Social Identity and Prejudice in Muslim and Hindu Adolescents of Traditional and Modern Schools

By : R. C. Mishra, Shabana Bano

Page No: 299-307

Abstract
The study examined social identity and prejudice of Hindu and Muslim adolescents in the context of their schooling. The study was conducted with 102 Hindu and 106 Muslim boys, aged 14-19 years, drawn from Traditional Urdu (n=52), Traditional Sanskrit (n=50), and Modern (n=106) schools of Varanasi city. The participants were given scales for the assessment of identity and prejudice. The findings revealed that although both the Hindu and Muslim groups displayed fairly strong social identity, the latter group showed a stronger social identity than the former. The social identity of adolescents in traditional schools, particularly of those belonging to Hindu group, was stronger than that of those who attended modern schools. With respect to Prejudice, ANOVA revealed difference between the two school groups to be significant (Traditional>Modern), only in the Hindu group, not in the Muslim.

Authors :
Shabana Bano : Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
R. C. Mishra : Professor, Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India