Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Outline

Title
Abstract
Conclusions
References
All Topics
Psychology
Social Psychology

Imagined intergroup contact: Theory, paradigm, and practice.

Profile image of r.turner@qub.ac.uk Turnerr.turner@qub.ac.uk Turner
https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1751-9004.2008.00155.X
visibility

…

description

18 pages

link

1 file

Abstract
sparkles

AI

This article discusses the concept of imagined intergroup contact, which derives from the established contact hypothesis aimed at reducing prejudice through intergroup interactions. It highlights the psychological impact of merely imagining contact with members of an outgroup, positing that mental simulations can enhance positive intergroup attitudes. The authors review evidence supporting this paradigm, outline practical guidelines for implementation, and propose future research directions to evaluate its effectiveness as a flexible intervention strategy.

Related papers

When the direct route is blocked: The extended contact pathway to improving intergroup relations.
Anja Eller, Dominic Abrams

Direct intergroup contact can be described as the "royal road" to reducing prejudice and intergroup conflict. Although direct contact with an outgroup member may be limited, a promising alternative route is that of extended (indirect) contact. According to extended contact theory, awareness that ingroup members have outgroup friends can improve people's relations with the outgroup. A key issue that has not been addressed is how the amount of direct and extended contact interact to affect intergroup relations. Three field-based studies demonstrated that when direct contact is low, higher levels of extended contact predict lower prejudice and higher voluntary engagement with outgroup culture, both cross-sectionally (Studies 1 and 2) and longitudinally (Study 3). However, when direct contact is high, extended contact does not affect intergroup relations. These findings show that only when there is limited opportunity for direct contact, awareness of larger numbers of ingroup-outgroup friendships can be very effective for improving intergroup relations.

View PDFchevron_right
Future directions for intergroup contact theory and research
Thomas Pettigrew

International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2008

Intergroup contact theory and research has received renewed interest in recent years. And this new work has led to rapid advances. This paper summarizes this progress and points to four future directions for further advances. (1) There is a continuing need to specify the processes of intergroup contact that explain its many effects. This is a call for continued efforts to determine the many mediators and moderators that are involved.

View PDFchevron_right
Can Imagined Interactions Produce Positive Perceptions? Reducing Prejudice Through Simulated Social Contact
r.turner@qub.ac.uk Turner, Richard J Crisp

American Psychologist, 2009

View PDFchevron_right
Beyond direct contact: The theoretical and societal relevance of indirect contact for improving intergroup relations
Islam Borinca

White et al (Journal of Social Issues) , 2020

Today, physical and psychological barriers can reduce opportunities for the type of direct face-to-face intergroup contact first identified by Gordon Allport. Consequently, social psychological researchers have identified, developed and tested a burgeoning array of different forms of indirect contact, including, extended contact, Electronic- or E-contact, imagined contact, vicarious contact and parasocial contact. In addition to providing a critical review of each of these forms, we argue that indirect contact is more than just a simple “replacement” for direct contact, but instead has the potential to improve intergroup relations for both minority and majority members in its own right. Relatedly, we acknowledge that indirect contact occurs within specific normative contexts embodied in legislation, institutions, and media and political contents. In fact, we recognize that indirect contact requires an integrative understanding of the role of intergroup norms and affective processes in order to effectively achieve public policy objectives to optimize effects on prejudice reduction.

View PDFchevron_right
The silver lining between perceived similarity and intergroup differences: Increasing confidence in intergroup contact
Barbara Lášticová

Human Affairs, 2019

Positive intergroup contact and cross-group friendships are known to have numerous benefits for intergroup relations in diverse schools. However, children do not always spontaneously engage in cross-group friendships, choosing rather to spend time with their ingroup peers. Several factors have previously been identified that influence children’s confidence in contact and subsequent development of cross-group friendships, including perceived intergroup similarity and reconciliation of intergroup differences. However, inducing perceived similarity may pose a threat to the person’s social identity and increase the need for distinctiveness. Therefore, it remains unclear how one should manipulate perceived similarity and group boundaries when designing interventions that prepare school children for successful contact. Moreover, eliminating perceived group boundaries need not lead to the generalization of improved attitudes towards the outgroup. An optimal balance of inclusion and differe...

View PDFchevron_right
How can intergroup interaction be bad if intergroup contact is good? Exploring and reconciling an apparent paradox in the science of intergroup relations
Elizabeth Page-Gould

Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 2015

The outcomes of social interactions among members of different groups (e.g., racial groups, political groups, sexual orientation groups) have long been of interest to psychologists. Two related literatures on the topic have emerged-the intergroup interaction literature and the intergroup contact literature-in which divergent conclusions have been reported. Intergroup interaction is typically found to have negative effects tied to intergroup bias, producing heightened stress, intergroup anxiety, or outgroup avoidance, whereas intergroup contact is typically found to have positive effects tied to intergroup bias, predicting lower intergroup anxiety and lower prejudice. We examine these paradoxical findings, proposing that researchers contributing to the two literatures are examining different levels of the same phenomenon and that methodological differences can account for the divide between the literatures. Further, we introduce a mathematical model by which the findings of the two l...

View PDFchevron_right
Imagined Intergroup Physical Contact Improves Attitudes Toward Immigrants
Mauro Bianchi

Frontiers in Psychology, 2018

In this set of research, we investigated the effects of intergroup physical contact on intergroup attitudes by relying on indirect contact strategies, namely the imagined contact paradigm. We implemented the imagined contact paradigm by leading participants to shape the mental imagery upon pictorial information. Specifically, in Study 1 participants saw a picture of a white hand touching a black hand [i.e., intergroup physical contact condition (InterPC)] or a picture of an outdoor scene (i.e., control condition), and were asked to imagine being either the toucher or in the outdoor scene, respectively. Results demonstrated that InterPC compared to control condition reduced intergroup bias. In Study 2 we compared the InterPC condition to a condition in which participants saw a white hand touching another white hand [i.e., intragroup physical contact (IntraPC)], and imagined to be the toucher. Again, we found that participants in the InterPC condition showed reduced intergroup bias compared to the IntraPC. Study 3 replicated results of Studies 1 and 2 by using an implicit measure of prejudice. Also, Study 3 further showed that asking participants to merely look at the picture of a white hand touching a black hand, without imagining being the toucher was not effective in reducing implicit prejudice. Results were discussed with respect to the literature on physical contact and prejudice reduction processes.

View PDFchevron_right
It is who you know that counts: Intergroup contact and judgments about race-based exclusion
Martin Ruck

British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2008

Intergroup contact and evaluations about race-based exclusion were assessed for majority and minority students in fourth, seventh, and tenth grades (N = 685). Students were presented with scenarios depicting cross-race relations in contexts of dyadic friendship, parental discomfort, and peer group disapproval. Participants reporting higher levels of intergroup contact gave higher ratings of wrongfulness of exclusion and lower frequency estimations of race-based exclusion than did participants reporting lower levels of such contact. Intergroup contact also predicted students' attributions of motives in two out of three scenarios. Findings are discussed in terms of the extant literature on peer relations, moral reasoning, and intergroup contact. One of the key developments in the field of social psychological research on intergroup relations is a renewed appreciation of Allport's (1954) intergroup contact hypothesis (Dovidio, Glick, & Rudman, 2004). Allport (1954) specified, among other things, the conditions under which contact between individuals from different racial groups can be effective in reducing prejudice, in particular, when contact is: among groups of equal status, based on common goals, based on cooperation rather than competition, and supported by external authorities. Abundant research in social psychology exists on the benefits of intergroup contact among adults (e.g.,

View PDFchevron_right
How to enhance the effects of mediated intergroup contact? Evidence from four countries
Juan Jose Igartua

Mass Communication & Society, 2020

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.

View PDFchevron_right
Does negative contact undermine attempts to improve intergroup relations? Deepening the understanding of negative contact and its consequences for intergroup contact research and interventions
Sarina J . Schäfer

Journal of Social Issues, 2021

Intergroup contact is an established pathway to improve intergroup relations. Research has long focused on mainly positive intergroup contact and its capability to improve intergroup relations. Yet, if members of different groups meet, they will not only make positive, but possibly also negative intergroup contact experiences. Recent research considering both positive as well as negative intergroup contact has raised concerns about potentially stronger effects of negative compared to positive contact. These new insights and the increasing awareness of potentially detrimental effects of contact could lead to doubts about whether it is always sensible to bring individuals from different groups together. Our article first updates the latest review on joint effects of positive and negative intergroup contact. We find that there is no clear tendency for either positive or negative intergroup contact to yield stronger effects on intergroup relations, and we portray factors that might influence these effects. Such factors-for example an individual's prior experiences-could play a crucial role in defining the relevance of negative contact This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

View PDFchevron_right

References (82)

  1. Aboud, F. E., & Fenwick, V. (1999). Evaluating school-based interventions to reduce prejudice in preadolescents. Journal of Social Issues, 55, 767-786.
  2. Aboud, F. E., & Levy, S. R. (2000). Interventions to reduce prejudice and discrimination in children and adolescents. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination. The Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology (pp. 269-293). Claremont, CA: Claremont Graduate School.
  3. Abrams, D., Eller, A., & Bryant, J. (2006). An age apart: Effects of intergenerational contact and stereotype threat on performance and intergroup bias. Psychology and Aging, 2, 691-702.
  4. Abrams, D., Crisp, R. J., Marques, S., Fagg, E., Bedford, L., & Provias, D. (in press). Threat inoculation: Experienced and imagined intergenerational contact prevent stereotype threat effects on older people's math performance. Psychology and Aging.
  5. Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
  6. Appl, D. J. (1996). Recognising diversity in the early childhood classroom: Getting started. Teaching Exceptional Children, 28, 22-25.
  7. Bigler, R. S. (1999). The use of multicultural curricula and materials to counter racism in children. Journal of Social Issues, 55, 687-705.
  8. Blair, I. V., Ma, J. E., & Lenton, A. P. (2001). Imagining stereotypes away: The moderation of implicit stereotypes through mental imagery. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 828 -841.
  9. Brown, R. J., Maras, P., Masser, B., Vivian, J., & Hewstone, M. (2001). Life on the ocean wave: Testing some intergroup hypotheses in a naturalistic setting. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 4, 81-97.
  10. Brown, R., & Hewstone, H. (2005). An integrative theory of intergroup contact. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 37, pp. 255-343). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
  11. Cadinu, M. R., & Rothbart, M. (1996). Self-anchoring and differentiation processes in the minimal group setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 661-677.
  12. Cameron, L., Rutland, A., Brown, R., & Douch, R. (2006). Changing children's intergroup attitudes towards refugees: Testing different models of extended contact. Child Development, 77, 120 8-1219.
  13. Carroll, J. S. (1978). The effect of imagining an event on expectations for the event: an interpretation in terms of the availability heuristic. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 14, 88-96.
  14. Census (2001). National Statistics Government Website: Neighbourhood Statistics. Retrieved July 24, 2006, from http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
  15. Clement, R. W., & Krueger, J. (2002). Social categorization moderates social projection. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 219-231.
  16. Crisp, R. J. (2006). Commitment and categorization in common ingroup contexts. In R. J. Crisp & M. Hewstone (Eds.), Multiple Social Categorization: Processes, Models and Applications (pp. 90 -111). Hove, E. Sussex: Psychology Press (Taylor & Francis).
  17. Crisp, R. J., & Beck, S. R. (2005). Reducing intergroup bias: The moderating role of ingroup identification. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 8(2), 173 -185.
  18. Crisp, R. J., & Hewstone, M. (2007). Multiple social categorization. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 39, pp. 163-254). Orlando, FL: Academic.
  19. Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (in press). Can imagined interactions produce positive perceptions? Reducing prejudice via simulated social contact. American Psychologist.
  20. Crisp, R. J., Stone, C. H., & Hall, N. R. (2006). Recategorization and subgroup identification: Predicting and preventing threats from common ingroups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 230 -243.
  21. Dadds, M. R., Bovbjerg, D. H., Redd, W. H., & Cutmore, T. R. (1997). Imagery in human classical conditioning. Psychological Bulletin, 122, 89-103.
  22. Dei, G. J. S. (1996). Anti-racism Education: Theory and Practice. Halifax, Canada: Fernwood.
  23. Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (2002). Self and social identity. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 161-186.
  24. Eller, A., & Abrams, D. (2004). Come together: Longitudinal comparisons of Pettigrew's reformulated intergroup contact model and the common ingroup identity model in Anglo-French and Mexican-American contexts. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 229-256.
  25. Farah, M. (1989). The neural basis of mental imagery. Trends in Neuroscience, 12, 395-399.
  26. Fazio, R. H., Powell, M. C., & Herr, P. M. (1983). Toward a process model of the attitude-behavior relation: Accessing one's attitude upon mere observation of the attitude object. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 723 -735.
  27. Galton, F. (1883). Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development. London, UK: Macmillan.
  28. Garcia, S. M., Weaver, K., Moskowitz, G. B., & Darley, J. M. (2002). Crowded minds: The implicit bystander effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 843 -853.
  29. Greenwald, A. G., McGee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480.
  30. Hagestad, G. O., & Uhlenberg, P. (2005). The social separation of old and young: A root of ageism. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 343 -360.
  31. Harrington, H. J., & Miller, N. (1992). Research and theory in intergroup relations: Issues of consensus and controversy. In J. Lynch, C. Modgil, & S. Modgil (Eds.), Cultural Diversity and the Schools (pp. 159-178). London, UK: Falmer.
  32. Haslam, S. A., Oakes, P. J., Reynolds, K. J., & Turner, J. C. (1999). Social identity salience and the emergence of stereotype consensus. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 809-818.
  33. Hess, T. M., Hinson, J. T., & Statham, J. A. (2004). Explicit and implicit stereotype activation effects on memory: Do age and awareness moderate the impact of priming? Psychology and Aging, 19, 495-505.
  34. Islam, R. M., & Hewstone, M. (1993). Dimension of contact as predictors of intergroup anxiety, perceived outgroup variability and outgroup attitudes: An integrative model. Person- ality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 700-710.
  35. Jackson, J. W. (1993). Contact theory of intergroup hostility: A review and evaluation of the theoretical and empirical literature. International Journal of Group Tensions, 23, 43-65.
  36. James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Dover Publications Inc.
  37. Koeller, S. (1977). The effect of listening to excerpts from children's stories about Mexican- Americans on the attitudes of sixth graders. Journal of Educational Research, 70, 329-334.
  38. Kosslyn, S. M., Ganis, G., & Thompson, W. L. (2001). Neural foundations of imagery. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 2, 635-642.
  39. Lessing, E. E., & Clarke, C. C. (1976). An attempt to reduce ethnic prejudice and assess its correlates in a junior high school sample. Educational Research Quarterly, 1, 3-16.
  40. Levy, B. R. (1996). Improving memory in old age by implicit self-stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1092-1107.
  41. Logan, J. (2001). Ethnic Diversity Grows, Neighborhood Integration Lags Behind. Albany, NY: State University of New York at Albany, Lewis Mumford Center.
  42. Marks, D. F. (1999). Consciousness, mental imagery and action. British Journal of Psychology, 90, 567-585.
  43. Marks, I. M. (1975). Behavioral treatments of phobic and obsessive-compulsive disorders: A critical appraisal. In Hersen, M., Eisler, R. M., & Miller, P. M. (Eds.), Progress in Behavior Modification (pp. 65-158). New York, NY: Academic Press.
  44. Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954-969.
  45. Martin, M. E. (2006). Residential Segregation Patterns of Latinos in the United States, 1990-2000. New York, NY: Routledge.
  46. McGregor, J. (1993). Effectiveness of role-playing antiracist teaching in reducing student prejudice. Journal of Educational Research, 86, 215 -226.
  47. Imagined Intergroup Contact 17
  48. Neuberg, S. L. (1996). Expectancy influences in social interaction: The moderating role of social goals. In J. A. Bargh & P. M. Gollwitzer (Eds.), The Psychology of Action: Linking Cognition and Motivation to Behavior (pp. 529-552). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  49. Paivio, A. (1968). A factor-analytic study of word attributes and verbal learning. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 7, 41-49.
  50. Paolini, S., Hewstone, M., Cairns, E., & Voci, A. (2004). Effects of direct and indirect cross-group friendships on judgments of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland: The mediating role of anxiety-reduction mechanism. Personality and Social Psychology Bul- letin, 30, 770 -786.
  51. Paolini, S., Hewstone, M., & Cairns, E. (2007). Direct and indirect intergroup friendship effects: Testing the moderating role of the affective-cognitive bases of prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1406-1420.
  52. Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65-85.
  53. Pettigrew, T. F. (2008). Future directions for intergroup contact research. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 187-199.
  54. Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751-783.
  55. Phinney, J. S., Ferguson, D. L., & Tate, J. D. (1997). Intergroup attitudes among ethnic minority adolescents: A causal model. Child Development, 68, 955 -969.
  56. Piaget, J. (1970). Piaget's theory. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Carmichael's Manual of Child Psychology (pp. 703-732). New York, NY: Wiley.
  57. Pinel, E. (2002). Stigma consciousness in intergroup contexts: The power of conviction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 178-185.
  58. Plant, E. A., & Devine, P. G. (2003). The antecedents and implications of interracial anxiety. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 790 -801.
  59. Randi, J., & Corno, L. (2000). Teacher innovations in self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of Self-regulation (pp. 651-685). New York, NY: Academic Press.
  60. Robbins, J. M., & Krueger, J. I. (2005). Social projection to ingroups and to outgroups: A review and meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 32 -47.
  61. Rothbart, M., & John, O. P. (1985). Social categorization and behavioural episodes: A cognitive analysis of the effects of intergroup contact. Journal of Social Issues, 41, 81-104.
  62. Sherman, S. J., & Anderson, C. A. (1987). Decreasing premature termination from psychother- apy. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 5, 298 -312.
  63. Short, G., & Carrington, B. (1996). Anti-racist education, multiculturalism, and the new racism. Educational Review, 48, 65 -77.
  64. Singer, R. N. (1972). Coaching, athletes, and psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
  65. Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (1994). Making Choices for Multi-cultural Education. New York, NY: Macmillan.
  66. Stathi, S., & Crisp, R. J. (2008). Imagining intergroup contact promotes projection to outgroups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 943 -957.
  67. Stephan, W. G., Diaz-Loving, R., & Duran, A. (2000). Integrated threat theory and intercul- tural attitudes: Mexico and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31(2), 240- 249.
  68. Tropp, L. R. (2003). The psychological impact of prejudice: Implications for intergroup con- tact. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 6, 131-149.
  69. Tropp, L. R., & Pettigrew, T. F. (2005). Differential relationships between intergroup contact and affective and cognitive dimension of prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1145 -1158.
  70. Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-categorization Theory. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
  71. Turner, R. N., & Brown, R. J. (2008). Improving children's attitudes towards refugees: An evaluation of a multicultural curricula and anti-racist intervention. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 1295 -1328.
  72. Turner, R. N., & Crisp, R. J. (forthcoming). Imagining Intergroup Contact Improves Implicit Attitudes.
  73. Turner, R. N., Crisp, R. J., & Lambert, E. (2007a). Imagining intergroup contact can improve intergroup attitudes. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 10, 427-441.
  74. Turner, R. N., Hewstone, M., Voci, A., Paolini, S., & Christ, O. (2007b). Reducing prejudice via direct and extended cross-group friendship. European Review of Social Psychology, 18, 212- 255.
  75. Turner, R. N., Hewstone, M., & Voci, A. (2007c). Reducing explicit and implicit prejudice via direct and extended contact: The mediating role of self-disclosure and intergroup anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 369-388.
  76. Turner, R. N., Hewstone, M., Voci, A., & Vonofakou, C. (2008). A test of the extended contact hypothesis: The mediating role of intergroup anxiety, perceived ingroup and out- group norms, and inclusion of the outgroup in the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 843-860.
  77. Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5, 207.
  78. Voci, A., & Hewstone, M. (2003). Intergroup contact and prejudice towards immigrants in Italy: The mediational role of anxiety and the moderational role of group salience. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 6, 37-54.
  79. Walker, H. (1989). Towards anti-racist, multicultural practice with under fives. Early Child Development and Care, 41, 103-112.
  80. Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  81. Wright, S. C., Aron, A., McLaughlin-Volpe, T., & Ropp, S. A. (1997). The extended contact effect: Knowledge of cross-group friendships and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 73-90.
  82. Yates, A. J. (1975). Theory and Practise in Behavior Therapy. New York, NY: Wiley.

Related papers

Can you imagine this? Imagined contact as a strategy to promote positive intergroup relations
Lipaz Shamoa-Nir

Frontiers in Psychology

In comparison to the extensive body of research on intergroup contact, which encompasses predictors, outcomes, and implications, there has been relatively little attention given to the role of imagined contact with diverse ethno-religious out-groups. This gap particularly exists in understanding the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of imagined contact interventions. This article aims to address this gap by presenting current research on the predictors and consequences of imagined contact. We offer an overview of the circumstances in which imagined contact proves beneficial; while focusing on research that holds relevance for designing interventions and policies promoting contact between culturally and religiously diverse groups and individuals. We also acknowledge the existing limitations within this field of study and propose potential direction for future research.

View PDFchevron_right
Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Intergroup Contact
Matthew Hornsey

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

View PDFchevron_right
Imagining Intergroup Contact Can Improve Intergroup Attitudes
r.turner@qub.ac.uk Turner

Group Processes & Intergroup …, 2007

View PDFchevron_right
Imagined Intergroup Contact and Common Ingroup Identity
Dino Giovannini

Social Psychology, 2015

We conducted two studies involving two different age groups (elementary school children and adults) aimed at integrating imagined contact and common ingroup identity models. In the first study, Italian elementary school children were asked to imagine interacting with an unknown immigrant peer as members of a common group. Results revealed that common ingroup imagined contact, relative to a control condition, improved outgroup helping intentions assessed one week and two weeks after the intervention. In the second study, common ingroup imagined contact led Italian university students to display higher intentions to have contact with immigrants compared to control conditions. In conclusion, results from both studies demonstrate that imagining an intergroup interaction as members of the same group strengthens the effects of imagined contact. These findings point to the importance of combining the common ingroup identity model and the imagined contact theory in order to increase the potentiality of prejudice reduction interventions.

View PDFchevron_right
Improving intergroup relations with extended and vicarious forms of indirect contact
Dora Capozza

European Review of Social Psychology, 2014

Research in social psychology has provided impressive evidence that intergroup contact reduces prejudice. However, to the extent that strategies based on direct contact are sometimes difficult to implement, scholars have more recently focused on indirect contact. An effective form of indirect contact is extended contact. According to the extended contact hypothesis, simply knowing that ingroup members have outgroup friends (extended contact), or observing these friendships vicariously (vicarious contact), can improve intergroup relations. Since its initial formulation a large body of studies has supported the validity of the extended contact hypothesis. In reviewing the available literature on two forms of indirect contact (extended and vicarious), we outline a model that identifies their antecedents and consequences, spanning from cognitive to affective to behavioural outcomes. In addition to identifying the main moderators of indirect contact, we also distinguish two different routes, one cognitive and one affective, that underlie what processes mediate their effects. Finally, we indicate some possible avenues for future research and we consider how direct and indirect contact strategies can be used in combination to improve intergroup relations.

View PDFchevron_right

Related topics

  • Imagined Contact
  • Prejudice Reduction

    • Cited by

    Enhancing imagined contact to reduce prejudice against people with schizophrenia
    Keon West

    Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2011

    Four studies investigated the effect of imagining intergroup contact on prejudice against people with schizophrenia. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that a neutral imagined contact task can have negative effects, compared to a control condition, even when paired with incidental positive information (Experiment 2). Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated, however, that an integrated positive imagined contact scenario does result in less intergroup anxiety and more positive attitudes, even toward this challenging group. Analyses of participants' descriptions of the imagined interactions in and across the first three studies confirm that positive and high quality imagined contact is important for reducing prejudice, but failing to ensure that imagined contact is positive may have deleterious consequences. We emphasize the importance of investigating the quality of the imagined contact experience, and discuss the implications for using imagined contact as a prejudice-reducing intervention.

    View PDFchevron_right
    Changing stereotype content through mental imagery: Imagining intergroup contact promotes stereotype change
    Marcella Ravenna

    Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2012

    Research has recently shown that imagining intergroup contact can reduce hostility toward outgroups. The present experiment explored whether imagining intergroup contact leads to more positive perceptions of outgroups differentially stereotyped on the two fundamental dimensions of social perception, namely warmth and competence. Depending on the experimental condition, participants (N = 123) imagined either an intergroup encounter with an outgroup member rated as high (vs. low) on warmth and competence or an outdoor scene. Results showed that imagining an intergroup encounter enhances warmth and competence perception of dehumanized groups, and promotes the perception of warmth and competence of envied and paternalized groups, respectively. These findings suggest that imagined contact could promote positive intergroup relationships toward a wide range of social groups, even dehumanized groups.

    View PDFchevron_right
    When Adam met Sally: The Transformative Potential of Sympathy
    Millicent Churcher

    Social Epistemology , 2016

    This paper adopts the view promoted by early modern philosopher Adam Smith that exercises of the sympathetic imagination play an important role in supporting human sociability and ethical behaviour. It argues that such exercises have potential to significantly change the way in which privileged racial identities relate to marginalised and devalued racial identities. First, the paper draws on Sally Haslanger’s reflections upon her lived experience of transracial parenting to illustrate how sympathetic identification with the experiences of a differently racialized individual can transform the way in which we relate to entire racial groups. Haslanger’s account demonstrates the potential for exercises of the sympathetic imagination to disrupt the way in which we experience our own embodiment, and to generate a form of knowledge that implicates our sense of self and will to act. Second, the paper discusses some limitations of appealing to sympathy as a social resource in less intimate contexts. This discussion throws light on the importance of exercising a critically reflective mode of sympathy to overcome racial bias, in addition to the importance of institutional design and grassroots initiatives in facilitating sympathetic identification across racial lines.

    View PDFchevron_right
    Experimental investigation of parents and their children's social interaction intentions towards obese children
    Rebecca Puhl

    Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2013

    View PDFchevron_right
    The effect of brief digital interventions on attitudes to intellectual disability: Results from a pilot study
    Katrina Scior

    Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

    View PDFchevron_right
    580 California St., Suite 400
    San Francisco, CA, 94104
    © 2025 Academia. All rights reserved