher for polypropylene (PP) sheet than for polystyrene (PS). On approaching the glass transition temperature for PS (95°C) and the crystalline melting point for PP (165°C), the friction coefficients rose very sharply, and both test techniques became increasingly unreliable. It was concluded that despite their physical differences, both test techniques were able to capture the highly temperature sensitive nature of friction between polymer materials used in thermoforming.