The mediating role of outgroup perspective-taking in the relationship of the sense of global social responsibility with negative stereotypes and intergroup anxiety

Abstract

Existing literature has extensively explored attitudes toward refugees; however, to the best of our knowledge, no study has specifically examined the relationship between the sense of global social responsibility and attitudes toward refugees. Therefore, this study investigated the mediating role of outgroup perspective-taking in the relationship of the sense of global social responsibility with negative stereotypes and intergroup anxiety. The data for this study were collected from a sample of 325 participants, with 53.5% males, aged between 18 and 47 years (Mage = 28.90 ± 7.08). The findings revealed that the sense of global social responsibility was positively related to outgroup perspective-taking and inversely related to negative stereotypes and intergroup anxiety. Also, perspective-taking exhibited negative relationships with negative stereotypes and intergroup anxiety. Mediation analyses showed that the sense of global social responsibility not only directly influenced the reduction of negative stereotypes and intergroup anxiety but also indirectly affected these attitudes through increased outgroup perspective-taking. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms that can effectively mitigate negative attitudes toward refugees. Findings also highlighted the potential of the sense of global social responsibility and outgroup perspective-taking in designing intervention programs aimed at reducing negative attitudes toward outgroup members, including refugees.