Conservatism and its relationship to general and specific ethnocentrism in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Measures of conservatism, general ethnocentrism and ethnocentrism specifically related to Northern Irish ethnopolitical ideas were obtained from Protestant and Catholic, male and female adolescents. These suggested that while both groups are equally conservative this was related to specific Northern Irish ethnocentrism only for the Protestant group. It was suggested that this may be related to the fact that the Catholic (minority) group fail to see Protestants simply as another out‐group or to greater awareness of ethnopolitical ideas among the minority group. Evidence from a study involving whites and American Indians suggests that this latter idea may apply to other minority groups.