LIVING TOGETHER: AN INTEGRATED ACCULTURATION-CONTACT STRATEGY TO PROMOTE ETHNIC HARMONY BETWEEN BRITISH MUSLIMS AND ANGLO-BRITONS

Cel

The proposed research project integrates acculturation theory and the contact hypothesis to form a new strategy to promote positive intergroup relations among British Muslims and Anglo-Britons. This project will be the first of its kind and a timely one, considering the escalating ethnic tensions between the two groups. The primary aims of this research project are to:
i) gather much-needed and current baseline British data on the acculturation orientation, level of contact, and intergroup attitudes among high school Muslim and Anglo British students;
ii) develop, implement an experimental design, and longitudinally evaluate an acculturation-contact strategy to promote intergroup harmony between high school Muslim and Anglo British students;
iii) empirically determine whether the extent of the acculturation-contact strategy effects on intergroup relationships vary by group status (Muslims vs. Britons) and gender; and
iv) empirically identify and contrast possible mediators of the acculturation-contact strategy effects on intergroup relationships to understand the mechanism through which the strategy works.
The novelty of this timely project lies in its careful integration of a strong acculturation-contact conceptual framework and the adoption of a strong longitudinal experimental design to promote British Muslims and Anglo-Britons’ harmony. This project will achieve this goal by (1) integrating two leading conceptual frameworks, Acculturation Theory and the Contact Hypothesis, that have not been put together conceptually and empirically so far; (2) implementing vital recommendations made for the best practice framework for the conduct of contact research; (3) introducing e-technology to strengthen students' Integrationist endorsement; and (4) providing applied cultural psychologists with a way forward that fosters the required cultural skills in Muslims and Anglo-Britons to endorse Integrationist views and to smoothly develop into multicultural citizens.