Intergroup violence and intergroup attributions

Pettigrew's (1979) prediction that relative to in-group behaviour, negative out-group behaviour would be attributed to internal characteristics, was tested in the context of Northern Ireland's continued conflict. Catholic and Protestant respondents were presented with newsreel footage depicting scenes of in- and out-group violence. One showed a Protestant attack on mourners at a Catholic funeral. The other showed a Catholic attack on a car containing two plain clothes soldiers at a Catholic funeral. Using a free response format, subjects' explanations were classified into internal and external attributions. The results showed strong support for Pettigrew's hypothesis. The implications of these findings with regard to the maintenance of intergroup conflict are discussed.