Effects Of Intergroup Contact Research Articles

How to Enhance the Effects of Mediated Intergroup Contact? Evidence from Four Countries

We bridge the theorizing on mediated and imagined contact and integrate these two contact forms in one sequence within a single design. We experimentally examine whether (1) encouraging people to imagine a positive intergroup encounter prior to reading a personal story of an outgroup member as well as (2) mediated contact with an outgroup member similar or dissimilar to the ingroup prototype, improve outgroup attitudes. We also test the affective and cognitive mediators through which these effects emerge. Data from four different countries that test attitudes toward four distinct immigrant groups find that although imagined contact and similarity do not consistently improve outgroup attitudes, enhanced interest in the story of an outgroup member and positive emotions mediate the effects from similarity, and – in two countries – from imagined contact. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Intergroup contact and willingness for renewed cohabitation in Cyprus: Exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms

One of the major challenges in divided societies is finding ways to overcome geographical partition by increasing readiness for cohabitation in mixed areas. Cyprus has faced a protracted situation of division (between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots) for the last 44 years. In this paper, we explore the role of intergroup contact (both quantity and quality of contact) in enhancing the willingness of members of these two communities to reestablish cohabitation, using representative survey samples from both communities. We hypothesize that such an effect is mediated by a decrease in the levels of prejudice between the two communities and an increase in the levels of trust. In addition, we hypothesize that the direct effect of intergroup contact and the indirect effect of intergroup contact through trust and prejudice are both moderated by age. To explore these hypotheses, we collected data from a representative sample of 502 Greek Cypriots and 504 Turkish Cypriots. The hypotheses are tested among the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot samples separately. In both samples, the results show that the positive effect of intergroup contact on willingness for renewed cohabitation is mediated by both trust and prejudice. There is also some support for the moderating effect of age for both the direct and indirect effects of intergroup contact.

An investigation of an Expanded Encapsulate Model of Social Identity in Collective Action (EMSICA) including perception of threat and intergroup contact to understand support for Islamist terrorism in Indonesia

Although there have been many empirical studies of terrorism within the psychology literature, relatively few studies have theorized terrorism from the perspective of collective action theory. The present study aimed to understand factors that predict support for Islamist terrorism by using the Encapsulate Model of Social Identity in Collective Action (EMSICA) perspective. To extend previous studies, we added perception of threat and intergroup contact to the model. A correlational study using 66 terrorism detainees in Indonesia as participants found solid support for our expanded EMSICA. The models extending EMSICA with perception of threat and quantity of contact as predictors had improved fit indices and explained more variance in the dependent variable support for Islamist terrorism, as compared to the standard model. Social identity had a significant direct effect on support for Islamist terrorism and mediated the effect of intergroup contact, perception of threat, perceived injustice, and group efficacy on support for Islamist terrorism.

Modeling stereotypes and negative self‐stereotypes as a function of interactions among groups with power asymmetries

AbstractStereotypes is one of the most researched topics in social psychology. Within this context, negative self‐stereotypes pose a particular challenge for theories. In the current work, we propose a model that suggests that negative self‐stereotypes can theoretically be accounted for by the need to communicate in a social system made up by groups with unequal power. Because our theory is dynamic, probabilistic, and interactionist, we use a computational simulation technique to show that the proposed model is able to reproduce the phenomenon of interest, to provide novel accounts of related phenomena, and to suggest novel empirical predictions. We describe our computational model, our variables' dynamic behavior and interactions, and link our analyses to the literature on stereotypes and self‐stereotypes, the stability of stereotypes (in particular, gender and racial stereotypes), the effects of power asymmetries, and the effects of intergroup contact.

The effect of intergroup contact on solidarity‐based collective action is mediated by reductions in SDO

AbstractThis paper explores the impact of positive and negative intergroup contact on advantaged group members’ willingness to engage in collective action on behalf of disadvantaged outgroups, and the mediational role of social dominance orientation (SDO) in this process. SDO captures an individual’s ideological support for inequality. If contact is going to promote collective action to reduce inequality among the advantaged group, it must be expected to influence their ideological beliefs about hierarchy. In Study 1, only positive, and not negative contact was found to be associated with Whites’ support for the Black Lives Matter movement, mediated by reductions in SDO. In Study 2, both positive and negative contact were associated, respectively, with more or less support for collective action to protect the rights of European immigrants during Brexit negotiations. While positive contact was associated with reduced SDO and more support for collective action among British nationals, negative contact was associated with increased SDO and lower support for collective action.

Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building

We use a population resettlement program in Indonesia to identify long-run effects of intergroup contact on national integration. In the 1980s, the government relocated two million ethnically diverse migrants into hundreds of new communities. We find greater integration in fractionalized communities with many small groups, as measured by national language use at home, intermarriage, and children’s name choices. However, in polarized communities with a few large groups, ethnic attachment increases and integration declines. Residential segregation dampens these effects. Social capital, public goods, and ethnic conflict follow similar patterns. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of localized contact in shaping identity. (JEL D63, J12, J15, J18, O15, R23, Z13)

When integration policies shape the impact of intergroup contact on threat perceptions: a multilevel study across 20 European countries

ABSTRACTThere is ample evidence of the beneficial effects of intergroup contact in reducing negative attitudes towards immigrants. Although the valuable role of institutional support, one of the initial optimal conditions for contact, has been demonstrated, the impact of actual immigration integration policies, as a manifestation of institutional support, remains unknown. In the current study, we examine how country-level migrant integration policies, assessed by the MIPEX indicator, shape the relationship between everyday contact and threat perceptions associated to immigration. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted with European Social Survey Round 7 data from 20 European countries (N = 32,093 citizens). Everyday contact was related to less symbolic and realistic threat perceptions. Moreover, on the country level, tolerant policies (a high MIPEX score) were related to higher everyday contact and lower symbolic threat perceptions. Confirming that institutional support facilitates the effects of contact, a cross-level interaction revealed that the link between everyday contact and symbolic threat was stronger in high rather than low MIPEX countries. The pattern of results was partially replicated when contact quality and cross-group friendships were assessed, though integration policies did not moderate the effects of these intergroup contact measures. These findings extend the body of multilevel contact research and are crucial for application as they show that integration policies have the potential to guide national majority members’ perceptions regarding immigrants.

The reducing effect of positive imagined intergroup contact on intergroup attributional bias

AbstractCurrently, the Han and Uygur ethnicities in Xinjiang, China are generally in a peaceful state; however, there are also disagreements and conflicts. Through three studies, this article explores intergroup attributional bias (in‐group favoring and out‐group derogating pattern of attribution) between the Hans and Uygurs in Xinjiang, China, and the reducing effect of positive imagined intergroup contact on intergroup attributional bias. Using high school students from Han and Uygur as participants, Study 1 investigated participants’ attributional patterns for in‐group and out‐group members presenting desirable or undesirable behaviors in daily situations. The results revealed that both Hans and Uygurs demonstrate an in‐group favoring pattern of attribution, but not an out‐group derogating pattern. Study 2 added a brief positive imagined intergroup contact (experimental group) or a brief positive imagination of an outdoor scene (control group) before participants completed the same questionnaire as in Study 1 and found a weaker intergroup attributional bias in the experimental group. In Study 3, Han students who had a positive imagined contact with a Uygur demonstrated a closer distance and reported more positive attitudes toward Uygurs than Han students who had imagined contact with a nonspecific stranger. Studies 2 and 3 together indicated a reducing effect of imagined contact on intergroup attributional bias through improvement of intergroup attitudes. The conclusion of this research is particularly meaningful for the Hans and Uygurs, as it implies that properly implemented positive imagined intergroup contacts might be a useful remedy for reducing potential conflicts.

Stimulating interethnic contact in Kosovo: The role of social identity complexity and distinctiveness threat

The positive effects of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction have been widely validated by now. However, the potential of contact for intergroup relations is only available when there is readiness to have contact with outgroup members to begin with. In two correlational studies with the main ethnic groups in postconflict Kosovo, Albanian majority (Study 1, N = 221) and Serb minority (Study 2, N = 110), we examine how social identity complexity mechanism and distinctiveness threat contribute to predicting more readiness to have contact with outgroup members. As the establishment of a new national identity unfolds, we show that while there are different processes that work for each of the groups, distinctiveness threat is a central concern to both as it mediates the relationship between identity and intergroup outcomes. For the Albanian majority group, having more complex identities (or perceiving less identity overlap between national and ethnic identity) predicts more readiness to have contact and feeling more positively towards members of the outgroup via reduced distinctiveness threat. For the Serb minority, however, threat is predicted only by strength of ethnic identification, which in turn predicts negative feelings towards members of the ethnic outgroup and less readiness to contact them. We conclude by comparing results for the majority and the minority groups and discuss strategies needed to reduce threat and improve intergroup relations in this segregated context struggling for reconciliation.

Meeting a nice asylum seeker: Intergroup contact changes stereotype content perceptions and associated emotional prejudices, and encourages solidarity-based collective action intentions.

Intergroup contact can improve majority members' perception of minorities. Integrating the intergroup contact hypothesis with the stereotype content model and BIAS-Map, we hypothesized that positive intergroup contact improves German majority members' evaluations of asylum seekers on the warmth and competence dimensions. Using cross-sectional survey data and structural equationmodelling, we found support for this hypothesis (Study 1a, N=182). Warmth and competence perceptions, in turn, predicted specific intergroup emotions (Study 1b, N=255). A causal effect of intergroup contact on changes in stereotype content, emotions, and solidarity-based collective action intentions as an important facilitative behavioural intention debated in the intergroup contact literature is established with experimental data (Study 2, N=74). Participants interacting with an asylum seeker rated asylum seekers higher on warmth and specific intergroup emotions and were more supportive of solidarity-based collective actions in favour of asylum seekers. Our study demonstrates that contact has differential effects on cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of prejudice towards asylum seekers that are systematically linked.

Are people really strange when you’re a stranger? A longitudinal study of the effect of intergroup contact on host-country identification

Due to the ever-increasing trend in globalization and the importance of gaining international experience, the number of students seeking academic and cultural experiences abroad continues to grow every year. The present study longitudinally examines contact with host-nationals, changes in cultural identity, and sojourners’ identification with their host country. To that end, four waves of data (n = 157–198) were collected among German students who spent a semester abroad in Indonesia. Over time, these students had more contact with host-nationals and experienced changes in their cultural identity. Lagged structural equation models reveal that contact with host-nationals was positively related to identification with the host country and that this relationship was mediated by changes in individuals’ cultural identity. Host-country identification was, in turn, related to students’ overall satisfaction with their stay abroad. This study underscores the importance of engaging in contact with locals when staying in a foreign country and contributes to literature by investigating the role of cultural-identity change as an underlying mechanism in the relationship between intergroup contact and host-country identification.

Improving Refugee Well-Being With Better Language Skills and More Intergroup Contact

The effects of intergroup contact on prejudice are well established. However, its effects on minority group well-being have been rarely studied. We hypothesized that contact with members of the majority culture will be related to better well-being, and that this is facilitated by majority language proficiency. We tested this hypothesis in a three-wave longitudinal study of refugees over 2 years (N = 180). Cross-lagged path modeling confirmed that intergroup contact at earlier time points was associated with increased well-being at later time points; the reverse associations (from earlier well-being to later contact) were not reliable. Self-rated earlier English language competence was positively associated with later intergroup contact (but not the reverse), suggesting that improving majority language proficiency might be the key to better well-being of refugees, with intergroup contact being the mediator between language and well-being.

White Female Bystanders' Responses to a Black Woman at Risk for Sexual Assault: Positive Effects of Intergroup Contact.

Although much research suggests that intergroup contact reduces prejudice, less research has examined the effects of contact on prosocial intergroup bystander behaviors. The current study examined mediators between White undergraduate women's (N = 139) contact with racial/ethnic minority group members and their intent to help a Black woman at risk for sexual assault. As expected, White women who had more frequent and higher quality contact reported greater intent to intervene. Results showed that the effect of quality intergroup contact was mediated by diversity beliefs, or the attitude that cultural heterogeneity leads to favorable outcomes. These results suggest that promoting high-quality opportunities for intergroup contact and education regarding cultural diversity could promote the safety of racially and ethnically diverse students on predominantly White campuses.

Does intimacy counteract or amplify the detrimental effects of negative intergroup contact on attitudes?

Past research is limited by a focus on intimacy in positive intergroup contact. This study tested whether intergroup intimacy counteracts or amplifies the detrimental effects of negative intergroup contact on outgroup attitudes. Participants from five Central European countries ( N = 1,276) described their intergroup contact with, and attitudes towards, citizens from neighboring nations. We coded the contact descriptions for presence (vs. absence) of intimacy (intimate, casual, or formal relationships) and contact valence (negative, positive, or ambivalent). The results indicated that those who reported negative contact in the context of intimate relationships displayed more positive outgroup attitudes than those who reported negative contact in the context of nonintimate relationships. This protective function of intimacy extended to instances of ambivalent contact. Our findings speak of the additive value of intimacy and positivity for intergroup relations; they underscore the benefits of intimacy as part of not only positive but also negative intergroup contact.

The role of national identity, religious identity, and intergroup contact on social distance across multiple social divides in Turkey

Using a nationally representative dataset from Turkey, we examined the effects of national identity, religious identity, religious practice, and intergroup contact on social distance towards disliked groups along ethnic (Turks vs. Kurds), religious (Sunnis vs. Alevis) and ideological divides (supporters vs. opponents of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine two mechanisms (via perceived threat and empathy) through which ingroup identification and intergroup contact influence social distance toward disliked groups. Perceived threat, but not empathy, mediated the effect of national identification on higher social distance towards Kurds, AKP supporters and AKP opponents. Both perceived threat and empathy mediated the effects of religious practice on distance towards Alevis. Intergroup contact had both direct and indirect effects (via threat and empathy) on social distance. Multigroup SEM showed that contact’s effects did not vary across outgroup targets. By contrast, the effects of national and religious identity on social distance varied depending on the outgroup target. The findings highlight the importance of considering identity content and meaning attached to social categories in making predictions about the influence of identification with different social categories.

Intergroup contact versus conflict in Catalan high schools: A multilevel analysis of adolescent attitudes toward immigration and diversity

Western educational systems are often insufficiently prepared for the ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity resulting from immigration. In Catalonia, one of the wealthiest regions of Spain, a diverse, recent, and large-scale immigration coincides with a popular nationalist movement and increasingly salient national identifications. Focusing on a context where ethnic, national, religious, and linguistic divisions intersect daily, our aim was to determine if both beneficial and detrimental effects of intergroup contact exist by measuring three separate dependent variables, xenophobia, appreciation of diversity, and attitudes toward immigrant rights, among native (n = 1219) and nonnative (n = 379) students during their last year of compulsory education (10th grade). Multilevel modeling, with students nested within 82 classrooms in 30 high schools throughout Catalonia, revealed effects of national identifications, frequency of contact, socioeconomic status, and classroom ethnic composition. Results provide strong support for intergroup contact theory in that classrooms with higher proportions of immigrant students demonstrated less xenophobia and more positive attitudes towards immigrant rights overall. Implications of classroom characteristics were qualified by national identification and intergroup interactions. Simultaneously, modest detrimental implications of intergroup contact were unveiled in that higher proportions of immigrants in a classroom predicted lower appreciation of diversity; immigrants were more likely to embrace diversity when they were a minority in the classroom, though native and immigrant students were both low on appreciation of diversity in majority-immigrant classrooms. Findings also highlight the critical importance of national identification in a context where national identities are often contested.

Secondary transfer effect among children: The role of social dominance orientation and outgroup attitudes.

Research has provided evidence that the effects of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction are not limited to the outgroup one has contact with (primary outgroup). Rather, they extend to secondary outgroups uninvolved in the contact situation (secondary transfer effect; Pettigrew, 2009, Social Psychology, 40, 55). We aimed to provide the first empirical evidence for the emergence of the secondary transfer effect among children. Majority (Italian) and minority (with an immigrant background) elementary schoolchildren were administered a questionnaire including measures of contact with the primary outgroup (minority children for the majority, majority children for the minority), prejudice towards the primary outgroup and towards a dissimilar secondary outgroup (disabled children), and social dominance orientation. Results revealed that among the majority group, contact with the primary outgroup had indirect associations with reduced prejudice towards the secondary outgroup. Specifically, we found evidence for sequential mediation by social dominance orientation and prejudice towards the primary outgroup. No secondary transfer effects emerged among minority group members. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the findings, arguing for the importance of identifying the core processes driving the secondary transfer effect.

Imagine that! The effect of counterstereotypic imagined intergroup contact on weight bias.

Higher body-weight people are highly stigmatized and face prejudice and discrimination across a number of domains. Further, experiences of weight stigmatization are associated with a host of negative physical, psychological, and social consequences. However, less is known about effective means for reducing weight bias. One strategy that has shown some success in prejudice reduction, yet is relatively untested for weight bias, is imagined intergroup contact. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of counterstereotypic imagined intergroup contact on weight bias. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 experimental conditions or a control group. In the experimental conditions, participants were asked to imagine interactions with either a counterstereotypic (e.g., confident, attractive) or stereotypic (e.g., unattractive, insecure) "obese" person. Participants then completed the Anti-fat Attitudes Questionnaire (dislike subscale; Crandall, 1994; Quinn & Crocker, 1999), the Universal Measure of Bias-Fat (negative judgment and social distance subscales; Latner et al., 2008), and the Fat Phobia Scale. Results indicated that participants in the counterstereotypic condition reported lower levels of weight bias (dislike, negative judgment, and social distance) than participants in the stereotypic and control conditions. These findings highlight the potential usefulness of counterstereotypic imagined contact to reduce weight bias. (PsycINFO Database Record

Leader Identity and Coordination

This paper examines the effectiveness of leaders in addressing coordination failure in societies with ethnic or religious diversity. We experimentally vary leader identity in a coordination game and implement it in the field across 44 towns in India. We find that religious minority leaders (Muslims) improve coordination, while majority leaders (Hindus) do not. We test the effectiveness of intergroup contact and affirmative action, two commonly used policies to improve the well-being of minorities.Intergroup contact improves coordination irrespective of leader identity, but affirmative action leads to deterioration in coordination in Muslim-led groups alongside an increase in coordination in Hindu-led groups. We find that both policies are less effective for Muslim-led groups in towns with a recent history of religious conflict. Our findings contribute novel evidence to research on coordination failure, leader identity, policy alternatives for promoting integration of minorities, and conflict.

Making the Case for Transgenerational Learning

ABSTRACTThis article evaluates existing programs designed to bring together groups from different generations, through a literature search on intergenerational learning programs in accordance with the intergroup contact theory. The theory, as described by Allport (1954) and Rothbart and John (1985), asserts that in order to reduce prejudice and achieve the positive effects of intergroup contact, each of the following conditions should be met to some degree: (1) support of established authority or institution; (2) cross-group contact facilitated regularly over time; (3) equal status within the situation; (4) common goals; (5) intergroup cooperation; (6) behavior of minority group members not consistent with their stereotype; and (7) cross-group contact facilitated in a variety of social contexts. It is the authors’ hypothesis that transgenerational engagement in the academic setting is achieved when an activity or program meets all of the aforementioned criteria.