Projects per year
Abstract
Although intergroup contact can reduce prejudice, opportunities to experience such contact are often constrained by systems of segregation. Work on this problem has focused on divisions entrenched within institutions of residence, education, and employment. Our research employed a complementary approach, which treated segregation as the outcome of individuals’ movements over time within everyday life spaces. Taking as a case study Catholics’ and Protestants’ use of public environments in north Belfast, we used GPS tracking technology, combined with GIS analytics, to explore the time geography of residents’ activity space use over a 2-week period (Study 1). We also conducted a field survey to explore how psychological factors shaped their willingness to use activity spaces beyond their own communities (Study 2). Analysis based on around 1,000 hr of raw movement data revealed that north Belfast is marked by high levels of segregation, expressed via residents’ limited use of public spaces, facilities, and pathways located in outgroup areas. However, use of shared spaces is also common, with Catholics spending more time in such spaces than Protestants. Structural equation modeling suggested that residents’ self-reported willingness to use activity spaces outside their own communities was associated with both negative and positive intergroup contact—relationships partially mediated by realistic threat, symbolic threat, and anxiety over interaction across sectarian lines. Both kinds of contact and realistic threat were also associated with the time residents actually spent in spaces beyond their own communities. Opportunities for integrating psychological and geographic research on contact and segregation are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 457–480 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Parallel lives: Intergroup contact, threat and the segregation of everyday activity spaces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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R1582HIS: The Belfast Mobility Project: Intergroup contact, segregation and the time geography of sectarian relations in North Belfast
25/01/2016 → 31/01/2018
Project: Research
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Fuzzy Bayesian inference for mapping vague and place-based regions: a case study of sectarian territory
Huck, J. J., Whyatt, D., Davies, G., Dixon, J., Sturgeon, B., Hocking, B., Tredoux, C., Jarman, N. & Bryan, D., 06 Jul 2023, In: International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 37, 8, p. 1765-1786 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)41 Downloads (Pure) -
Exploring Segregation and Sharing in Belfast: A PGIS Approach
Huck, J., Whyatt, D., Sturgeon, B., Dixon, J., Hocking, B., Davis, G., Jarman, N. & Bryan, D., 02 Jan 2019, In: Annals of the Association of American Geographers.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile29 Citations (Scopus)913 Downloads (Pure) -
Networks of Dis(connection): Mobility practices, tertiary streets and sectarian divisions in North Belfast
David, G., Dixon, J., Tredoux, C., Whyatt, D., Huck, J., Sturgeon, B., Hocking, B., Jarman, N. & Bryan, D., 02 Nov 2019, In: Annals of the Association of American Geographers.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile9 Citations (Scopus)233 Downloads (Pure)