Ingroup norms, intergroup contact and intergroup anxiety as predictors of the outgroup attitudes of majority and minority youth

This study focused on the interplay of perceived parental and peer norms and the quality of intergroup contact in predicting outgroup attitudes among majority and minority youth. In addition, the role of intergroup anxiety on the contact-attitude association was studied simultaneously with the effects of social norms. 225 adolescents (93 Finnish majority and 132 Russian-speaking minority youth) were surveyed. As was hypothesized, the effects of intergroup contact and social norms on the outgroup attitudes were different depending on the group status: perceived norms and the quality of intergroup contact had a joint effect on outgroup attitudes only among minority youth. While perceived norms and contact experiences affected the outgroup attitudes of majority group members independently of each other, minority group members’ negative contact experiences were associated with negative attitudes towards the majority only when the perceived ingroup norms supported the expression of negative attitudes. Surprisingly, intergroup anxiety mediated the contact-attitude association only in minority youth, and the effect of contact quality on outgroup attitudes was stronger among the minority than among the majority. The results are discussed in relation to the specific intergroup context in question. It is suggested that both positive ingroup norms and pleasant personal contact experiences play a crucial role in the formation of positive attitudes among minority as well as majority youth, and in some contexts positive norms may be even more important than positive intergroup contact.     

Can interethnic contact between majority (Han) and minority (Uyghur) people in China influence sense of Chinese national Community? The role of positive and negative direct,extended and vicarious intergroup contact

ObjectivesIn multiethnic countries, enhancing the sense of community and preventing ethnic segregation represents a major challenge. In this study we aimed to test the effects of different forms of intergroup contact in fostering sense of community among majority and minority ethnic groups in China, by focusing on the sense of the community at the national level.MethodsParticipants were Han (N = 355, ethnic majority group) and Uyghur (N = 546, ethnic minority group) people at a multiethnic university in the Xinjiang province in China.ResultsResults from path analysis revealed that positive direct contact for the minority, and positive extended and vicarious contact for both majority and minority group were indirectly associated with higher sense of Chinese national community via greater focus on positive characteristics of the outgroup. In addition, negative contact (extended contact for the majority; direct contact for the minority) were indirectly associated with lower sense of Chinese national community via reduced focus on positive outgroup characteristics. No evidence was found for negative focus (focus on negative outgroup characteristics) and intergroup threat as mediators. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings for improving intergroup relations in multiethnic and conflictual settings by using multiple forms of intergroup contact are discussed.     

Revisiting the contact hypothesis: Effects of different modes of computer-mediated communication on intergroup relationships

This study applies the contact hypothesis to computer-mediated communication (CMC) and examines whether intergroup computer-mediated contact can facilitate relationships between conflicting groups. The effectiveness of different CMC modes, text-based and video-based, in improving interpersonal and intergroup attitudes was compared. The results from an experiment indicated that video-based CMC exerted greater influence in improving participants’ attitudes towards a targeted outgroup member when compared to text-based CMC. However, text-based CMC produced a stronger effect than video-based CMC in improving one’s attitudes towards the outgroup as a whole.     

Majority–minority acculturation preferences concordance as an antecedent of attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating role of perceived symbolic threat and metastereotypes

Through an experimental design, we investigated the effects of majority–minority acculturation preferences concordance and immigrants’ generational status on Italians’ attitudes towards Albanian immigrants. The role of perceived threat and metastereotypes in mediating this relationship was examined. Participants (N = 178) were categorized into different levels of culture maintenance and intercultural contact concordance. Findings showed that discrepancies in the contact dimension affected majority members’ attitudes towards immigrants. Both perceived threat and metastereotypes were found to mediate the relationship between contact discrepancies and attitudes towards immigrants. Culture maintenance concordance interacted with immigrants’ generational status in influencing majority members’ attitudes. This research confirmed the importance of taking into account the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between majority and immigrant acculturation preferences, confirming that the most positive attitudes were produced when immigrants were perceived to adopt the same strategy as the majority, especially with respect to intergroup contact.     

The majority influence on interminority attitudes: The secondary transfer effect of positive and negative contact

Among minority members, positive contact with the majority was previously found to improve not only the attitudes toward the majority but also the attitudes toward minority outgroups (the secondary transfer effect; STE). However, the roles of negative intergroup contact and minority groups’ social status in the STE have not been yet examined. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the association between both positive and negative contact with the national majority group (Finns) and mutual attitudes among high-status Estonian (n = 171) and low-status Russian (n = 180) immigrants in Finland. Two mediators of the STE were tested: attitudes toward the majority (attitude generalization) and public collective self-esteem (diagonal hostility). While positive and negative STEs emerging via attitude generalization were expected to occur among both immigrant groups, the mediating effect of public collective self-esteem was assumed only for members of the low-status group. In both immigrant groups, the relationship between positive contact with the majority group and attitudes toward the other immigrant group was positive and indirect through more favorable attitudes toward majority group members. The same mechanism characterized negative contact, where the indirect effect was mediated by less positive attitudes toward Finns. As predicted, public collective self-esteem mediated the effects of positive and negative contact with majority group members on attitudes toward the other minority only among low-status Russian immigrants. The results call for the acknowledgement of different mechanisms explaining the STE among minority groups enjoying different social statuses in host society.     

Acculturation preferences of majority and minority adolescents in Germany in the context of society and family

Four hundred and fifteen adolescents (134 German majority and 281 minority members) completed a questionnaire which measured attitudes towards acculturation, life satisfaction and intergroup relation variables. German majority members preferred integration followed by assimilation (according to Berry's taxonomy), while minority members had a clear preference for integration. Integration was more strongly associated with favourable intergroup relations and, in the case of minority members, life satisfaction, than the other acculturation orientations. Furthermore the study showed that discrepancies between own acculturation attitudes and perceived attitudes of the other group may influence life satisfaction and intergroup attitudes. Perceived acculturation preferences of the respondents’ parents were also examined. German majority adolescents perceived their parents’ attitudes as more favourable to exclusion than their own, and minority members perceived their parents’ attitudes as leaning more towards separation than their own. In the majority sample, these discrepancies were not related to any of the outcome variables, but in the minority sample they influenced life satisfaction, perceived quality of intergroup relations, and tolerance.     

Contact with a multicultural past: A prejudice-reducing intervention

This paper introduces the notion of contact with a multicultural past as a new type of indirect intergroup contact. It presents results of a study which evaluated the effects of an educational program utilizing the proposed framework. The program aimed to facilitate the engagement of Polish students (N = 427) with historical Jewish heritage in their places of residence. The intervention proved highly successful at increasing students' knowledge of and interest in local history which both contributed independently to an increased inclusion of the outgroup (Jews) in the self and in turn to more positive attitudes towards them. The implications of using contact with a multicultural past in societies with low levels of direct intergroup contact are discussed.     

Patterns of intergroup attitudes in South Africa after 1994

In the heterogeneous South African society, race has become not only the major organizing principle, but also the primary unit of social analysis. The concept “intergroup relations” has consequently predominantly been associated with racial relations and “intergroup attitudes” with “interracial attitudes”. Interest in South African race relations has furthermore been enhanced by the tumultuous struggle against apartheid. A substantive body of research acquired during apartheid indeed points to interracial tension. The advent of a new political dispensation in 1994 has been accompanied with expectations that increased intergroup contact, in particular, would result in improved interracial relations. The current study investigates intergroup attitudes after 1994. Three countrywide surveys were conducted in 1998, 2001 and 2009 using representative samples of all major racial groups. The results indicate that overall attitudes were more positive among more affluent and urbanized communities. However, there are indications of prevailing negative relations, in particular between Blacks and Afrikaans-speaking Whites. While the attitudes of Afrikaans-speaking Whites seem to have become more positive, that has not been the case to the same extent for Blacks. Blacks also appear to be less positive towards English-speaking Whites than during apartheid. Overall, the results point to more positive intergroup attitudes in some instances, but also to potential emerging points of tension.     

Development of an intergroup anxiety toward Muslims scale

Understanding intergroup relations and the anxiety that can result has become increasingly relevant to interactions between Muslim and non-Muslim individuals due to current tensions between Islamic extremist groups and many Western nations. The anticipated increase in migration from countries with large Islamic populations to Western countries will undoubtedly lead to increased contact between these groups. Currently, there are no measures of intergroup anxiety elicited when interacting specifically with Muslims. Thus, the goal of the current studies was to fill this gap by developing a measure of intergroup anxiety toward Muslims. Across 3 studies, the reliability and validity of a new measure of intergroup anxiety toward Muslims was assessed. An exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) identified 11 reliable items that were supported by confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2). Across all 3 studies, the scale demonstrated good convergent validity, such that participants who reported higher levels of intergroup anxiety toward Muslims also reported more negative attitudes toward Muslims and greater general intergroup anxiety than individuals with lower intergroup anxiety toward Muslims. Assessment of discriminant validity showed that the scale differentiated between attitudes toward Muslims and other out-groups, as well as general anxiety and depression. The Intergroup Anxiety toward Muslims Scale was also reliable across different samples (i.e., college students and community members) and methods of data collection (i.e., online and in person).     

Spheres of citizenship: The role of distinct perceived threats in legitimizing allocation of political, welfare and cultural rights in Israel

The question of who is excluded from full citizenship stands at the heart of the political and scholarly debate. This issue is highly relevant considering the gap between those whose substantive citizenship is taken for granted and various “strangers”. This paper addresses the issue by exploring the motivations that shape patterns of exclusion from full citizenship. The aim is to understand the attitudes of the dominant group regarding allocation of different kinds of rights to minorities under the impact of intergroup hostility and threat perception. Looking at dominant group perceptions makes it possible to explore the role of economic, symbolic and security threat perceptions as antecedents of exclusionist attitudes towards welfare, cultural and political rights for three dissimilar minorities in Israel: Palestinian citizens of Israel, non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union and ultra-Orthodox Jews. Analysis has indicated that regardless of the dissimilarity between the three minority groups there is a clear pattern of hierarchy of attitudes toward rights allocation. However, only the symbolic threat plays an identical role in shaping these attitudes toward the three groups. These findings emphasize the significance of the cultural dimension of citizenship.     

Initial Communication with and Attitudes toward International Students: Testing the Mediating Effects of Friendship Formation Variables

From the theoretical perspectives of intergroup contact, predicted outcome value (POV), and similarity-attraction, this study examined U.S. host nationals’ (N = 342) communicative behaviours in a recent initial encounter with an international student and attitudes toward the student’s cultural group as a whole. Testing of two models indicated the significant sequential mediator effects of perceived similarity-social attraction and POV-social attraction between communication variables (e.g. amount of communication exchange in both models, self-disclosure in model 1, and information seeking in model 2), and intergroup attitudes (e.g. behavioural attitudes). Findings in general demonstrated that contact effects in the intercultural context varied according to specific measures of communication, the mediating mechanisms, and intergroup attitudes.     

The political socialization of youth in a post-conflict community

Political socialization affects the development of young people's attitudes in post-conflict societies. Political socialization may support a movement toward positive intergroup relations, or it may influence the perpetuation of intergroup tensions and divisions. In the context of Vukovar, Croatia, political socialization, for youth growing up in a post-conflict community, involves learning about social relations, including relational power and group status within a multi-ethnic community. The current study examines experiences of political socialization in this context. Qualitative data from ten focus groups, conducted among 11-, 13-, and 15-year-olds, mothers, and fathers of Serb and Croat ethnicity, are analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results indicate a belief in the importance of parents, peers, schools, and the media in the development of youth's political orientations, specifically related to intergroup relations. These attitudes are reflected in the lived realities of youth as political actors through their opinions toward intergroup interactions, their experiences of intergroup contact and conflict, and their beliefs about and recommendations for integrated education. Although some avoided any discussion of war, focus group participants’ predominant perspective reflected beliefs that the political socialization of youth operated to preserve intergroup tensions and division in Vukovar. The paper concludes with a number of policy and intervention implications.     

Predictors of Finnish Adolescent’s Prejudice towards Russian Immigrants and the Effect of Intergroup Contact

This study examined perceived threat as a predictor of Finnish adolescent’s prejudice towards Russian immigrants. Moreover, since Russian immigrants represent the largest immigrant group in Eastern Finland, this study also explored the relationship between intergroup contact, threat, and prejudice. The sample consisted of 305 Finnish adolescents ranging from 11 to 19 years old. Results showed threat to be a significant predictor of prejudice towards Russian immigrants in Eastern Finland. Individually, negative stereotype was found to be the only threat that significantly predicted prejudice towards Russian immigrants. Realistic and symbolic threats were not important to the attitudes of Finnish adolescents towards Russian immigrants. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between intergroup contact, prejudice, and threat (realistic threat, symbolic threat, and negative stereotype). Implications are also discussed.     

Peace-building with the hawks: attitude change of Jewish-Israeli hawks and doves following dialogue encounters with Palestinians

This research examines the effect of initial political affiliation (hawks or doves) of Jewish-Israeli youth on attitudes toward planned contact with Palestinians and examines the extent of change in attitudes of these youth toward Palestinians following the intergroup contact. It was hypothesized that Jewish-Israeli hawks will show less favorable attitudes towards these encounters, indicating less motivation to participate in them and lower satisfaction with these encounters. It was also hypothesized that attitude change following the encounter with Palestinians will be smaller for hawks than for doves. These hypotheses were examined by attitude questionnaires completed by Jewish-Israeli hawks and doves both before and after participation in the encounter. In line with the first hypothesis, hawks expressed less favorable attitudes toward the encounter than doves. However, in contrast to the predictions of the second hypothesis, the findings of this study indicated that while doves showed no attitude change following the encounter, hawks’ attitudes toward Palestinians became significantly more favorable after participating in the intergroup dialogue.     

Multicultural attitudes of prospective teachers: The influence of multicultural ideology and national pride

Attitudes toward multiculturalism in educational contexts – i.e., multicultural attitudes – are desirable qualities for good teaching practices. Unfortunately, little is known about the antecedents of prospective teachers’ multicultural attitudes. Before this backdrop, we argue that prospective teachers’ multicultural ideology, national pride, and intergroup contact are related to their multicultural attitudes. Studying these relationships can offer valuable insights for initial teacher education programs. We assessed prospective teachers’ (n = 72) multicultural attitudes (adapted version of the Teachers’ Multicultural Attitude Survey), multicultural ideology (Multicultural Ideology Scale), national pride (single item from large scale studies) and intergroup contact (experiences in multicultural classrooms and intergroup friendship). Results showed that higher multicultural ideology and lower national pride were related to more positive multicultural attitudes. We found no such relation for intergroup contact. Based on these new insights into prospective teachers’ multicultural attitudes, we argue that initial teacher education programs should reinforce and develop prospective teachers’ multicultural ideology and consider the role of national pride.     

Communicated Stereotypes,Attitudes, and Intended Accommodation of Appalachians

ABSTRACT

The study illuminates intergroup cognitions and intended communication towards Appalachians. American MTurk workers’ (N = 252) open-ended responses illuminated stereotype content of “backwards,” “uneducated,” “poor,” “mountain dwelling,” “self-reliant,” “kind,” and “prejudiced,” corroborating non-Appalachians’ closed-ended responses that Appalachians are deemed moderately competent and warm. The previous contact with an Appalachian yielded no significant differences in “attitudes towards Appalachians” scores. Intended (non)accommodations towards Appalachians commonly included “no adjustments,” with a variant array of overaccommodations (e.g. talking slower) and avoidance that either invoked or enforced stereotypes. Results may inform future testing and enhancement of intergroup and interpersonal communication with and about Appalachians.     

Acculturation attitudes and adaptation among South Korean residents in Japan: The mediating role of coping strategies

Acculturation processes and intergroup experiences of minority groups have been little studied in East Asian societies, including Japan. The number of migrants in Japanese society is steadily increasing, suggesting that the country is a new immigration destination in the 21st century. Therefore, further research on the acculturation processes of immigrants in Japan is warranted. This study examined the relationships among acculturation attitudes, coping strategies, and psychological adjustment in a sample of South Korean newcomers living in Japan. The results of this study support the integration hypothesis, which states that balanced acculturation attitudes that favor engagement in both the host and home cultures lead to higher levels of psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Assimilation attitudes did not contribute significantly to adaptation. Different coping strategies employed by individuals during interethnic discrimination mediated the links between individual acculturation attitudes and the two aspects of adaptation. By linking acculturation attitudes and relevant social behaviors, this study sheds light on the role of coping strategies as mediators of the relationships between acculturation attitudes and psychological and sociocultural adjustment in ethnic minority groups.     

The Role of Intergroup Contact and Acculturation Strategies in Developing Chinese International Students’ Global Competence

The current study investigates how intergroup contact and acculturation strategies are related to Chinese international students’ global competence development. A group of Chinese international students in Belgium participated in an online survey. Chinese students have achieved the development of global competence in all the dimensions of knowledge, skills and attitudes since they started their study abroad. The results showed that integrated and assimilated students obtained greater global competence development in all three dimensions than the separated and marginalized ones. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses further revealed that both intergroup contact and socio-demographics can significantly predict global competence development.     

Re-examining public opinion preferences for migrant categorizations: “Refugees” are evaluated more negatively than “migrants” and “foreigners” related to participants’ direct,extended, and mass-mediated intergroup contact experiences

Although migrant categorizations (e.g. “migrants”, “refugees”) are often conflated in political and academic discourse, they may be ascribed to different people and inspire different preferences in public opinion. Previous research in Western Europe has identified more positive attitudes toward “refugees” than toward “migrants” due to the legitimate need for international protection of “real refugees” compared to the perceived illegitimate claims by “economic migrants”. However, little evidence suggests that the same preference also exists in Eastern European countries that have historically received smaller numbers of refugees and had fewer frequent experiences with migrants and foreigners compared to West European countries. Moreover, the term “refugee” was intensively recategorized as “bogus” and de-legitimized in East European political discourse. To provide new evidence, we conducted a pre-registered comparative survey-based study with a sample of young Slovak adults (N = 873) to compare evaluations of three commonly used migrant categorizations in Slovakia -- “refugees”, “migrants”, and “foreigners” -- on multiple attitudinal and behavioural measures. In addition, we also tested the intergroup contact hypothesis about the relationship between participants’ evaluations and their experiences of direct, extended, and mass-mediated contact with these target groups. We found that “refugees” invoked less favourable feelings, attitudes, trust, and greater social distance compared to “migrants” and “foreigners”. These evaluations related to the valence (and less to the quantity) of participants’ experience of intergroup contact. These results challenge previous findings about public opinion preferences for “refugees” over “migrants”, support the intergroup contact hypothesis, and make a case for a more contextualized research.     

Does religion matter? Italians’ responses towards Muslim and Christian Arab immigrants as a function of their acculturation preferences

A 2 × 2 × 2 experiment examined the role of immigrants’ religion and perceived acculturation strategy on majority members’ attitudes. Acculturation strategies were manipulated along the two dimensions of contact and culture maintenance. Italian majority members (N = 247) read fictitious but seemingly real interviews with Arab immigrants, in which the immigrants’ religion (Muslim vs. Christian) and acculturation preferences (desire for contact and for culture maintenance) were manipulated. MANOVA showed a main effect of contact: majority members associated immigrants who were perceived to favour contact with more positive attitudes, empathy, trust, positive stereotypes and metastereotypes, and lower levels of threat. MANOVA also showed a main effect of culture maintenance: when immigrants were perceived to abandon their culture, majority members reported lower levels of symbolic threat and greater empathy towards them. A significant Religion x Culture maintenance interaction effect emerged on majority members’ stereotypes and contact intentions: Muslim immigrants who were perceived to abandon their heritage culture elicited more favourable responses than Muslim immigrants who were perceived to maintain their heritage culture. Taken together, these findings suggest that desire for intergroup contact amongst immigrants, independently of their religion, can promote harmonious intergroup relations with the majority group.