Understanding the Effects of Positive and Negative Intergroup Contact

Abstract

Social psychologists only recently started to examine the joint effects of positive and negative intergroup contact. The present research contributes to this nascent field. After reviewing the current evidence for joint effects of positive and negative intergroup contact, the present work examines factors that influence positive and negative contact effects, specifically the intensity of intergroup contact and the individual’s history of intergroup contact. Manuscript #1 thereby focuses on the contact situation and how it is perceived. Specifically, we find that increasing intensity in the realm of positive contact increased favourable intergroup attitudes. For negative contact on the other hand, the (perceived) intensity of the negative experience did not make a difference. Manuscript #2 moves the focus to how an individual’s history of intergroup contact influences subsequent intergroup contact effects. Building on observations of in- and outgroup behaviour in a behavioural game, we demonstrate that having a positive history of intergroup contact can foster subsequent intergroup contact effects, while a negative history of intergroup contact decreased subsequent effects of intergroup contact. Overall our findings provide further evidence that it is indeed important to take not only positive but also negative contact into consideration when examining intergroup contact effects. The relevance of our findings for society and future research will be discussed.