Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Intergroup contact'

This thesis examines the role of projected positive attributes in explaining the effectiveness of intergroup contact at reducing prejudice. The theoretipl framework derives principally from research on the Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954), which argues that \vhen contact between members of different groups takes place under certain optimal conditions it can reduce intergroup bias. Positive contact can lead to the fonnation of an inclusive superordinate identity shared between members of distinct groups, which then allows outgroup members to move psychologically closer to the self and benefit from the same processes that lead to the favourable impression fonned of ingroup members (Gaertner.& Dovidio, 2000). Based on an integration with contact theory and recent research on the projection of self attributes to the ingroup, Self-anchoring theory (Cadinu & Rothbart, 1996) and Social Projection Theory (Clement & Krueger, 2002; Robbins, & Krueger, 2005), I argue that when the boundaries between the ingroup and outgroup are weakened via positive contact, outgroup members can also benefit from projected self positivity. This theoretical model was tested using both cross-sectional and experimental designs in eight studies. Using different populations in two different countries, Mexico and England, the studies in Chapter 3 demonstrate that contact leads to improved outgroup evaluation via the projection of positive traits. The conditions that enhance, or inhibit, projection are investigated in Chapters 4 and 5. In these studies imagined contact, self-priming, and ingroup identification all exerted a moderating impact on the projection of positivity to outgroups. I conclude that the projection of positivity to outgroups has a key role to play in helping us to understand whether, when and how intergroup contact can reduce intergroup bias.

Drawing upon intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew 1998) and the emerging literature on intergroup climate (e.g., Christ et al., 2013, 2014), I utilised various antipathetic intergroup relationships (e.g., Black people vs. White people; non-Muslims vs. Muslims), and various models of contact (e.g., Pettigrew, 1998; Koschate & van Dick, 2011) to test whether the effect of higher quality contact on less prejudice was facilitated by perceptions of a more positive intergroup climate. Results supported Allport’s (1954) classic model of four contact conditions independently predicting prejudice, although the conditions of ‘equal status’, ‘goal interdependence’, and ‘cooperation’ loaded strongly onto a separate factor than did ‘authority support’. Intergroup climate was successfully modelled as perceptions of intergroup norms, ingroup norms, and sociohistoric norms; further, there was some indication that beliefs regarding authority – traditionally considered a contact condition – might also impact intergroup climate in the form of macro authority norms. Results further supported the position that individuals are sensitive to intergroup climate, perceptions of which exhibited a separate – and stronger – effect on outgroup attitudes than did quality of personal contact. Regarding the proposed moderating effect of intergroup climate on contact effects, results were equivocal across studies. Some results supported the prediction of a facilitating effect of warmer ingroup norms on stronger contact effects. However, analyses of cross-sectional data revealed some evidence for an inhibitory effect, such that more negative (vs. positive) perceptions of intergroup climate were associated with a stronger relation between higher quality contact and warmer outgroup attitudes. Therefore, some aspects of intergroup contact might be most effective in negative intergroup climates. Theoretical and practical implications for contact researchers, prejudice researchers, and practitioners, are discussed.

This thesis investigated the effects of intergroup contact on different types of collective action tendencies among advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Studies 1 and 2 tested the simultaneous effects of intergroup contact and established predictors of collective action on collective action tendencies and ingroup and outgroup oriented policies among Blacks and Whites in South Africa, and compared the effects of intergroup contact and social identity on collective action tendencies via relative deprivation and group efficacy. The findings revealed that while social identity was positively associated with collective action tendencies, both directly and indirectly, effects of contact were negative and indirect via relative deprivation and group efficacy. Studies 3 and 4 investigated the effects of contact and social identity on collective action tendencies via perceived threats. Using data from Turkish and Kurdish groups in Turkey, I found that social identity predicted collective action tendencies positively, both directly and indirectly, while it predicted outgroup attitudes negatively and indirectly via perceived threats. Intergroup contact, on the other hand, predicted outgroup attitudes positively, both directly and indirectly, and collective action tendencies negatively via perceived threats. In Study 5, intergroup contact was positively associated, both directly and indirectly, via perspective taking and collective guilt, associated with outgroup oriented collective action tendencies. In Study 6, the effect of social identity on ingroup oriented collective action was positive and direct. Intergroup contact with the weaker minority group, on the other hand, was positively associated with outgroup oriented collective action tendencies via perspective taking. Additionally, intergroup contact with the majority outgroup moderated this relationship. When participants reported more contact with the majority group, intergroup contact with the weaker minority was not associated with outgroup oriented collective action tendencies. However, when the participants reported less contact with the majority group, intergroup contact positively predicted outgroup oriented collective action tendencies. Finally, Study 7 investigated the effects of two different dimensions of contact, contact with the majority and minority on collective action, via outgroup attitudes, dual-identification, and common ingroup identity in a three wave longitudinal design (N=610) among Turkish Cypriots in northern Cyprus. While the results did not support findings from the previous studies on the so-called paradoxical effects of contact on collective action tendencies, they revealed a robust negative reciprocal relationship between outgroup attitudes toward Greek Cypriots and collective action tendencies.

In the sixty years following Allport's (1954) formulation of the contact hypothesis, very little research has tested the effect of negative intergroup contact. In recent years, several authors (e.g., Barlow et al., 2012; Pettigrew, 2008; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2013) have expressed concern over this positivity bias within the contact literature. In particular, Barlow et al. (2012) presented evidence that negative contact may have a larger effect on prejudice than positive contact. Barlow et al. argue that this contact valence asymmetry could mean that in socially diverse environments (which provide opportunities for both positive and negative contact), negative contact could counteract (or even reverse) the beneficial effects of positive contact. However, a number of studies have shown that rather than combining additively, positive and negative contact may in fact interact (i.e., the effects of negative contact may change depending upon the level of positive contact, and vice versa, e.g., Birtel & Crisp, 2012; Christ, Ullrich, & Wagner, 2008; Paolini et al., 2014). Unfortunately, the extent of evidence for these valenced contact interactions (and indeed for valenced contact effects in general) is severely limited, making it difficult to build any degree of theoretical (or methodological) consensus. The aims of this thesis are therefore twofold: first, to expand the body of evidence for the effects of negative intergroup contact; and second, to test the possible interaction between positive and negative contact as predictors of outgroup attitudes. With these aims in mind, this thesis presents four survey studies and three experiments testing the main effects and interactions of positive and negative contact across six different contact settings. In so doing, it reports strong evidence for the existence of valenced contact interactions. Based on the profiles of these interaction effects, the thesis ends by discussing possible causal explanations, and their implications for the field of valenced contact research.

The study explores the effect of intergroup contact on the likelihood of spoiler group activity on a micro-regional level in post-conflict societies. It argues that higher levels of intergroup contact make areas more resilient to spoiler groups. This can be especially relevant during exogenous shocks and therefore contributes to the sustainability of peace processes. The resistance to spoiler activity is explained as a result of developing intergroup networks of solidarity, which reduce recruitment capabilities of organized violent groups. The theoretical propositions will be tested by a large-N study (N = 1,203) using the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey of 2017, distributed about one year after the Brexit referendum. The general findings support the hypothesis that positive intergroup contact decreases the likelihood of spoiler group activity in an area. This study thus contributes to finding applicable solutions to foster stability in peace processes on the local level.

This thesis examines and compares the effectiveness of direct and indirect types of contact in leading to short- or longer-term prejudice-reducing outcomes in Cyprus. Chapter 1 provides a background to the relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and Chapter 2 provides a theoretical introduction to the intergroup contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) and to extended friendships (Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe, & Ropp, 1997), vicarious contact (Mazziotta, Mummendey, & Wright, 2011), and imagined contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) which have been suggested to be alternatives and a stepping stone to direct contact when the latter is absent. Chapter 3 consists of three experiments assessing the relative effects of direct and vicarious contact (Experiments 1 and 2) and imagined contact (Experiment 3). The results show that direct, and to a weaker extent, vicarious contact lead to more positive outgroup attitudes, but that a week after contact this effect is lost. All types of contact yield less anxiety, an effect that endures in time, and direct and imagined contact yield more positive action tendencies, an effect that remains significant in time only for direct contact. Chapter 4 consists of two experiments further exploring the capacity of imagined contact to yield positive intergroup outcomes. Experiment 4 tests whether the induction of interpersonal and intergroup similarities and/or differences into a positive imagined contact scenario affects participants evaluation of the outgroup. The results show, in line with the Optimal Distinctiveness Theory (Brewer, 1971), that ‘balanced similarity’ which incorporates both similarities and differences yields more positive outgroup attitudes than the conditions focusing only on similarities or only on differences. Experiment 5 compares ‘balanced similarity’ with positive imagined contact and finds that only the former affects variables related to preparing individuals for future contact. Chapter 5 consists of a three-wave longitudinal study examining the temporal effects of direct and extended friendships on outgroup attitudes and their mediation. Both types of friendships yield a significant indirect effect on attitudes which is stronger for direct friendships and is mediated by intergroup anxiety for both types of friendships and also by ingroup norms for direct friendships. Chapter 6 presents and discusses the key findings, outlines the limitations of these studies, and suggests avenues for future research.

Poor communication between doctors and nurses is known to be an important factor that impacts on the quality and safety of patient care (Lawton et al., 2012). The different professional roles, responsibilities and positions in the hierarchy of these two professional groups may lead to communication problems (Hewett, Watson, Gallois, Ward, & Leggett, 2009). Intergroup contact research has been applied to understand under which conditions contact between members of different groups results in more positive attitudes and behaviours (Pettigrew, Tropp, Wagner, & Christ, 2011). The aim of this thesis is to apply the intergroup contact hypothesis to the specific context of nurses and doctors, towards the improvement of inter-professional attitudes and communication. In Study 1 nurses and doctors were interviewed analysing communication breakdown and strategies used to avoid errors caused by miscommunication, based on the level of seniority of the clinicians. From the analysis of the interviews a scale of effective inter-professional communication was developed, to be used in Study 2 as part of a cross sectional survey on the effects of the quality of inter-professional contact on team work and communication in hospital. Results of study 2 showed that high quality contact predicted effective teamwork through more positive inter-professional perceptions and more effective communication, for both professional groups. In Study 3 nursing students and medical students were involved in a study on the effects of indirect contact on attitudes and communication. From the results, extended contact was successful in improving nursing students’ attitudes towards future professional interactions with doctors. Finally, the results of the three research studies were presented in a focus group in which health researchers and clinicians gave feedback on the applicability of the findings in the hospital setting and on the use of intergroup based interventions in inter-professional learning between nursing students and medical students.

This thesis examines the effectiveness of imagined intergroup contact at promoting intergroup helping behaviour. Theoretically, it is argued that by adopting a third-person perspective in the imagined contact task prosocial action can be facilitated across intergroup boundaries. The results of eight studies provide evidence that imagining prosocial contact from the third-person perspective increased prosocial attitudes and actions. Additionally, results revealed that the imagined helping did not need to be specific to a particular group, or even an intergroup encounter: Any imagined helping scenario subsequently enhanced specific and generalised attitudes towards helping others, and increased the likelihood of observing prosocial behaviour. Importantly these effects were observed in laboratory and field studies, in the UK and Malaysia, and with majority and minority groups. Overall, this thesis contributes to a greater understanding the impact of mental simulation on enhancing prosocial attitudes and behaviours, and helps explain how and why imagined contact can encourage intergroup helping in a range of experimental and real-life contexts.

Over half of all lifetime mental disorders have their origin in childhood and adolescence, yet many adolescents fail to receive adequate mental health support. Two factors which present barriers to seeking help for mental illness are stigma and a lack of knowledge. Within adult literature, contact with individuals who experience living with a mental illness (intergroup contact) has been successful in improving these. 1109 adolescents took part in a survey which investigated stigma, knowledge, and mental health. Group interviews were conducted to develop an understanding of how adolescents conceptualise mental health. Results from these studies informed the development of a school-based intervention for 11-13 year olds evaluating the use of contact combined with education in a randomised controlled trial. Results were conflicting regarding the use of contact as a means to reduce stigma and promote knowledge and mental health. Contact occurring in naturalistic settings was related to lower stigma and higher knowledge levels. In contrast, the structured contact which took place as part of the intervention was found to significantly reduce impact. Intervention in adolescent populations aiming to reduce stigma, increase knowledge, and promote mental health is needed. Caution is needed regarding the use of contact in adolescent populations.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Student Police Unity League as an effective program at fostering more positive views of the police from black citizens operating by the core tenants provided by Intergroup Contact Theory. It was expected that black students who participated in the Student Police Unity League would report higher levels of trust, legitimacy, willingness to work with the police, outcome justice, and lower level of perceived racial profiling. While the majority of the findings did not reach statistical significance at the .05 level, participation in the Student Police Unity league did lead to better views of police in terms of outcome justice and legitimacy. However, trust, profiling, and willingness to work with the police unexpectedly had inverse results.
Master of Science

Thesis (M.S.)--Georgia Southern University, 2005.
"A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science." ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-58) and appendices.

This thesis studied the nature and consequences of close intergroup contact in Nigeria. Chapter 1 provides a background to intergroup relations between the ethno-religious groups in Nigeria. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the theoretical framework, which is the intergroup contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954), with special emphasis on the role of friendship in intergroup contact research. The chapter addresses the possibility that negative intergroup contact exacerbates prejudice and outlines the role of indirect forms of intergroup contact, namely extended contact (Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe, & Ropp, 1997), vicarious contact (Mazziotta, Mummendey, & Wright, 2011), and imagined contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) in prejudice reduction. Indirect forms of contact have been suggested as alternatives to direct contact, if no or only limited direct contact opportunities are available. All empirical studies in this thesis were conducted in south-west Nigeria with respondents who belong to the Yoruba majority group. The target groups were Hausas, Edos, and Igbos (minority groups in the area). Chapter 3 consists of two repeated measure studies (Studies 1 and 2) which compare the quality of in-group (Yoruba and Yoruba) and cross-group (Yoruba and Igbo) friendships. The findings showed that, provided the duration of friendship is controlled for, cross-group friendships are rated as largely similar in quality and closeness to in-group friendships, fulfilling key functions of friendship. Chapter 4 consists of two cross-sectional studies (Studies 3 and 4) which tested the secondary transfer effects from direct and extended cross-group friendships. The findings showed that direct and extended cross-group friendship with Igbos was associated with more favourable attitudes towards Hausas. The studies showed for the first time that extended cross-group friendship yields secondary transfer effects. Chapter 5 focuses on the effects of positive and negative intergroup contact with Igbos on out-group attitudes (Study 5). It was shown that negative intergroup contact had an effect on attitudes over and above the effect of positive contact. As expected, positive contact with Igbos was associated with more favourable attitudes towards Igbos, and negative contact with Igbos was associated with less favourable attitudes towards Igbos. Additionally, Study 5 showed secondary transfer effects of negative intergroup contact. Chapter 6 contains a multilevel-study (Study 6) which explores the effects of roommate diversity (i.e., having at least one Igbo roommate) on out-group attitudes. Roommate diversity was linked to more positive attitudes towards Igbos, the roommate’s ethnic group. Moreover, it was shown that contact with Igbos was associated with more positive attitudes towards Edos and Hausas on the within-level. On the between-level roommate diversity was associated with more positive attitudes towards Egos. Chapter 7 summarizes the key findings of the studies and discusses theoretical and practical implications of the research.

According to the Contact Hypothesis, positive encounters with outgroup members have the potential of reducing prejudice toward the whole outgroup (Allport, 1954). Research has widely demonstrated the effectiveness of contact in ameliorating intergroup relations across a variety of situations and cultural contexts (Brown & Hewstone, 2005; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006); research has further shown that positive contact reduces, besides blatant prejudice, also subtle and implicit forms of prejudice. Recent developments of the Contact Hypothesis investigated the mediators of the contact-reduced prejudice relationship. The recent meta-analysis by Pettigrew and Tropp (2008) underlined that affective mediators, such as reduced intergroup anxiety and increased empathy, have stronger effects than cognitive mediators, such as outgroup knowledge. In four correlational studies, we explored the relationship between different forms of contact and prejudice toward immigrants in Italy. Concerning the mediators of the relationship between contact and prejudice, we considered the affective mediators identified by Pettigrew and Tropp (2008): intergroup anxiety, namely the anticipation of negative psychological or behavioral consequences deriving from intergroup interactions (Stephan & Stephan, 1985), and emotional empathy, namely an other-oriented emotional response, congruent with the perception of her/his welfare (Batson et al., 1997). Besides empathy and anxiety, we considered a more recently proposed mediator, namely outgroup trust. Trust consists in positive expectations about intentions and behaviors of other persons or groups (Kramer & Carnevale, 2001), and is associated to positive attitudes and cooperative behaviors with outgroup members. As regards prejudice, we considered both explicit attitudes toward immigrants, and more indirect prejudice measures, i.e. subtle prejudice and a scale measuring the percentage of crimes in Italy attributed to immigrants. Recent theoretical approaches further studied a very subtle form of prejudice, that consists in attributing more secondary emotions and uniquely human traits to ingroup than to outgroup members (infrahumanization; Leyens, Demoulin, Vaes, Gaunt, & Paladino, 2007). Thus, we also considered humanity attributions to ingroup and outgroup members and hypothesized, consistently with empirical evidence (Brown, Eller, Leeds, & Stace, 2007; Capozza, Trifiletti, Vezzali, & Favara, 2012), that positive intergroup contact could increase the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to outgroup members. In the first study, 174 Italian participants completed a questionnaire including: measures of quantity of meaningful contact with immigrants (Voci & Hewstone, 2003); measures of attitude toward immigrants (Voci & Hewstone, 2003), subtle prejudice (adapted from Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995), attribution of uniquely human and non uniquely human traits to ingroup and outgroup members (Capozza, et al., 2012), estimate of the percentage of crimes in Italy committed by immigrants (Pagotto, Voci, & Maculan, 2010); as emotional processes, measures of intergroup anxiety (adapted from Stephan & Stephan, 1985), emotional empathy (based on Batson et al., 1997), and outgroup trust (Voci, 2006). We used Structural Equation Modelling with latent variables (Lisrel, Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2004) to test the effects of contact; in the model, quantity of contact was the predictor; empathy, anxiety, and trust were the mediators, and attitudes, prejudice, crimes rating, and uniquely human traits attributed to immigrants were the criterion variables. Contact with immigrants led, through reduced intergroup anxiety and increased empathy and trust, to the reduction of prejudice and crimes estimate, to the improvement of outgroup attitudes and to greater attribution of uniquely human traits to immigrants. The first study thus confirmed that meaningful direct contact with outgroup members reduced various forms of prejudice, through affective mediators. Anyway, direct contact with outgroup members is not always attainable and frequent; in highly segregated settings, indeed, people belonging to different groups may not have the chance to develop deep relationships with outgroup members; moreover, even when contact is possible, people may seek friendships among ingroup members, and not form cross-group friendships (see, e.g., Stearns, Buchmann, & Bonneau, 2009). In these situations, indirect forms of contact may have important effects on intergroup attitudes. Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe and Ropp (1997) proposed that extended contact, namely the knowledge that an ingroup member has an outgroup friend, may reduce prejudice toward the whole outgroup. Experimental and correlational studies demonstrated that extended contact is effective for prejudice reduction toward various outgroups, and has significant effects controlling for direct contact (Turner, Hewstone, Voci, Paolini, & Christ, 2007). Research has also shown that observing cross-group interactions through mass media may affect prejudice and intergroup relationships. Mutz and Goldman (2010), in their review of the effects of exposure to mass media on prejudice, underlined that mass media are the main source of information about outgroups. In Study 2, thus, we investigated, besides direct contact effects, also the effects of extended contact with immigrants and of contact through mass media. Concerning contact through mass media, we chose to consider separately contact through TV news and newspapers and contact through movies and TV series. In the second study, 201 Italian participants completed a questionnaire containing, besides measures included in the questionnaire of Study 1, measures of extended contact (Wright et al., 1997; Turner, Hewstone, Voci, & Vonofakou, 2008), contact through TV news and newspapers, and contact through movies and TV series. We tested a regression model with latent variables; predictors were quantity of the four forms of contact (direct contact, extended contact, contact through TV news and newspapers, contact through movies and TV series); mediators and outcome variables were the same of the model tested in Study 1. Confirming results of Study 1, direct contact ameliorated attitudes, enhanced the attribution of uniquely human traits to immigrants, and reduced prejudice and crimes estimate, through the reduction of intergroup anxiety and the increase of empathy and trust. Extended contact ameliorated outgroup attitudes and reduced prejudice through outgroup trust. Contact through TV news and newspapers instead increased all forms of prejudice, partially via increased intergroup anxiety. Finally, contact through movies and TV series had a positive direct effect on the attribution of uniquely human traits to immigrants. Thus, Study 2 showed that direct contact, extended contact, and contact through movies and TV series were related to lower prejudice, while contact through TV news and newspapers increased prejudice. Recent meta-analysis and theorizations on intergroup contact (Pettigrew, 2008; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) underlined the lack of research on the negative episodes of contact, and on comparing the effects of positive and negative contact. Indeed, in most of the published studies, contact measures concerned quantity and quality of contact, and quantity of cross-group friendships; through these procedures, it would not be possible to analyze the role of contact episodes perceived as positive or negative. In the third study, thus, we considered the distinction between positive and negative episodes of the contact forms analyzed in Study 2. Participants were 330 Italian adults and students, who completed a questionnaire containing, besides the prejudice and emotions measures included in the questionnaires of the previous studies, measures of quantity of positive and negative episodes of direct contact with immigrants, quantity of positive and negative episodes of extended contact with immigrants, quantity of positive and negative episodes of contact through TV news and newspapers, quantity of positive and negative episodes of contact through movies and TV series. Preliminary analyses showed that positive direct contact episodes were more frequent than negative ones; we found the same pattern for extended contact and contact through movies and TV series, while negative episodes of contact through TV news and newspapers were far more frequent than positive ones. We tested a regression model with latent variables, where predictors were quantity of positive and negative episodes of the above mentioned forms of contact (eight predictors); mediators were intergroup anxiety, trust, and empathy; the outcome variables were attitudes, subtle prejudice, crimes rating, and uniquely human traits attributed to immigrants. The contact forms which were most influent on prejudice reduction were positive direct contact and positive extended contact; they decreased all the forms of prejudice, and the mediation involved the three emotions (reduced intergroup anxiety, increased empathy and trust). Also contact through TV news and newspapers was very influential: positive contact through TV news and newspapers ameliorated attitudes and increased outgroup humanization, while the negative episodes were related to stronger prejudice, influencing all the outcome measures. It is noteworthy that positive direct contact was related to reduced prejudice more than negative direct contact was related to increased prejudice; the same pattern emerged for extended contact and for contact through movies and TV series, while negative contact through TV news and newspapers was a stronger predictor of prejudice than positive contact through TV news and newspapers of reduced prejudice. In the fourth study we considered, besides variables included in the questionnaire of the third study, implicit attitudes toward immigrants. Participants were 197 Italian adults and students, who completed an online questionnaire, containing the same measures of the questionnaire used in Study 3, followed by a Single Category IAT (SC-IAT, Karpinski & Steinman, 2006). In the SC-IAT score, higher values reflected more positive implicit attitudes; mean score of the SC-IAT was negative, indicating negative implicit attitudes. We applied regression analysis, to test the effects of the contact measures on prejudice indexes. Positive direct contact, positive extended contact, and positive contact through movies and TV series were strong predictors of reduced explicit prejudice; positive direct contact and positive contact through movies were also weakly related to better implicit outgroup attitudes. Negative direct contact and negative contact through TV news were instead related to worse explicit outgroup attitudes. As in Study 3, positive direct contact, positive extended contact, and positive contact through movies and TV series were more influential, respectively, than negative direct contact, negative extended contact, and negative contact through movies and TV series; concerning contact through TV news and newspapers, instead, the negative episodes increased prejudice more than the positive episodes reduced prejudice. Taken together, results of the four studies showed that: 1. All the contact forms we considered (direct contact, extended contact, contact through TV news and newspapers, contact through movies and TV series) have significant effects on prejudice and on intergroup attitudes. The most influent form of contact is direct contact. 2. It is useful to consider separately positive and negative episodes of contact, which have independent effects. 3. Direct contact and extended contact are usually positive, and the positive episodes of these forms of contact have stronger effects on prejudice reduction, compared to the effects of negative episodes on increased prejudice. 4. To improve the relationships between Italians and immigrants, it could be useful to favor meaningful direct contact, given then, when direct contact occurs, positive episodes are more frequent and more influential than negative episodes. 5. Also programs basing on extended contact could be effective: it would thus be useful to favor social networks with individuals belonging to various outgroups; moreover, programs basing on reading romances or tales portraying cross-group friendships could be implemented in schools. 6. Contact through TV news and newspapers is usually negative; only for this contact form, negative episodes are more influential than positive episodes. It would thus be useful to provide guidelines to mass media, to avoid that the conveyed information increase prejudice toward immigrants. 7. Contact through movies and TV series is generally positive, and is mainly related to the perception of immigrants as fully human, and to better implicit attitudes toward immigrants.
Secondo l’ipotesi del contatto, incontri positivi con membri di un gruppo estraneo riducono il pregiudizio verso l’intero gruppo (Allport, 1954). La ricerca ha ampiamente dimostrato l’efficacia del contatto nel migliorare le relazioni intergruppi in una grande varietà di situazioni e contesti culturali (Brown & Hewstone, 2005; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006); ha inoltre dimostrato che il contatto positivo non solo migliora gli atteggiamenti espliciti verso i gruppi esterni, ma riduce anche forme più sottili e implicite di pregiudizio. Recenti sviluppi dell’ipotesi del contatto hanno indagato i mediatori del contatto, ovvero attraverso quali processi il contatto riduce il pregiudizio. La recente meta-analisi di Pettigrew e Tropp (2008) ha evidenziato che i mediatori affettivi, come riduzione dell’ansia intergruppi ed aumento dell’empatia, hanno effetti più forti dei mediatori cognitivi, come la conoscenza dell’outgroup. In quattro studi correlazionali, abbiamo esplorato la relazione tra diverse forme di contatto ed il pregiudizio verso gli immigrati in Italia. Per quanto riguarda i mediatori della relazione tra contatto e riduzione del pregiudizio, abbiamo considerato i mediatori affettivi identificati da Pettigrew e Tropp (2008): l’ansia intergruppi, ovvero i sentimenti di disagio dovuti all’anticipazione dell’interazione con membri dell’outgroup (Stephan & Stephan, 1985), e l’empatia emotiva, ovvero la risposta emotiva orientata verso l’altro, congruente con la percezione del suo benessere (Batson et al., 1997). Oltre ad empatia ed ansia, abbiamo considerato un mediatore proposto più recentemente, ovvero la fiducia verso l’outgroup. La fiducia consiste nelle aspettative positive riguardo le intenzioni e il comportamento di altre persone o altri gruppi (Kramer & Carnevale, 2001), ed è associata ad atteggiamenti positivi e comportamenti cooperativi con l’outgroup. Come misure di pregiudizio, abbiamo considerato sia l’atteggiamento esplicito verso gli immigrati, sia misure più indirette di pregiudizio, ovvero il pregiudizio sottile ed una scala che misura la percentuale di crimini attribuita agli immigrati. Recenti approcci teorici hanno inoltre studiato una forma molto sottile di pregiudizio, che consiste nell’attribuire ai membri dell’outgroup meno emozioni secondarie e meno caratteristiche unicamente umane che ai membri dell’ingroup (infraumanizzazione; Leyens, Demoulin, Vaes, Gaunt, & Paladino, 2007). Abbiamo quindi considerato anche le percezioni di umanità dell’ingroup e dell’outgroup, ipotizzando, coerentemente con alcune evidenze empiriche (Brown, Eller, Leeds, & Stace, 2007; Capozza, Trifiletti, Vezzali, & Favara, 2012), che il contatto intergruppi positivo potesse aumentare la percezione dell’outgroup come definito da caratteristiche unicamente umane. Nel primo studio, a 174 partecipanti italiani è stato somministrato un questionario contenente misure di quantità del contatto approfondito con immigrati (Voci & Hewstone, 2003); misure di atteggiamento verso l’outgroup (Voci & Hewstone, 2003), pregiudizio sottile (adattamento della scala di Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995), attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani e non unicamente umani all’ingroup e all’outgroup (Capozza, et al., 2012), stima dei crimini commessi da immigrati (Pagotto, Voci, & Maculan, 2010); come processi emotivi legati al contatto, misure di ansia intergruppi (adattamento della scala di Stephan & Stephan, 1985), empatia emotiva (item adattati da Batson et al., 1997) e fiducia verso l’outgroup (Voci, 2006). Abbiamo applicato Modelli di Equazioni Strutturali con variabili latenti (Lisrel, Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2004) per verificare gli effetti del contatto; nel modello, la quantità del contatto era la variabile iniziale, empatia, ansia e fiducia erano i mediatori, e atteggiamento, pregiudizio, stima dei reati commessi dagli immigrati e tratti unicamente umani attribuiti all’outgroup erano le variabili finali. Il contatto con membri del gruppo esterno portava, attraverso la riduzione dell’ansia intergruppi e l’aumento di fiducia ed empatia, alla riduzione del pregiudizio sottile e della stima di reati commessi da immigrati, al miglioramento dell’atteggiamento e a una maggiore attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani agli immigrati. Il primo studio ha quindi confermato che il contatto diretto approfondito con membri dell’outgroup riduceva varie forme di pregiudizio, attraverso mediatori affettivi. Il contatto diretto con membri del gruppo esterno però non è sempre possibile e frequente; in contesti caratterizzati da forte segregazione, infatti, persone che appartengono a gruppi diversi potrebbero non avere occasione di sviluppare conoscenze approfondite; inoltre, anche in casi in cui il contatto è possibile, le persone potrebbero cercare amicizie all’interno dei membri del proprio gruppo, e non avere amici che fanno parte dell’outgroup (si veda, per esempio, Stearns, Buchmann, & Bonneau, 2009). In queste situazioni, forme indirette di contatto possono avere importanti effetti sugli atteggiamenti intergruppi. Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe e Ropp (1997) hanno proposto che anche il contatto esteso, ovvero la conoscenza che un membro dell’ingroup ha un amico che è un membro dell’outgroup, possa ridurre il pregiudizio verso l’intero outgroup. Ricerche sperimentali e correlazionali hanno dimostrato che il contatto esteso è efficace nella riduzione del pregiudizio verso vari outgroup, e che ha effetti significativi anche considerando simultaneamente gli effetti del contatto diretto (Turner, Hewstone, Voci, Paolini, & Christ, 2007). Recenti teorizzazioni hanno proposto che anche osservare interazioni intergruppi attraverso i mass media possa influenzare il pregiudizio e i rapporti intergruppi. Mutz e Goldman (2010), nella loro review sugli effetti sul pregiudizio dell’esposizione ai mass media, hanno sottolineato che i mass media sono la principale fonte di informazioni degli individui per formarsi impressioni sugli outgroup. Nel secondo studio abbiamo quindi indagato, oltre agli effetti del contatto diretto, anche gli effetti del contatto esteso con gli immigrati e del contatto attraverso i mass media. Per quanto riguarda il contatto attraverso i mass media, abbiamo scelto di considerare separatamente il contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani ed il contatto attraverso film e fiction. Nello specifico, a 201 partecipanti italiani è stato somministrato un questionario, in cui erano inserite, oltre alle misure del questionario dello Studio 1, misure di contatto esteso (Wright et al., 1997, Turner, Hewstone, Voci, & Vonofakou, 2008), di contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani, e di contatto attraverso film, telefilm e fiction. È stato verificato un modello di mediazione con variabili latenti, in cui le variabili iniziali erano i punteggi relativi alla quantità delle quattro forme di contatto (contatto diretto, contatto esteso, contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani, contatto attraverso film e fiction); i mediatori e le variabili finali erano gli stessi del modello verificato nello Studio 1. Confermando i risultati dello Studio 1, il contatto diretto migliorava l’atteggiamento, aumentava l’attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani e diminuiva pregiudizio e stima dei reati, attraverso la mediazione delle tre emozioni verso l’outgroup (diminuzione dell’ansia, aumento di empatia e fiducia). Il contatto esteso migliorava gli atteggiamenti e diminuiva il pregiudizio attraverso la mediazione della fiducia. Il contatto attraverso notiziari e giornali invece aumentava tutte le forme di pregiudizio considerate, in parte attraverso la mediazione dell’ansia. Il contatto attraverso film e fiction, infine, aumentava l’attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani all’outgroup. La Studio 2 ha quindi dimostrato che il contatto diretto, il contatto esteso e il contatto attraverso film e fiction diminuivano il pregiudizio, mentre il contatto attraverso notiziari e giornali lo aumentava. Recenti meta-analisi e teorizzazioni sul contatto intergruppi (Pettigrew, 2008; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) hanno evidenziato la mancanza di ricerca sugli episodi negativi di contatto, e sul confronto tra gli effetti del contatto positivo e del contatto negativo. Nella maggior parte degli studi presenti in letteratura, infatti, le misure di contatto intergruppi riguardano quantità e qualità del contatto, o quantità di amicizie intergruppi; tramite tali procedure, risulta difficile analizzare il ruolo di episodi di contatto vissuti come positivi e di episodi di contatto vissuti come negativi. Nel terzo studio abbiamo quindi considerato la distinzione tra gli episodi positivi e negativi delle varie forme di contatto incluse nel secondo studio. A 330 partecipanti italiani è stato somministrato un questionario contenente, oltre alle misure di emozioni e di pregiudizio inserite nei questionari dei due precedenti studi, misure di quantità di episodi positivi e negativi di contatto diretto con immigrati, quantità di episodi positivi e negativi di contatto esteso con immigrati, quantità di episodi positivi e negativi di contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani, quantità di episodi positivi e negativi di contatto attraverso film e fiction. Considerando le medie delle misure di contatto, è emerso che gli episodi di contatto diretto positivo erano più frequenti degli episodi di contatto diretto negativo; abbiamo trovato lo stesso risultato per il contatto esteso e per il contatto attraverso film e fiction; gli episodi negativi di contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani invece erano molto più frequenti degli episodi positivi. È stato verificato un modello di mediazione con variabili latenti; le variabili iniziali del modello erano rappresentate dalla quantità di episodi positivi e negativi delle quattro forme di contatto considerate (otto variabili iniziali); i mediatori erano ansia intergruppi, fiducia ed empatia; le variabili finali erano atteggiamento, pregiudizio sottile, stima dei crimini e tratti unicamente umani attribuiti agli immigrati. Le forme di contatto maggiormente associate alla riduzione del pregiudizio erano il contatto diretto positivo ed il contatto esteso positivo, che diminuivano tutte le forme di pregiudizio, attraverso la mediazione delle tre emozioni intergruppi (diminuzione dell’ansia, aumento di empatia e fiducia). Anche il contatto attraverso notiziari e giornali era molto influente: il contatto positivo attraverso notiziari e giornali migliorava l’atteggiamento e aumentava l’attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani agli immigrati; gli episodi negativi erano invece legati ad un aumento di tutte le forme di pregiudizio. È importante notare che il contatto diretto positivo riduceva il pregiudizio più di quanto il contatto diretto negativo lo aumentasse; gli stessi risultati sono emersi per quanto riguarda il contatto esteso ed il contatto attraverso film e fiction, mentre il contatto negativo attraverso notiziari e giornali aumentava il pregiudizio più di quanto il contatto positivo attraverso notiziari e giornali lo riducesse. Nel quarto studio, abbiamo considerato, oltre alla variabili inserite nel questionario del terzo studio, l’atteggiamento implicito verso gli immigrati. I partecipanti erano 197 adulti e studenti italiani, che hanno completato un questionario contenente le stesse misure del questionario somministrato per lo Studio 3, e un Single Category IAT (SC-IAT, Karpinski & Steinman, 2006). Il punteggio dello SC-IAT è stato calcolato in modo che a valori più alti corrisponda un migliore atteggiamento implicito; il punteggio medio del campione era negativo; i partecipanti avevano quindi un atteggiamento implicito negativo verso gli immigrati. Attraverso l’analisi della regressione, abbiamo verificato gli effetti delle varie forme di contatto sul pregiudizio. Il contatto diretto positivo, il contatto esteso positivo ed il contatto positivo attraverso film e fiction erano fortemente associati a migliori atteggiamenti espliciti verso gli immigrati; il contatto diretto positivo ed il contatto positivo attraverso film e fiction inoltre miglioravano debolmente gli atteggiamenti impliciti verso gli immigrati. Il contatto diretto negativo ed il contatto negativo tramite telegiornali e quotidiani invece aumentavano il pregiudizio. Confermando i risultati dello Studio 3, il contatto diretto positivo, il contatto esteso positivo ed il contatto positivo attraverso film e fiction avevano effetti più forti, rispettivamente, del contatto diretto negativo, del contatto esteso negativo e del contatto negativo attraverso film e fiction; per quanto riguarda il contatto attraverso notiziari e quotidiani, gli episodi negativi aumentavano il pregiudizio più di quanto gli episodi positivo lo diminuissero. Considerando i risultati dei quattro studi insieme, i risultati hanno indicato che: 1. Tutte le quattro tipologie di contatto da noi considerate (contatto diretto, contatto esteso, contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani, contatto attraverso film e fiction) hanno effetti sul pregiudizio e sugli atteggiamenti intergruppi. La forma di contatto che ha effetti più forti, influenzando le emozioni e le variabili finali in tutti gli studi, è il contatto diretto. 2. È utile considerare separatamente episodi positivi e negativi di contatto, che hanno effetti indipendenti. 3. Il contatto diretto ed il contatto esteso sono generalmente positivi, e gli episodi positivi di queste forme di contatto hanno effetti di riduzione del pregiudizio più forti rispetto a quanto gli episodi negativi aumentino il pregiudizio. 4. Per migliorare le relazioni tra italiani e immigrati, potrebbe essere utile favorire il più possibile il contatto diretto approfondito, considerando che, quando il contatto effettivamente avviene, gli episodi positivi sono molto più frequenti e hanno effetti più rilevanti degli episodi negativi. 5. Interventi potrebbero anche essere basati sul contatto esteso: sarebbe quindi utile favorire reti sociali con individui appartenenti a vari outgroup; potrebbero inoltre essere implementati programmi nelle scuole basati su lettura di libri o racconti che presentino storie di amicizia tra membri dell’ingroup e membri dell’outgroup. 6. Il contatto attraverso telegiornali e quotidiani è generalmente negativo; solo per quanto riguarda questa tipologia di contatto, gli episodi negativi hanno effetti più forti degli episodi positivi. Nel contesto analizzato, quindi, sarebbe necessario fornire linee guida ai mezzi di comunicazione, per evitare che le informazioni trasmesse sugli immigrati portino ad un aumento dei pregiudizi verso gli immigrati in generale. 7. Il contatto tramite film e fiction è generalmente positivo, e risulta legato principalmente alla percezione degli immigrati come definiti da tratti unicamente umani, e all’atteggiamento implicito verso gli immigrati.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Psychological Sciences
Mark A. Barnett
In the current study, 141 White third- and fourth-grade children were asked to provide their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward White, Black, and Hispanic peers several days before and after being read a personalized or non-personalized storybook that depicted the children, themselves (personalized) or an unfamiliar White character (non-personalized), in a cross- or same-race friendship with a target Black (cross-race) or White (same-race) storybook character. Further, children were asked to provide their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward the target Black or White storybook character immediately before and after being read the storybook, and report how much they felt imaginatively transported into the narrative of the story after being read the storybook. In general, and consistent with Harwood’s (2010) two-dimensional framework of contact space, it was predicted that a personalized storybook that depicted the children, themselves, in a cross-race friendship with a Black storybook character would be more effective than a non-personalized version of the storybook at improving their ratings of the Black storybook character as well as their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward the Black and Hispanic peers. Although analyses of the data yielded several interesting findings, no support was found for the main predictions involving the potential impact of a personalized storybook on White children's ratings of the Black storybook character, Black peers, and Hispanic peers. In fact, the only significant effect of the personalization of the storybook that merits attention involved the children’s imaginative transportation into the cross-race friendship story. Specifically, and consistent with prediction, children in the cross-race friendship storybook condition reported feeling more imaginatively transported into the narrative of the storybook when it was personalized than when it was not personalized. In sum, although personalization was indeed “powerful” in elevating White children’s imaginative transportation into a storybook that depicted a cross-race friendship, it was not powerful enough to influence their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward the Black storybook character, the Black peers, or the Hispanic peers. The implications and limitations of the present study, as well as directions for future research, are addressed.

Positive social interaction between members of opposing social groups (intergroup contact) is an effective method of prejudice reduction (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). This thesis explores how intergroup contact theory can be applied to age groups to reduce ageism towards older adults. Chapters 1 to 3 form the theoretical chapters of the thesis. Chapter 1 defines psychological processes underpinning ageism, provides details of its prevalence, outlines its consequences in society, and gives a justification for its reduction. Chapter 2 introduces the psychological processes underpinning intergroup contact theory and its different formations. This is followed by a literature review of intergenerational contact research, which identifies research gaps in the field and research questions addressed in this thesis. Four empirical chapters then present findings from eight studies. In Chapter 4, Study 1 provides initial correlational evidence of the relationships between direct intergenerational contact, ageism and related psychological processes. Chapter 5 addresses the research question of whether extended contact can be successfully applied to age groups. Studies 2, 3 and 4 provide novel evidence that extended intergenerational contact reduces ageism and is effective via reduced intergroup anxiety, ageing anxiety and ingroup norms. These studies also support prior research demonstrating that direct contact reduces ageism via intergroup and ageing anxieties. Chapter 6 presents two studies that extend the focus of the thesis to include age stereotypes. Secondary analysis of national survey data in Study 5 explores the perception of older adults' competence across the lifespan and friendships with older adults. The degree to which young and middle-aged adults perceive that competence declines with age is attenuated by having as little as one older friend. Building on these findings, Study 6 explores the relationships between direct and extended intergenerational contact, ageist attitudes and warmth and competence stereotypes. Corroborating Chapter 4, both direct and extended contact predicted reduced ageism and are effective via increased competence stereotypes and increased warmth stereotypes. In the final empirical chapter in the thesis Chapter 7 presents two studies that explore intergenerational contact theory in applied contexts. Using an experimental design, Study 7 evaluated an intergenerational programme in which students had conversations with older adults about their technology use. Compared to a control group, the experimental group rated older adults as warmer yet more incompetent. However, only warmth and not incompetence stereotypes formed indirect pathways to subsequent attitudes towards older adults more widely. Study 8 examined care workers positively and negatively experienced intergenerational contact with care home residents. Although care workers experienced more positive than negative contact, negative (but not positive) contact was associated with their attitudes towards care home residents and it generalised to older adults more widely. This indirect effect of negative contact to older adults was effective only for subtle and not blatant ageist attitudes. Overall, the thesis provides a range of evidence suggesting that intergroup contact theory can be successfully applied to the reduction of ageism. It presents a detailed overview of current knowledge, corroborates existing evidence and presents novel findings for extended contact and mediators of both direct and indirect intergenerational contact.

Reconciliation is important for reducing the likelihood of future conflict between groups but can be particularly difficult to achieve. This remains true within divided societies as the result of frozen conflict. This thesis asks why do some individuals, in the context of divided societies engaged in frozen conflict, have more positive reconciliatory attitudes than others? The approach of community center peacebuilding organizations (CCPB) was identified as one possible solution to this question. The hypothesis suggests that individuals who engage in such organizations will have more positive reconciliatory attitudes compared to the average community member. This is based on a theoretical framework that relies on contact theory, suggesting that the CCPB model establishes the necessary conditions for nurturing more reconciliatory attitudes in individuals. It is suggested to achieve this through positive intergroup contact that is generalizable to the outgroup as a whole.  A quantitative study based on 101 cases from original survey data is used to test this hypothesis. Using a logistic regression, support is found that establishes a significant positive correlation between engagement in CCPB and reconciliatory attitudes.   Key Words: reconciliation, contact theory, peacebuilding, community center, shared space, frozen conflict, divided societies, Cyprus

A great deal of social-psychological studies have shown that intergroup contact represents a powerful instrument for reducing prejudice. The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954), according to which cooperative interactions between members of different groups can lead to more harmonious intergroup relations, has been widely tested over the last 50 years and has been confirmed in a wide variety of groups, situations and cultural contexts (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Recently, research on contact has focused on some more intimate forms of contact, such as intergroup friendships (Pettigrew, 1997, 1998), and on alternative forms of intergroup contact, such as extended contact (Wright et al., 1997). Although the extensive literature on this topic has contributed in creating a broad consensus on the effectiveness of contact in improving intergroup relations, some problems require further investigation. In the first study, the aim was to test, for the first time, the effects of direct and extended intergroup friendships on the attributions of humanity of the outgroup. A further objective was to investigate the processes of mediation which favour the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to the outgroup. A model of double mediation was tested: direct and extended friendships are the initial variables; inclusion of the outgroup in the self, (IOS; Wright et al., 1997), ingroup norms (Wright et al., 1997) and outgroup norms (Wright et al., 1997) are the first level mediators; feelings of anxiety, empathy and trust towards the outgroup are the second level mediators; the attribution of uniquely human traits to the outgroup was used as the final variable. The intergroup relationship considered was: Northerners/Southerners in Italy. Participants were all Northerners and they completed a questionnaire containing the measures included in the model. The results showed different processes of mediation for direct and indirect contact. Direct contact improves perceptions of humanity because it increases IOS which, in turn, reduces anxiety and increases empathy and trust towards the outgroup, with positive effects on outgroup humanization. Indirect contact, instead, improves perceptions of humanity by acting positively on ingroup norms (the perception that members of the ingroup are favourable to the outgroup), this perception, in turn, reduces anxiety and increases empathy and trust towards the outgroup, with positive effects on outgroup humanization. This study highlights the effectiveness of direct and extended friendships, in promoting outgroup humanization, and highlights how they operate through different processes. Despite the extensive literature on the moderators of direct contact (Brown & Hewstone, 2005), few studies have investigated the factors which moderate the effects of indirect contact. For this reason, after having examined in the first study the mediating variables of extended contact, in the second study we proposed extending these results and testing when indirect contact is more effective. The aim of the second study was to test, in the context of indirect contact, the prototypicality of the representative ingroup and outgroup member. In accordance with the self categorization theory (Turner, 1991), social influence is exerted above all by members perceived as prototypical of the group of membership. Adopting the paradigm of minimal groups (see Tajfel,1970; van Leeuwen et al., 2003), the prototypicality (similarity to the other members of the group) perceived by the exemplar of the ingroup and that of the outgroup was manipulated. The experimental design included four conditions among participants: both the exemplar of the ingroup and that of the outgroup are presented as prototypical; the exemplar of the ingroup is presented as prototypical that of the outgroup is not; the exemplar of the ingroup is not prototypical that of the outgroup is; the two representatives are both non prototypical. The experiment was introduced to the participants as a study on the productivity of groups in brainstorming tasks. On the basis of false feedback, the experimental manipulation was introduced. Participants were told that, on the basis of the answers given concerning the brainstorming, the group member who had performed the task in most similar way to the participant and to the other group members (prototypicality) or who had provided solutions similar to some members of the group and different from others (non prototypicality) had been selected. For the outgroup, they were told that the exemplar had provided similar vs different solution from other group member. Afterwards, participants were asked to imagine the meeting between their representative and that of the outgroup (imagined contact, Crisp et al., 2010). At the end of this task, participants filled in a questionnaire containing the dependent variables. Findings showed that the condition in which both the exemplars are prototypical, is the most effective for improving intergroup relations. Coherently with previous literature, these studies demonstrate that direct and indirect contact has positive effects for intergroup relations. However, only a few studies have paid attention to which variables lead people to engage in contact with members of the outgroup (Butz & Plant, 2011; Plant et al., 2010). In fact, despite the fact that contact is a useful strategy to improve intergroup relations, people do not choose spontaneously to enter into contact with the outgroup. In many contemporary societies, people belonging to different groups, despite living side by side, avoid opportunities for contact, generating forms of segregation among groups (for example, Alexander & Tredoux, 2010, Castelli, De Amicis & Sherman, 2007; Dixon & Durrheim, 2003). Across three studies, we tried to bridge this gap, identifying factors and processes which determine the inclination of people to engage in contact. In the studies which follow, for the first time in the field of intergroup relations, self-expansion (Aron, Aron, & Norman, 2001; Aron et al., 2004; Wright, Aron, & Tropp, 2002; Lewandowski et al., 2011): a motivational variable which orients towards approach was tested. According to the authors (Aron et al., 2001), the desire to expand the self is a core motivation for human beings. One way in which people attempt this expansion is through the formation of close relationships with others: this facilitates the inclusion into the self of new points of view, identities and resources. For these reasons, in these studies self-expansion was studied as antecedent of contact. Intergroup anxiety, widely studied as an emotion which reduces contact , was introduced as a control variable for the effects of self-expansion. The aim of the first study, correlational, was to analyze the predictive capacity of self-expansion, in both intragroup and intergroup relations. Participants were Australian students (N = 443). The intergroup relationship considered was City/Rural. Findings showed that self-expansion is associated to intergroup variables (such as, for example, the number of friendships) and to a greater number of close and positive relationships within the ingroup. In the second study, experimental, the hypothesis was that, when individual arefaced with a forced choice between the possibility of establishing new relations with the ingroup or with the outgroup, self-expansion should lead to prefer new relations with the outgroup. The intergroup relationship considered was between Whites vs. other Ethnic groups in the Australian university context. Participants (N = 63 whites and N = 41 from other ethnic groups) were university students. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the conditions of the experimental design 2 (Self-expansion: high vs. low) × 2 (Anxiety: high vs. low); the two factors are between participants. Findings showed a significant interaction between the participants’ ethnic group and the manipulation of self-expansion on the variable: preference of the ethnic group. This interaction reflects the fact that the white participants expressed more interest in entering into contact with members of the outgroup, when placed in the high self-expansion condition; the participants from other ethnic groups, instead, expressed a greater interest in intergroup relations, in the low self-expansion condition. Findings, moreover, showed a significant interaction between the participants’ ethnic group and the manipulation of self-expansion on the variable: preference of the white group. The white participants prefer an intragroup relationship in the low self-expansion condition, whereas the ethnic group participants expressed more interest in entering into contact with members of the outgroup, when placed in the high self-expansion condition. In the third study, the same experimental design was used as in the previous study. Participants (N = 80) were psychology students and university staff, recruited from the majority group of white Anglo-Saxons. The aim was to extend the results obtained in the two previous studies. The dependent variable was an implicit measure of approach-avoidance (Paladino & Castelli, 2006). Immediately after the manipulation, participants carried out a computer task which consisted of a series of categorization tests. In each of these tests, at the centre of the monitor a stimulus appeared; participants were asked to classify it as quickly and as accurately as possible. The stimuli were individual faces of white people (ingroup) or individual faces belonging to other ethnic groups (outgroup). Findings showed two different patterns of responses. In the conditions of low self-expansion/low anxiety, high self-expansion/low anxiety, and high self-expansion/low anxiety, participants were quicker in approaching the white faces (ingroup). In the condition of high self-expansion/high anxiety, they were quicker in approaching the outgroup than the ingroup and quicker in avoiding the ingroup than approaching it. To sum up, in this research programme was shown that: 1. also indirect contact can favour the humanization of the outgroup; 2. in indirect contact, the prototypicality of the exemplars favours the positive effects of contact; 3. the motivational variable self-expansion promotes the search for contact with other groups.
Numerose ricerche di psicologia sociale hanno dimostrato come il contatto intergruppi rappresenti un potente strumento in grado di ridurre il pregiudizio. L'ipotesi del contatto (Allport, 1954), secondo cui gli incontri cooperativi tra membri di gruppi diversi possono portare a rapporti intergruppi più armoniosi, è stata ampiamente testata negli ultimi 50 anni e ha ricevuto conferma in una grande varietà di gruppi, situazioni e contesti culturali (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Recentemente, la ricerca sul contatto si è concentrata su alcune forme più intime di contatto, come le amicizie intergruppi (Pettigrew, 1997, 1998), e su forme alternative al contatto diretto come, ad esempio, il contatto esteso (Wright et al., 1997). Sebbene la vasta letteratura sull’argomento abbia contribuito a creare un ampio consenso sull’efficacia del contatto nel miglioramento delle relazioni intergruppi, alcuni problemi necessitano di essere ulteriormente investigati. Nel primo studio, l’obiettivo era di testare, per la prima volta, gli effetti delle amicizie intergruppi dirette ed estese sulle attribuzioni di umanità dell’outgroup. Un ulteriore obiettivo era di indagare i processi di mediazione che favoriscono l’attribuzione di caratteristiche unicamente umane all’outgroup. È stato testato un modello di doppia mediazione in cui: le amicizie dirette ed estese sono le variabili iniziali; l’inclusione dell’outgroup nel sé, (IOS;Wright et al., 1997), le norme dell’ingroup (Wright et al., 1997) e le norme dell’outgroup (Wright et al., 1997) sono i mediatori di primo livello; le emozioni di ansia, empatia e fiducia nei confronti dell’outgroup sono i mediatori di secondo livello; come variabile finale si è utilizzata l’attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani all’outgroup. Il rapporto intergruppi considerato era: Settentrionali/Meridionali. I partecipanti erano tutti Settentrionali e compilavano un questionario contenente le misure incluse nel modello. I risultati hanno mostrato processi di mediazione diversi per il contatto diretto e indiretto. Il contatto diretto migliora le percezioni d’umanità perché aumenta l’ IOS che, a sua volta, diminuisce l’ansia e aumenta l’ empatia e la fiducia nei confronti dell’outgroup, con effetti positivi sull’umanizzazione dell’outgroup. Il contatto indiretto, invece, migliora le percezioni d’umanità poiché agisce positivamente sulle norme dell’ingroup (la percezione che i membri dell’ingroup sono favorevoli all’outgroup), tale percezione, a sua volta, diminuisce l’ansia e aumenta l’empatia e la fiducia nei confronti dell’outgroup, con effetti positivi sull’umanizzazione dell’outgroup. Questo studio mette in evidenza l’efficacia delle amicizie dirette ed estese, nel promuovere l’umanizzazione dell’outgroup, e sottolinea come esse operino attraverso processi diversi. Nonostante vi sia un’ampia letteratura relativa ai moderatori del contatto diretto (Brown & Hewstone, 2005), pochi studi hanno indagato i fattori che moderano gli effetti del contatto indiretto. Per questo, dopo aver esaminato nel primo studio le variabili mediatrici del contatto esteso, nel secondo studio ci siamo proposti di estendere tali risultati e di testare quando il contatto indiretto sia maggiormente efficace. L’obiettivo del secondo studio era di testare, nell’ambito del contatto indiretto, la prototipicità del rappresentante, membro dell’ingroup e dell’outgroup. In accordo con la teoria della categorizzazione di sè (Turner, 1991), l'influenza sociale viene esercitata soprattutto dai membri percepiti come prototipici del gruppo d'appartenenza. Adottando il paradigma dei gruppi minimali (vedi Tajfel,1970), si è manipolata la prototipicità (similarità agli altri membri del gruppo) percepita dell’esemplare dell’ingroup e di quello dell’outgroup. Il disegno sperimentale comprendeva quattro condizioni tra i partecipanti: sia l’esemplare dell’ingroup sia quello dell’outgroup sono presentati come prototipici; l’esemplare dell’ingroup è presentato come prototipico quello dell’outgroup no; l’esemplare dell’ingroup non è prototipico quello dell’outgroup si; i due rappresentanti sono entrambi non prototipici. L’esperimento veniva introdotto, ai partecipanti, come uno studio sulla produttività dei gruppi in compiti di brainstorming. Sulla base di un falso feedback, veniva introdotta la manipolazione sperimentale in cui si diceva che, in base alla risposte fornite al brainstorming, era stato selezionato il membro del gruppo che aveva eseguito il compito in maniera: più simile al partecipante e agli altri membri del gruppo (prototipicità) o che aveva fornito soluzioni simili ad alcuni membri del gruppo e diverse da altri (non prototipicità). Per l’outgroup, si diceva che l’esemplare aveva dato soluzioni simili vs. diverse dagli altri membri del suo gruppo. A questo punto ai partecipanti si chiedeva di immaginare, l’incontro del loro rappresentante con quello dell’outgroup (contatto immaginato, Crisp et al., 2010). Al termine del compito d’immaginazione i partecipanti compilavano un questionario contenente le variabili dipendenti. I risultati hanno mostrato che la condizione che più di tutte migliora il rapporto intergruppi è quella in cui entrambi gli esemplari sono prototipici. Coerentemente con la precedente letteratura, questi studi dimostrano che il contatto, diretto e indiretto, ha effetti positivi per le relazioni intergruppi. Tuttavia, solo pochi studi hanno dato attenzione a quali variabili portino le persone ad impegnarsi nel contatto con i membri dell’outgroup (Butz & Plant, 2011; Plant et al., 2010). Nonostante, infatti, il contatto sia una strategia utile per migliorare i rapporti intergruppi, le persone non scelgono spontaneamente di entrare in contatto con l’outgroup. In molte società contemporanee, persone appartenenti a gruppi diversi, pur vivendo fianco a fianco, evitano le opportunità di contatto, generando forme di segregazione tra gruppi (ad esempio, Alexander & Tredoux, 2010, Castelli, De Amicis & Sherman, 2007; Dixon & Durrheim, 2003). Con la successione di tre studi, si è cercato di colmare questa lacuna, identificando fattori e processi che determinano la disponibilità delle persone ad impegnarsi nel contatto. Negli studi che seguono, è stata studiata, per la prima volta nell’ambito delle relazioni intergruppi, la self-expansion (Aron, Aron, & Norman, 2001; Aron et al., 2004; Wright, Aron, & Tropp, 2002; Lewandowski et al., 2011): una variabile motivazionale che orienta all’approccio. Secondo gli autori (Aron et al., 2001), il desiderio di espandere il sé è una motivazione centrale degli esseri umani. Un modo in cui le persone cercano una tale espansione è attraverso la formazione di stretti rapporti con gli altri: questo facilita l’inclusione nel sé di nuovi punti di vista, identità e risorse. Per tali motivi, in questi studi, la self-expansion è stata studiata come variabile precursore del contatto. L’ansia integruppi, estensivamente studiata come emozione che riduce il contatto, è stata introdotta come controllo degli effetti della self-expansion. L’obiettivo del primo studio, correlazionale, era di analizzare la capacità predittiva della self-espansion, sia nelle relazioni intragruppo sia in quelle intergruppi. I partecipanti erano studenti australiani (N = 443). Il rapporto intergruppi considerato era City/Rural. I risultati hanno mostrato che la self-expansion è associata a variabili intergruppi (quali ad esempio, il numero di amicizie) e ad un numero maggiore di relazioni intime e positive entro l’ingroup. Nel secondo studio, sperimentale, l’ipotesi era che, di fronte ad una scelta forzata tra la possibilità di stabilire nuove relazioni con l’ingroup o con l’outgroup, la self-expansion porti a preferire nuove relazioni con l’outgroup. Il rapporto intergruppi considerato era quello tra Bianchi vs. altre Etnie nel contesto universitario australiano. I partecipanti (N = 63 bianchi and N = 41 di altre etnie) erano studenti universitari. I partecipanti sono stati assegnati in maniera randomizzata ad una delle condizioni del disegno sperimentale 2 (Self-expansion: alta vs. bassa) × 2 (Ansia: alta vs. bassa); i due fattori sono tra i partecipanti. I risultati hanno mostrato un’interazione significativa tra l’etnia dei partecipanti e la manipolazione di self-expansion sulla variabile: preferenza del gruppo etnico. Questa interazione riflette il fatto che i partecipanti bianchi hanno espresso più interesse ad entrare in contatto con i membri dell’outgroup, quando posti nella condizione di alta self-expansion; i partecipanti di altre etnie, invece, hanno espresso un maggiore interesse per le relazioni intragruppo, nella condizione di bassa self-expansion. I risultati hanno, inoltre, mostrato un’interazione significativa tra l’etnia dei partecipanti e la manipolazione di self-expansion sulla variabile: preferenza del gruppo bianco. I partecipanti bianchi preferiscono una relazione intragruppo nella condizione di bassa self-expansion, mentre i partecipanti etnici hanno espresso più interesse ad entrare in contatto con i membri dell’outgroup, quando posti nella condizione di alta self-expansion. Nel terzo studio si è adottato lo stesso disegno sperimentale dello studio precedente. I partecipanti (N = 80) erano studenti di psicologia e personale universitario, reclutati entro il gruppo di maggioranza degli anglosassoni bianchi. L’obiettivo era di estendere i risultati ottenuti nelle due precedenti ricerche. La variabile dipendente era una misura implicita di approach-avoidance (Paladino & Castelli, 2006). Subito dopo la manipolazione, i partecipanti eseguivano un compito al computer che consisteva in una serie di prove di categorizzazione. In ciascuna di queste prove, al centro del monitor compariva uno stimolo; al partecipante veniva chiesto di classificarlo il più velocemente ed accuratamente possibile. Gli stimoli erano singoli volti di persone bianche (ingroup) o singoli volti appartenenti ad altre etnie (outgroup). I risultati hanno mostrato due diversi pattern di risposte. Nelle condizioni di bassa self-expansion/bassa ansia, alta self-expansion/bassa ansia, e alta self-expansion/bassa ansia, i partecipanti sono stati più veloci nell’avvicinare i volti dei bianchi (l’ingroup). Nella condizione di alta self-expansion/alta ansia, sono stati più veloci nell’avvicinare l’outgroup che l’ingroup e più veloci nell’evitare l’ingroup che nell’avvicinarlo. In sintesi, in questo programma di ricerca si è dimostrato che: 1.anche il contatto indiretto può favorire l’umanizzazione dell’outgroup; 2. nel contatto indiretto, la prototipicità degli esemplari favorisce gli effetti positivi del contatto; 3. la variabile motivazionale espansione del sé promuove la ricerca del contatto con i gruppi estranei.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015
ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) provides an established theoretical framework for pursuing positive intergroup relationships (Hewstone & Swart, 2011; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) and stipulates certain optimal conditions under which contact reduces prejudice. The secondary transfer effect of contact describes a process whereby attitudes towards outgroups not encountered in the original intergroup encounter might also be improved (Pettigrew, 2009; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). A three-wave longitudinal experimental study amongst white South African students at Stellenbosch University (N = 58) was undertaken, using two experimental groups (direct and extended) and a control group. The present study investigated whether direct and extended contact with a black (African) confederate would not only improve attitudes towards black (African) South Africans in general, but also improve attitudes towards Indian South Africans, not involved in the contact situation (i.e., the secondary transfer effect). Findings show that the experimentally manipulated contact reduced intergroup anxiety (from baseline levels measured one week earlier) towards black (African) South Africans. These effects were, however, non-significant, and suggest the present study may have been under-powered. Moreover, the findings showed that experimentally manipulated contact significantly improved outgroup attitudes and outgroup trust (from baseline levels measured one week earlier) towards black (African) South Africans in the direct contact condition, as well as the extended contact condition (outgroup attitudes only). Finally, the present study found significant evidence for the operation of the secondary transfer effect via attitude generalisation. Positive intergroup contact with the black (African) South African confederate predicted a significant change in outgroup attitudes towards black (African) South Africans in general from Time 1 (baseline) to Time 2 (post-task), which in turn predicted more positive attitudes towards Indian South Africans in general at Time 2, controlling for prior quantity and quality of contact with Indian South Africans. The secondary transfer effect was not observed for outgroup trust. The present study contributes to the existing literature on the secondary transfer effect and replicates international findings within the South African context.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Die kontak hipotese (Allport, 1954) bied ʼn gevestigde teoretiese raamwerk vir die voortsetting van positiewe intergroep verhoudings (Hewstone & Swart, 2011; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) en bepaal sekere optimale toestande waaronder kontak vooroordeel verminder. Die sekondȇre oordrag effek van kontak beskryf ʼn proses waardeur houdings teenoor buitegroepe wat nie gedurende die oorspronklike intergroep kontak teёgekom is nie, ook verbeter word (Pettigrew, 2009; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). ʼn Drie-golf longitudinale eksperimentele studie onder wit Suid-Afrikaanse studente verbonde aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch (N = 58) is onderneem, met behulp van twee eksperimentele groepe (direkte en uitgebreide) en ʼn kontrole groep (N = 16). Die huidige studie het ondersoek of direkte en uitgebreide kontak met ʼn swart (Afrikaan) Suid-Afrikaner nie net houdings teenoor swart (Afrikaan) Suid-Afrikaners in die algemeen verbeter nie, maar ook houdings teenoor Indiёr Suid-Afrikaners, wie nie by die oorspronklike kontak situasie betrokke was nie ook verbeter (d.w.s. die sekondȇre oordrag effek). Resultate toon dat die eksperimenteel gemanipuleerde kontak intergroep angs teenoor swart (Afrikaan) Suid-Afrikaners verminder (vanaf basislyn vlakke gemeet een week tevore). Hierdie effek is egter nie beduidend nie, moontlik omdat die statistiese kragdoeltreffendheid van die studie onvoldoende was. Die resultate toon verder dat eksperimenteel gemanipuleerde kontak buitegroep houdings en buitegroep vertroue (vanaf basislyn vlakke gemeet een week tevore) teenoor swart (Afrikaan) Suid-Afrikaners beduidend verbeter in die direkte kontak groep, sowel as die uitgebreide kontak groep (slegs vir buitegroep houdings). Ten slotte, die huidige studie het beduidende bewyse gevind vir die werking van die sekondȇre oordrag effek via houding veralgemening. Positiewe intergroep kontak met die swart (Afrikaan) Suid-Afrikaner voorspel ʼn beduidende verbetering in die buitegroep houding teenoor swart (Afrikaan) Suid-Afrikaners in die algemeen van Tyd 1 (basislyn) tot Tyd 2 (na die eksperimentele manipulasie), wat op sy beurt meer positiewe houdings teenoor Indiёr Suid-Afrikaners in die algemeen teen Tyd 2 voorspel, nadat daar vir beide kwaliteit en kwantiteit van vorige kontak met Indiёr Suid-Afrikaners beheer is. Die sekondȇre oordrag effek is nie vir buitegroep vertroue waargeneem nie. Die huidige studie dra by tot die bestaande literatuur oor die sekondȇre effek van kontak en ondersteun soortgelyke internasionale bevindinge binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Stellenbosch University.

This thesis aims to investigate the secondary transfer effect of contact, a phenomenon whereby contact with one outgroup leads to improved attitudes towards other, non-contacted outgroups. While evidence mounts for the existence of secondary transfer effects, its underlying mediation processes remain poorly conceptualised and thus, poorly understood. Thus, in this thesis, I aimed to clarify the conditions under and the processes by which the secondary transfer effect works. Chapter 1 introduces intergroup contact theory and traces its development from the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) to the uncovering of the secondary transfer effect. Based on theory from all aspects of intergroup contact research, Chapter 1 proposes a theoretically reformulated approach to understanding the deprovincialization hypothesis by way of (1) diversity beliefs, (2) the development of a multicultural outlook on intergroup relations, and (3) a more nuanced understanding of when ingroup identity is likely to relate ethnocentrically to outgroup attitudes. Point three more specifically looks at the role of social dominance orientation as a moderator of the relationship between ingroup identification and outgroup attitude. Chapter 1 also provides an extension to the attitude generalization hypothesis by considering the role that similarity gradients play. Chapter 2 discusses methodological considerations important to the analysis strategy used throughout the thesis. Six empirical investigations across three contexts—England (Studies 1 and 2), Northern Ireland (Studies 3 and 4) and South Africa (Studies 5 and 6) set out to test the secondary transfer effect and the hypotheses offered in Chapter 1. Across three cross-sectional studies (Studies 1, 2, 3, and 4), a three-wave longitudinal study (Study 5) and an experimental study (Study 6), I was able to show the following: (a) that attitude generalization is a robust mediator of the secondary transfer effect (Studies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5); (b) similarity gradients qualify the attitude generalization process such that attitudes generalize more strongly between outgroups that are perceived to be similar (Studies 3, 4, and 5); (c) that diversity beliefs (Study 2) and multiculturalism (Study 4), as alternative interpretations of the deprovincialization effect, mediate the secondary transfer effect; (d) social dominance orientation moderates the relationship between ingroup identification and outgroup attitude (Study 3); (e) that the deprovincialization and attitude generalization hypotheses are not independent, but rather interrelated processes of the secondary transfer effect (Studies 2, 3, and 4); (f) that experimentally manipulated forms of extended contact can lead to the secondary transfer effect because group categories and membership are made salient during the extended contact experience (Study 6); and (g) that it is contact that leads to wider attitude generalization rather than less prejudiced people seeking contact from a wider pool of social groups (Study 5). Furthermore, owing to their three-wave longitudinal (Study 5) and experimental (Study 6) designs, these two studies provide the most convincing evidence of the causal nature—from contact to reduced prejudice—of the secondary transfer effect to date. Taken together, these six studies provide a wealth of critical support for the secondary transfer effect as well as for the reformulated deprovincialization and the extended attitude generalization hypotheses.

Although intergroup contact is a very effective method of reducing prejudice, negative expectancies about interacting with outgroup members often create a barrier to intergroup contact. In a series of six studies, cognitive appraisals by which negative expectancies may arise were investigated. Studies 1–4 examined the relationship between perceived outgroup knowledge and resource appraisals in the context of intergroup interactions and experimentally investigated the influence of perceived outgroup knowledge on negative expectancies. In Study 1, a novel method was devised to manipulate perceived outgroup knowledge. Using this method, Study 2 provided evidence that individuals perceive outgroup knowledge as a potential resource when they anticipate having an intergroup interaction. Study 3 extended these results further and showed that increasing perceived outgroup knowledge reduced threat appraisals and anxiety expectancies individuals had about engaging in an intergroup interaction and indirectly reduced their desire to avoid the interaction. Study 4 found evidence supporting the idea that provision of actual—as opposed to perceived—resources that individuals could use in intergroup interactions may reduce how threatening intergroup interactions are perceived to be. Study 5 attempted to extend the results from Study 4 by directly manipulating actual resources. Psychoeducation material on strategies and techniques that have been found by previous empirical studies to improve intergroup interactions was devised in Study 5 and were presented to participants in interaction contexts. It was found that psychoeducation material reduced threat appraisals, anxiety expectancies, and desire to avoid interaction in intergroup interaction scenario compared to same-group interaction scenario. However, these positive effects of psychoeducation did not extend to anticipated intergroup interactions in Study 6. Implications of the results for intergroup relations are discussed.

Increasingly, culturally and ethnically diverse environments provide an abundance of ordinary, everyday intergroup encounters, especially in public settings---often consisting of a conglomeration of positive and negative experiences. Yet few intergroup contact studies have focused on measuring and assessing contact in public settings. Reasons for this include both theoretical and methodological considerations. However, before the impact of mundane, everyday encounters on prejudice reduction can be assessed, it is necessary to examine the following questions: (1) Which situations are perceived as intergroup contact by participants? (2) How do individuals conceptualise where the boundaries for contact lie? (3) How are public and private forms of contact typically experienced? (4) Do they differ in the ways researchers have assumed in the past? and (5) Which methods are most appropriate for assessing public encounters? How can memory bias, temporality and locatedness be taken into account? Using qualitative, quantitative and near-time in-the-field methods, the following research examines these aspects in both public and private settings and provides first insights into how a novel method---the Contact Logger---can be used to assess the effects of public and private contact on attitudes. A three-day diary/interview study (N=17) explored how contact is experienced, understood and conceptualised in a variety of everyday intergroup contexts. This was followed by a survey study (N=525) that examined the boundaries of what is typically perceived as being contact. Insights from both studies fed into the development of a context-aware mobile application, which enabled the capturing of near-time intergroup encounters in situ. The usability of the resulting research tool---the Contact Logger---was tested, leading to further refinements. Following an initial feasibility study (N=104) that explored contact between young and older people, a field experiment (N=112) examined intergenerational contact in public and private contexts. Data collected with the Contact Logger were analysed on aggregate and day-to-day levels, and where possible compared to traditional retrospective survey data. Results from the first two studies indicated that while traditional intergroup encounters, such as contact with family and friends, are clearly conceptualised and viewed as contact, experiences and perceptions of contact in public settings are more disparate. Moreover, effects of such contact on attitudes are dependent on the idiosyncratic meaning attributed to the specific encounter as well as past experiences. Near-time data from a field-experiment (Study 5) provided evidence that intergroup encounters reported in situ compared to retrospective survey data differed in key variables (i.e., contact quality, duration, perceived status and group typicality). Correlational analyses between near-time and retrospective measures showed less correspondence than expected. Further, additional day-to-day analyses revealed that attitudes towards older people were less positive during weekends than weekdays, indicating that attitudes may be more dynamic than previously thought. Findings, as well as the different methodological and theoretical approaches, are critically discussed. Finally, a broad range of further applications for the Contact Logger are presented and important limitations are discussed.

This thesis explores students' experiences of intergroup contact in two cross-community shared education projects in Northern Ireland. A recent innovation, shared education involves collaboration between separate schools to deliver joint classes and activities. A core aim of this collaboration is to enhance community relations by providing regular opportunities for young people from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds to meet. This study considers participants' experiences of shared education in the light of this aim, focusing on their interpretations and responses within particular social, historical and biographical contexts. The study employs contact theory as its theoretical framework and adopts a qualitative approach, in response to calls for research on intergroup contact that is sensitive to participants' perspectives. Analysis of interview and observation data elucidates the contextual influences on pupils' interpretive frameworks and considers how these, along with features of the contact situation, inform their expectations and experiences of shared education. The findings suggest that tendencies towards separation and feelings of anxiety can be reduced when the features of the shared class are conducive to contact - i.e. where the teaching style, class composition and classroom design help to encourage interaction. However, where these features are not sympathetic, few participants report forming acquaintances with pupils from the other group. The analysis also indicates that interaction, where it occurs, tends to focus on group similarities and non-contentious subjects. Rarely do participating students engage with those aspects of difference that are the most divisive in terms of intergroup relations. In exploring processes of contact via shared education from the perspective of participating pupils, this thesis makes an original contribution to the bodies of literature on intergroup contact, education and community relations. Furthermore, the use of a qualitative approach highlights the complexity of certain taken-for-granted concepts in contact theory, with implications for the design of future studies

This thesis investigates 'self-segregation,' the voluntary separation and clustering of ethnic groups within a diverse environment that ostensibly provides opportunities for intergroup contact. While previous research has demonstrated self-segregation within such settings, using either self-reports, observations of behaviour, or social network analysis (SNA), such studies tend to be mono-methodological and cross-sectional. I review this literature in Chapter 1. I then present three empirical chapters which provide both longitudinal data and comparisons between observations, surveys, and SNA: Chapter 2, with two observational studies of seating patterns in a diverse sixth form cafeteria (Studies 1 and 2), and a third observational study in a diverse secondary school (Study 3); Chapter 3, where I report an SNA study collected from the first-year students at the same secondary school (Study 4); and Chapter 4, where I report the results from a self-report survey in the sixth form college, where students indicate their cafeteria seating preferences (Study 5). In Chapter 5, I discuss these findings, summarising 1) the strong self-segregation, and inclination towards self-segregation, found in all studies; 2) the comparisons between the two educational settings, where younger students were both more likely to be gender segregated, and to increase in ethnic integration over time; 3) the greater inclination of Asian British students than White British students to ethnically integrate; and 4) the need for further research triangulating multiple methods. From these conclusions, I suggest implications for targeted interventions, and argue the continued (and indeed, heightened) need for the contributions of social psychologists in public and policy discourse on ethnic integration.

Over 500 studies have shown that intergroup contact is an effective and robust way of reducing prejudice. Recent research has extended the power and scope of contact theory further, demonstrating that the simple act of imagining a positive intergroup encounter can promote more positive intergroup relations. In 14 experiments this thesis investigates the moderating potential and underlying mechanisms of imagined contact, and related cognitive processes associated with recalled contact experiences. The first part of the thesis establishes the compensatory power of imagined contact in mitigating the detrimental effects of high intergroup anxiety and low prior outgroup contact on intergroup attitudes, intentions and behavioural tendencies. Furthermore, individual differences in the ability to generate vivid mental images moderate the effectiveness of the approach. In the second part I draw upon established principles in psychotherapy. Imagining a negative contact experience with an outgroup member before a positive one resulted in larger reductions in intergroup anxiety, and stronger future contact intentions, than two positive contact experiences. In the third part I extend the imagined contact research to the domains of memory and cognition. Recall of a positive contact experience enhanced positive outgroup evaluations and contact self-efficacy via reduced o '-_:.anxiety. Consistent with the ease-of-retrieval effect, recalling aO-Iarger--uumber of . contact memories was more difficult for individuals low in prior outgroup contact, leading to lower contact self-efficacy, whereas this was not the case for participants ~~~-~ who had had high levels of prior outgroup contact. I conclude that cognitive interventions, especially those that make use of mental imagery and its special link to emotions, are highly valuable techniques for educators and policy makers in preparing individuals for direct contact, increasing the likelihood of achieving long- lasting harmony in intergroup relations.

Thesis advisor: Anderson J. Franklin
Previous research on intergroup relations between racial groups primarily focused on relations between Whites and various ethnic minority groups, studies on relations between ethnic minorities have been neglected and underexamined (Bikmen, 2011). Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact theory suggested that when the groups in contact are perceived to have similar status, contact could lead to reduced prejudice and improved intergroup relations. Asian Americans and African Americans occupy different status positions on the U.S. racial hierarchy. Although their relative status positions are important factors to consider in understanding their evaluations and interactions with each other, the influence of racial psychological factors are also important to consider because they may influence how status is perceived. Thus, the current study investigated how racial socialization, racial identity, and racial stereotypes influence contact between Asian Americans and African Americans. U.S.-born Asian American (N = 190) and African American (N = 304) adults completed an online survey containing a demographic information sheet, the Racial Socialization Influences Scale (Harrell, 1997), the People of Color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (Helms, 1995), the Negative Attitude Toward Asians Scale (Ho & Jackson, 2001), the Anti-Black Scale (Katz & Hass, 1988), the Intergroup Contact Measure (Stathi & Crisp, 2010), and the Behavioral Intentions Scale (Esses & Dovidio, 2002). Results from multivariate multiple regression analyses suggested that racial socialization, particularly exposure to racially diverse environments, was positively related to the frequency and quality of contact, as well as willingness to engage in future contact for both Asian Americans and African Americans; whereas race-related discussions was associated with African Americans’ endorsement of Asian stereotypes. In addition, the study showed that racial identity schemas partially mediated the relationship between racial socialization and intergroup contact, and the relationship between racial socialization and racial stereotypes. Finally, findings revealed that African Americans reported more willingness to engage in future contact with Asian Americans than Asian Americans reported with African Americans. Discussions included methodological limitations, and implications for research and practice
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology

This thcsis sought to cxtcnd thc contcmporary dcvclopmcnts in thc contact litcraturc to thc South African context, ,vhilc also advancing the current body of longitudinal contact literature. Thc first part of my thcsis compared thc rclationship bctwcen outgroup friendships, affcctivc mcdiators, and multiple measures of prejudice between high-status Whitc and low-status Colourcd adolescents. Two cross-sectional studies confinned the importance of intergroup anxicty and cmpathy as mediators of contact effects for both samplcs. Outgroup fricndships were simultancously associatcd with decrcased intergroup anxiety and increased affective empathy (suggcsted by Pettigrew, 1998). Considered simultaneously with intergroup anxiety, only affective empathy mediated outgroup friendship effccts amongst the Coloured participants, whilc both affectivc mediators operated simultancously amongst thc Whitc participants. Thc significant differences in the structural models across the two samples in both cross-sectional studies support previous findings that contact effccts are stronger for majority-status groups than for minority-status groups (Tropp & Pettigrew, 2005). A third cross-sectional study explored the gcneralization ofoutgroup attitudes from onc outgroup to anothcr outgroup. Amongst Whitc participants, having Black outgroup friends improvcd thcir attitudes towards thc Black outgroup as a whole that was, in tum, associatcd with morc positiyc attitudcs towards the Colourcd outgroup (after controlling for contact with the Coloured outgroup). Having Coloured outgroup friends had a similar effect on attitudes towards the Black outgroup for the Whitc participants. These cffccts were not obsen'cd amongst thc Colourcd participants. Having Black outgroup friends was not significantly associated with attitudes towards the White outgroup, and vice versa. The sccond part of my thesis cxplored thc causal rclationship between outgroup friendships and prcjudice amongst Coloured junior high school students. In the first causal analysis, four altcmative causal modcls wcre compared using non-rccursivc modelling on crosssectional data. All four models fit thc data equally well, resulting in inconclusivc rcsults. Thc sccond causal analysis ,vas bascd on a three-wavc longitudinal study ovcr a 12-month period. In total, 319 participants were matched across all threc time points. A causal model specifying bidirectional causal pathways fit thc data best, although the full mediation of outgroup friendship cffccts on pcrccived outgroup variability and ncgatiyc action tcndencics was only observcd in the 'fonvard' causal direction from timc I to timc 3. Outgroup friendships at timc I was simultancously associated with significantly lcss intergroup anxiety and significantly morc affective empathy at timc 2, which were associated both with incrcased perceivcd outgroup variability and dccrcascd ncgativc action tcndcncics at timc 3. A causal sequcncc bctween thc affective mcdiators was obsen'ed ovcr timc: lower intergroup anxiety at time I predicted morc outgroup friendships at timc 2, which predicted morc affcctivc empathy at timc 3. Thcsc findings makc a significant contribution to thc contact literature. Their importancc is discussed, along with dircctions for futurc rcscarch.

Before the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975), most efforts to educate students with disabilities happened in isolation. Within the last 40 years, a growing number of districts and individual schools have experimented with inclusive models in hopes of successfully educating students with and without disabilities in the same classrooms; however, general education students still hold negative attitudes toward students with disabilities. The contact hypothesis of intergroup contact theory postulates that prejudicial attitudes toward out-groups can be alleviated if the following conditions are present in and around contact situations: equal status, cooperation, common goals, and institutional support. The purpose of this dissertation was to create and validate the Intergroup Relations Classroom Environment Scale (IRCES), a teacher self-report survey instrument that, within K-12 classrooms, measures the four aforementioned conditions along with two additional conditions that theorists have added to the original list. Data collected from an extensive review of the literature, focus groups with experienced K-12 teachers and administrators, and interviews with social and cognitive psychologists were used to generate scale items; exploratory factor analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized six-factor model and reduce the number of items; and, the IRCES subscales were correlated with other classroom and school environment scales to assess convergent and discriminant validity. Analyses resulted in a 43-item, multidimensional scale that theoretically and practically matches the six optimal contact conditions. The IRCES provides researchers, administrators, and teachers with further knowledge of how to create and maintain a safe learning environment for all students.

Using data from the 1998 General Social Survey, this thesis examines the effects of black-white contact and close interracial friendships on whites? attitudes towards blacks. Intergroup contact theory maintains that contact between people of different groups reduces prejudices and improves attitudes. The majority of previous contact studies have focused on casual black-white contact in neighborhoods and workplaces. Emerging in the current literature is a focus on more personal contact between blacks and whites, as in close friendships. I hypothesize that a positive relationship exists between whites? having a close black friend and their attitudes towards blacks. I also hypothesize a positive relationship between contact and attitudes. I use OLS regression models to test both hypotheses. The results of the analysis support the second hypothesis. The key finding is a statistically significant positive effect of neighborhood contact on whites? attitudes towards blacks. In support of intergroup contact theory, this significant finding suggests that a necessary condition for contact effects on attitudes is equal status between blacks and whites.

The objective of this thesis was to examine the effectiveness of contact and imagined contact (a derivative of direct contact) in reducing intergroup prejudice when the prejudice in question is deemed socially acceptable. Studies focused on two populations that are targets of socially acceptable, prejudice – people suffering from schizophrenia in the U.K., and homosexual men in Jamaica. These target groups were selected because they are similar in that they are both targets of socially acceptable prejudice, but also because of their differences in that the stereotypes associated with them are quite dissimilar. The first part of the thesis empirically tested the assumption that the aforementioned populations are targets of socially acceptable prejudice. Two cross-sectional studies, one of which was also cross-cultural, measured motivation to control prejudice against these target groups, and compared it to motivation to control prejudice against targets of socially unacceptable prejudice. I found that motivation to control prejudice against people with schizophrenia in the U.K. was lower than motivation to control prejudice against Black people in the U.K. Also, motivation to control prejudice against homosexual men was higher in the U.K. and the U.S.A. than in Jamaica, and differences in motivation to control unspecified prejudice were significantly smaller. The second part examined the association between actual contact and prejudice for both populations. Two cross-sectional studies, one of which was also cross-cultural, found that contact was associated with less prejudice. This effect was mediated by intergroup anxiety in all cases, and also by fear in the case of people with schizophrenia. Furthermore, I found that contact was more strongly negatively associated with anti-homosexual prejudice in Jamaica, where the prejudice is socially acceptable, than it was in Britain, where the prejudice is not socially acceptable. The third part tested the effect of imagined contact, a form of extended contact, on prejudice against people with schizophrenia. Four experimental studies demonstrated that imagined contact can be an effective means of reducing prejudice against this group. However imagined contact must be conducted in very specific ways, otherwise it has the potential to increase prejudice against people with schizophrenia.

Critics of anti-social behaviour policy (ASB) introduced by New Labour Government since 1997 argue that it is overly punitive, and criminalises what is often sub-criminal or nuisance behaviour. Further criticism is that policy implementation through formal channels has led to the public increasingly relying on formal agencies in the governance of ASB, and becoming less willing to play an active role. The catalyst for my research was two Community Safety Teams aim to reverse this trend. I have developed an innovative approach in the form of a booklet (Let s Talk) based on the under-researched Imagined Intergroup Contact model associated with the Intergroup Contact Theory which underpins Intergenerational Practice. My thesis centres on the piloting of the booklet in two regions in England, and the proposition that Intergenerational approaches can be a useful way of understanding and addressing tensions associated with perceived anti-social behaviour by young people . Drawing broadly on a social constructionist paradigm (Burr, 1995), and using an inductive case study approach, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected via various research tools. The sample included local residents, representatives of community organisations and the Community Safety Teams (CST). Data were coded and analysed using NVivo and SPSS. Theoretical data analysis was underpinned by the Integrated Threat Theory and the Social Cognitive Theory. Compared with other theories associated with Intergenerational Practice, the Integrated Threat Theory gave a more comprehensive explanation for intergenerational tensions. SCT gave new insights into the concept of agency in relation to the governance of ASB. My research identified anti-social behaviour that the CSTs felt did not warrant formal intervention, and the booklet received enthusiastic support from all parties consulted as an alternative, community-based approach. Reasons for a few individuals not wanting to adopt the booklet approach were identified; these included personal factors and social dynamics. My findings provided important knowledge for the future development and use of the booklet. This thesis makes a significant contribution to knowledge. Firstly, it extends the theoretical explanation of intergenerational tensions, and adds insights into the concept of governance and the theoretical underpinnings of Intergenerational Practice. Secondly, it advances implications for practice in relation to fully exploring social dynamics other than intergenerational issues, taking account of potential multigenerational factors, and being aware that preparatory activities to strengthen selfefficacy may be required.

Critics of anti-social behaviour policy (ASB) introduced by New Labour Government since 1997 argue that it is overly punitive, and criminalises what is often sub-criminal or nuisance behaviour. Further criticism is that policy implementation through formal channels has led to the public increasingly relying on formal agencies in the governance of ASB, and becoming less willing to play an active role. The catalyst for my research was two Community Safety Teams aim to reverse this trend. I have developed an innovative approach in the form of a booklet (Let s Talk) based on the under-researched Imagined Intergroup Contact model associated with the Intergroup Contact Theory which underpins Intergenerational Practice. My thesis centres on the piloting of the booklet in two regions in England, and the proposition that Intergenerational approaches can be a useful way of understanding and addressing tensions associated with perceived anti-social behaviour by young people . Drawing broadly on a social constructionist paradigm (Burr, 1995), and using an inductive case study approach, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected via various research tools. The sample included local residents, representatives of community organisations and the Community Safety Teams (CST). Data were coded and analysed using NVivo and SPSS. Theoretical data analysis was underpinned by the Integrated Threat Theory and the Social Cognitive Theory. Compared with other theories associated with Intergenerational Practice, the Integrated Threat Theory gave a more comprehensive explanation for intergenerational tensions. SCT gave new insights into the concept of agency in relation to the governance of ASB. My research identified anti-social behaviour that the CSTs felt did not warrant formal intervention, and the booklet received enthusiastic support from all parties consulted as an alternative, community-based approach. Reasons for a few individuals not wanting to adopt the booklet approach were identified; these included personal factors and social dynamics. My findings provided important knowledge for the future development and use of the booklet. This thesis makes a significant contribution to knowledge. Firstly, it extends the theoretical explanation of intergenerational tensions, and adds insights into the concept of governance and the theoretical underpinnings of Intergenerational Practice. Secondly, it advances implications for practice in relation to fully exploring social dynamics other than intergenerational issues, taking account of potential multigenerational factors, and being aware that preparatory activities to strengthen selfefficacy may be required.

The empirical knowledgebase of intergenerational programming (IGP) largely relies on anecdotal reports by staff and family members. The lack of concrete knowledge is particularly evident in the literature regarding IGP involving elders with dementia. In an effort to fill some of the voids in the current literature base, observations were conducted for seven weeks at a co-located child and adult day program to determine the effects of IGP on 10 older adult participants (M age =81 yrs., S.D. = 5.21). All participants (5 male and 5 female) were diagnosed with dementia by a physician and attended the adult day program regularly. Intergroup contact theory, which emphasizes interdependence between groups, informed the development and facilitation of the IGP activities. A structured scale was utilized to assess the eldersâ social behavior and affect during IGP. Control observations were conducted during adult-only activities representative of traditional dementia-care programming, and qualitative data were collected through participant interviews and facilitator journaling to corroborate the quantitative findings. T-test analyses revealed that the older adults exhibited significantly greater levels of group social behavior and significantly fewer instances of unoccupied behavior during IGP as compared to traditional adult-only activities. The adults also expressed significantly more positive affect during IGP than in the control activities. Findings from the qualitative inquiries supported the quantitative results by emphasizing the meaning and purpose of IGP for the elders. Results indicated that effectively planned and facilitated IGP is an appropriate and interesting activity for elders with dementia.
Master of Science

Dehumanization has been the target of many theoretical interpretations (see e.g., Bandura, 1999; Bar-Tal, 1989; Opotow, 1989; Struch, & Schwartz, 1989), however, only in recent years, Social Psychology empirically investigated these phenomena (see, e.g., Goff, Eberhardt, Williams, & Jackson, 2008; Haslam, 2006; Leyens, Demoulin, Vaes, Gaunt, & Paladino, 2007). Considering different concepts and theorization of humanity, such as secondary emotions vs. primary emotions (Leyens, Demoulin, Vaes, Gaunt, & Paladino, 2007), uniquely human vs. non-uniquely human traits (Capozza, Trifiletti, Vezzali, & Favara, 2012; Haslam, Loughnan, Kashima, & Bain, 2008), mind attributions (Gray, Gray, & Wegner, 2007), objectification (Fredrickson, & Roberts, 1997), research provided a huge amount of evidences that humanity attributions represent a relevant dimension in intergroup relations. In particular, it has been demonstrated that individuals tend to ascribe a full human status to the ingroup rather than to the outgroup. As a consequence, outgroups are perceived as not fully human. Along with processes and mechanisms leading to humanity denial, recently, research has been interested in investigating negative consequences of dehumanization. Empirical evidences showed that perceiving other groups as not fully human produces detrimental outcomes, such as violence justification (Goff et al., 2008), inhibition of pro-social behaviors (see, e.g., Carella & Vaes, 2006), increased prejudice (Hodson & Costello, 2007). Despite the significant results achieved in the study of humanity attributions, some critical points still remain little investigated. The aim of the present research program is, indeed, to disentangle the role of humanity perceptions in three critical domains: violent behaviors, intergroup contact, and health contexts. In particular, the current work is organized in three separate parts in which we conducted two studies to investigate new potential consequences of humanity denial. The first part has been dedicated in investigating the role of dehumanization in violence domain. Two studies were conducted in order to test whether humanity denial would have affected perceptions of threat and violent tendencies toward the outgroup, represented by Moroccans immigrants. In the first study we hypothesized that the attribution of a lower human status and the association between outgroup and animality would have increased the perception that the outgroup is threatening and ready to harm. To test our hypothesis, we administer two measure of humanity, namely attributions of traits (uniquely human vs. non-uniquely human) and a computerize task that assessed the mental associations between Moroccans with humanity and animality. Perceptions of threat were measured by adopting a sequential priming technique, namely the “Weapon Task”, in which participants had to discriminate, as quickly as possible, weapons from tools after the presentation of outgroup faces (vs. ingroup faces). Results confirmed our hypotheses: faster categorizations of weapons preceded by outgroup primes were influenced by the attributions of non-uniquely human traits to Moroccans and by their association with animal concepts. In the second study we extended our findings by testing the effects of humanity denial on violent tendencies against the outgroup, in particular considering the moderator role of executive functions. In Study 2a we proposed that humanity denial would have been related to increased violence toward Moroccans only for participants with less efficient executive functions. Moreover, we hypothesized that, for participants with effective executive functions, dehumanization would have not affect aggressive behaviors. In this study, participants completed a SC-IAT to assess Moroccans humanity, a Stroop test to measure executive functions, and a simulated shooting task, an adaption of the “Weapon Task” used in the previous study, in which participants had to shoot armed targets, namely faces followed by a weapon, and not to shoot unarmed targets (faces followed by a tool). Results confirmed our hypothesis. We found that, when cognitive control is high, it is possible to inhibit the tendency to be violent toward a dehumanized outgroup. Conversely, when people do not have an efficient control of their behavior, dehumanization could affect their negative reaction against the outgroup. In Study 2b we manipulated executive functions by creating two experimental conditions: high vs. low depletion. In high depletion condition, participants completed a Stroop test consisting in incompatible and neutral trials; in low depletion condition, a Stroop test with compatible and neutral trials was administered. Similarly with the previous study, participants executed a humanity SC-IAT and the shooter task. We hypothesized that humanity denial would have influenced shooting behaviors against Moroccans only in high depletion condition. Results did not corroborate our predictions. In fact, the manipulation did not affect the efficiency of participants’ executive functions. The second part of the thesis was dedicated to the study of the causal link between humanity attributions and intergroup contact (Allport, 1954). In the first study we manipulated humanity perceptions in order to investigate whether they would have affected motivation to seek contact with outgroup, namely Moroccans Immigrants. In the second study, we tested the inverse relation, that is, whether contact would have enhanced humanity attributions to the outgroup. In Study 1, outgroup humanity was manipulated by a subliminal priming technique (Goff et al., 2008). In humanization condition, Moroccan outgroup was linked to human concepts and uniquely human characteristics; in dehumanization condition, instead, outgroup was linked with animal concepts and non-uniquely human characteristics. After manipulation, participants completed the “manikin task” an approach/avoidance task we adapted to reflect contact tendencies. Participants, according to instructions, had to, by moving the manikin, approach or avoid outgroup related stimuli. We hypothesized that participants would have shown more contact tendencies, namely faster approaching, in humanization condition compared with dehumanization condition. Moreover, we predicted faster approach latencies than avoid latencies in only in humanization condition. Results supported the second hypothesis. Humanity manipulation did not affect approach and avoidance latencies while outgroup humanization enhanced approach tendencies more than avoidant behaviors. In Study 2 we manipulated contact tendencies by employing a modified version of the “manikin task”. In contact condition participants were trained to approach repeatedly outgroup related stimuli (faces of Moroccans) while, in control condition, participants executed the same task considering neutral stimuli (pieces of furniture). Outgroup humanity was assessed by using uniquely human and non-uniquely human traits. We hypothesized that contact condition would have increased humanity of Moroccans, compared to control condition. Hypothesis was fully supported. As predicted, contact promoted Moroccan humanization compared to the other condition. We also found a mediation effect of trust in the relation between condition and humanity. Finally, in the third part we investigated the effects of humanity perceptions in health contexts. In a study, conducted with hospital nurses, we found that the denial of a full human status to patients served as a strategy to cope with stress. Moreover, findings showed the moderator role of affective organizational commitment and affective commitment to patients. Only high committed, both with hospital and with patients, nurses deny humanity to patients in order to decrease job related stress. In the last study, we investigated attributions of humanity and their consequences in practitioners working with mentally impaired persons. First, we found that individuals with mental disabilities were perceived as not fully human. This latter result was obtained considering different aspects of humanity, namely attribution of uniquely human traits and emotions. Second, we provide first evidences that the denial of a full human status influences behavioral tendencies. In fact, the attribution of uniquely human emotions to mentally disabled was positively correlated to approaching behaviors, measured with SC-IAT. Moreover, attitudes did not affect behavioral tendencies
Dall’inizio degli anni 2000 è cresciuto l’interesse degli psicologi sociali per lo studio di una particolare forma di pregiudizio: la negazione di umanità ad altri gruppi o persone. Numerose ricerche hanno mostrato come le persone tendano ad attribuire maggiore umanità al proprio gruppo (ingroup) che all’outgroup. Questo fenomeno è stato dimostrato considerando diversi aspetti dell’umanità come, ad esempio, tratti (es., moralità) ed emozioni (es., orgoglio) unicamente umani, diversi rapporti intergruppi e diversi paradigmi sperimentali. Recentemente il campo di indagine è stato esteso anche alle conseguenze dell’infraumanizzazione. In questa direzione si è trovato che l’infraumanizzazione può portare a conseguenze negative come, ad esempio, l’inibizione delle intenzioni e dei comportamenti di aiuto, la riduzione dell’empatia, l’aumento della discriminazione. Nonostante esista un’ampia letteratura che ha documentato le conseguenze della negazione di una piena umanità all’outgroup, rimangono problemi poco indagati. In questo lavoro, organizzato in tre sezioni, si sono studiati: Sezione 1) gli effetti delle attribuzioni di umanità sui comportamenti violenti ai danni dell’outgroup; Sezione 2) gli effetti delle attribuzioni di umanità sulle tendenze a cercare il contatto con l’outgroup; Sezione 3) le conseguenze della deumanizzazione in ambito socio-sanitario. Nella prima sezione si sono testati gli effetti della deumanizzazione sulla percezione dell’outgroup come disposto alla violenza e sui comportamenti violenti nei suoi confronti (come outgroup si sono considerati gli immigrati marocchini). Nel primo studio si è indagato se le attribuzioni di umanità influenzassero la percezione dell’outgroup come pericoloso. Attraverso misure esplicite (attribuzione di tratti unicamente umani e tratti non unicamente umani) e misure implicite (Go/No-go Association Test, GNAT) è stata misurata l’attribuzione di umanità dell’outgroup. La percezione di pericolosità è stata misurata con una tecnica di priming sequenziale, il “Weapon Task” in cui i partecipanti dovevano discriminare armi da oggetti di uso comune, premendo tasti diversi, dopo la presentazione di volti di Italiani o volti di Marocchini (stimoli prime). Dai risultati è emerso che i volti marocchini, rispetto ai volti italiani, facilitavano il riconoscimento delle armi (“Weapon Bias”). Inoltre, è stato osservato come questo bias dipendesse dalla deumanizzazione dell’outgroup (associazione dei marocchini all’animalità e attribuzione ad essi di tratti non unicamente umani). L’obbiettivo del secondo studio era di indagare la relazione fra deumanizzazione e tendenze comportamentali violente considerando, in particolare, l’effetto moderatore delle funzioni esecutive. L’ipotesi dello studio era che la deumanizzazione dei Marocchini portasse a comportamenti violenti solo per i partecipanti con minor controllo del loro comportamento. Lo studio comprendeva tre prove al computer: a) uno SC-IAT (Single Category Association Task) per misurare le attribuzioni di umanità ai marocchini; b) un compito Stroop per misurare le funzioni esecutive; c) uno “Shooting Task”, una versione modificata del “Weapon Bias Task” in cui i partecipanti dovevano simulare un comportamento di difesa sparando a dei target armati, ossia i volti seguiti dalle immagini di armi. I target potevano essere membri dell’ingroup (Italiani) o membri dell’outgroup (Marocchini). I risultati hanno confermato l’ipotesi: più l’outgroup era associato all’animalità più rapidamente i partecipanti sparavano a target marocchini armati, rispetto a target italiani armati. Come ipotizzato, questo effetto è stato osservato solo nei partecipanti con funzioni esecutive poco efficienti, ossia nei partecipanti con un punteggio più elevato al compito Stroop. Viceversa, nel caso dei partecipanti con un adeguato controllo del proprio comportamento, ossia con bassa interferenza Stroop, la relazione tra deumanizzazione e tendenze violente non è stata confermata. Per indagare ulteriormente il ruolo delle funzioni esecutive nella relazione fra attribuzioni di umanità e violenza è stato condotto un terzo studio in cui le funzioni esecutive sono state manipolate. In una condizione, di basso carico cognitivo, i partecipanti completavano un test Stroop in cui erano presenti solo stimoli compatibili e stimoli neutri (stringa di lettere “X”). Nella seconda condizione, di alto carico cognitivo, ai partecipanti era somministrato un test Stroop con stimoli incompatibili e stimoli neutri. Al termine della manipolazione i partecipanti svolgevano lo “Shooter Task”. Le percezioni di umanità venivano misurate attraverso lo SC-IAT, somministrato prima della manipolazione. I risultati non hanno mostrato effetti significativi della manipolazione. Sono proposte altre strategie di manipolazione del controllo esecutivo. Nella seconda sezione sono stati realizzati due studi per testare la relazione tra contatto intergruppi e attribuzioni di umanità. Nel primo studio si indagava se l’umanizzazione dell’outgroup avrebbe portato ad una maggiore disponibilità ad incontrare i suoi membri. Le percezioni di umanità erano manipolate attraverso una prova di priming subliminale: a seconda della condizione, l’outgroup (immigrati marocchini) veniva associato all’umanità (condizione di umanizzazione) o all’animalità (condizione di deumanizzazione). Per misurare la tendenza alla disponibilità al contatto, si utilizzava una tecnica implicita il “Manikin Task” in cui i partecipanti dovevano avvicinare o allontare, a seconda delle istruzioni, una figura umana (un manichino) da stimoli relativi all’outgroup. Si ipotizzava che nella condizione di umanizzazione i partecipanti sarebbero stati più rapidi nell’avvicinarsi all’outgroup e più lenti nell’allontanarsi da esso, rispetto alla condizione di deumanizzazione. Si ipotizzava anche che nella condizione di umanizzazione, ma non in quella di deumanizzazione, i tempi di avvicinamento sarebbero stati più rapidi di quelli di allontanamento. I risultati hanno confermato la seconda ipotesi. Nella condizione di umanizzazione i rispondenti sono stati più rapidi nell’avvicinarsi, che nell’allontanarsi, dai nomi marocchini. Nel secondo studio si è indagato il processo opposto, ossia se il contatto avrebbe migliorato le percezioni di umanità dell’outgroup. In questa ricerca si è manipolato il contatto nei confronti dell’outgroup attraverso il “Manikin Task”. Diversamente dallo studio precedente, i partecipanti svolgevano solo il blocco in cui era chiesto di avvicinarsi all’outgroup (volti di marocchini). Inoltre, è stata prevista una condizione di controllo in cui i volti di membri dell’outgroup erano sostituiti con immagini di mobili (stimoli neutri). Si ipotizzava che, nella condizione di contatto, i partecipanti avrebbero percepito l’outgroup più umano rispetto alla condizione di controllo. I risultati hanno confermato le ipotesi. I partecipanti nella condizione di contatto hanno attribuito una maggiore umanità all’outgroup rispetto alla condizione di controllo. Inoltre, è stato trovato un effetto mediatore della fiducia. Nella terza sezione, sono stati realizzati studi per indagare gli effetti della deumanizzazione in ambito sanitario e centri di assistenza. Nel primo studio, correlazionale, si è indagato se le attribuzioni di umanità fossero utilizzate come strategia per affrontare lo stress nei contesti sanitari. È stato somministrato un questionario a personale ospedaliero (infermiere) in cui erano incluse misure di umanità, misure self-report del livello di stress (sintomi psicofisici) e variabili organizzative, ossia impegno affettivo nei confronti dell’ospedale e impegno affetivo nei confronti del paziente. Si ipotizzava che la negazione di una piena umanità ai pazienti sarebbe stata utilizzata come strategia per ridurre lo stress; si ipotizzava, inoltre, un effetto moderatore dell’impegno affettivo verso l’ospedale e verso i pazienti. I risultati hanno confermato entrambe le ipotesi: la negazione di piena umanità ai pazienti era associata a minore percezione di stress e, inoltre, questo effetto era moderato dall’impegno: solo per i rispondenti con alti livelli di impegno affettivo, verso l’ospedale o verso i pazienti, l’attribuzione di minore umanità era associata a minori livelli di stress. Viceversa, le attribuzioni di umanità non erano utilizzate come strategia di coping dal personale con un basso impegno affettivo. Nel secondo (Studio 2a e 2b) si sono studiate le percezioni di umanità relative a persone con disabilità mentale e le conseguenze di tali percezioni. Nella prima parte del secondo studio è stato trovato come ai disabili mentali sia negata una piena umanità; questo fenomeno è stato osservato considerando diverse misure di umanità (tratti ed emozioni). Nello studio 2b si sono misurate le attribuzioni di umanità a persone con disabilità mentale e si è testato se tali attribuzioni fossero correlate con tendenze di approach/avoidance, misurate a livello implicito attraverso lo SC-IAT. La ricerca è stata condotta con operatori che lavoravano in una struttura di assistenza per i disabili. Dai risultati è emersa che la tendenza ad avvicinare i disabili non è correlata con l’atteggiamento, ma con le percezioni di umanità: quanto maggiore l’attribuzione di emozioni unicamente umane tanto maggiore l’avvicinamento

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2004.
Thesis research directed by: Human Development. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

This dissertation examined interracial contact and racial prejudice among white, black, Asian, and Latino college students at 28 elite colleges and universities in the United States. The study used longitudinal analyses to identify how interracial contact among college students influenced studentsâ racial prejudice. White students interacted almost exclusively with each other and with Asian students. Asian students interacted with each other and with white students. Latino students were the most integrated, they interacted with all other student groups at high rates. Black students were the most segregated in their interactions as students of other races had less interactions with them on campus. Cross-race interactions during college did not influence white studentsâ exiting levels of traditional and modern racial prejudice. Cross-race interactions during college had limited influence on black and Asian studentsâ exiting levels of racial prejudice, mostly for traditional forms of racial prejudice. Latino students exhibited the most interracial contact effects on their exiting levels of racial prejudice of all student groups with all traditional and modern forms of racial prejudice influenced by cross-race interactions. The consideration of race as a form of social identity was the most powerful influence on studentsâ exiting levels of racial prejudice for all groups. The context of interracial contact at elite colleges and universities and the existence of racialized stages of interaction are discussed in the final chapter to understand the study findings. Lastly, a discussion of the potential implications of this studyâ s results for future intergroup contact research is also presented.
Ph. D.

Research on intergroup contact (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) has shown it to be an effective measure of reducing prejudice, and further studies have shown parasocial intergroup contact to be effective as well (Ortiz & Harwood, 2007). This research is incredibly important when studying people with high Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), who tend to favor social hierarchies and disparities between groups. The present study will focus on the interaction of SDO and type of intergroup contact on prejudice. Over the course of a month-long longitudinal study, participants will either be assigned to a face-to-face contact condition, interviewing an immigrant confederate in-person, or to a parasocial contact condition, watching an interview of this confederate on a computer screen. Given past research, both types of contact are predicted to increase favorable attitudes toward immigrants and decrease racism, although face-to-face contact is likely to be most impactful. Low SDO individuals are predicted to maintain low levels of prejudice, while high SDO individuals are predicted to experience a larger difference in racism and attitudes toward immigrants. It is expected that those high in SDO and placed in the face-to-face condition will experience the largest difference in racism and attitudes toward immigrants, compared to the other groups, demonstrating an interaction effect. Implications for intergroup contact and the media will be discussed.

The rising costs of attending college have students, families, and other stakeholders calling for evidence of gains that result from earning a degree (Burrows, 1999; Jongbloed, Enders and Salerno, 2008; Julian, 2012). They expect that graduates to achieve cognitive gains in communication, critical thinking, and the ability to work independently and in teams (SHEEO, 2005). Additionally, the global marketplace has created the need for graduates to achieve sociocultural gains; they need to understand different cultures and successfully interact with diverse peoples (Gurin, 1999; Leville, 2006). Research has shown that different experiences influence cognitive and sociocultural gains including student faculty interaction (SFI) and intergroup contact (IGC) (Cole, 2007; Kuh and Hu, 2001; Thompson, 2001; Umbach and Porter, 2002). However, cognitive and sociocultural gains have typically been explored independently. Moreover, researchers have not examined the demographic factors that, combined with SFI and IGC, promote such gains. The purpose of this study was to determine if SFI, IGC, and demographic factors (gender, race or academic major) explain variance in cognitive and sociocultural gains among college seniors. The sample included seniors who completed the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) Fourth edition. The results of the hierarchical linear regression revealed that SFI and IGC have a significant influence on both cognitive and sociocultural gains. However, the impact of these predictors is not experienced by every student uniformly; a student's sex, race and academic major matters.
Ph. D.

Team projects in engineering are critical sites for professional and personal development as students interact with peers and faculty on projects designed to simulate engineering work. These projects allow students to try on professional roles and establish a sense of identity within their field, which in turn influences their retention through college and into engineering careers. However, team projects can present challenges specific to students from underrepresented populations. While research on women's team experiences is strong, few researchers have studied African-Americans. To fill this gap, the current study explores the experiences of African-American males on multiracial student teams and the impact of those teams on these students' identities. This qualitative study employed a phenomenological approach, using a three-interview sequence with eight African-American male engineering students as they worked on team projects at a predominantly white institution (PWI). The interviews gathered background information about each participant, explored the team functionality during the project, and enabled participants to reflect on the team experience. Two theoretical frameworks were considered during the study design: 1) intergroup contact theory provided a lens to explore interracial interactions, and 2) multiple identities provided a lens to analyze the impact of team dynamics on students' intersecting identities. The findings provide a rich understanding of the team experiences of African-American male students that can enhance project-based teaching within engineering to more explicitly attend to team dynamics, including interracial interactions for students of color. Both positive and negative impacts on African-American males in engineering emerged from the intergroup contact within the team environment. Specifically, the results indicate that these participants enjoyed their multiracial student teaming experiences, supported by informal social interactions among team members and generally positive professional interactions. However, the study participants also entered their team experiences fully aware of the negative stereotypes about African-Americans in engineering and proactively worked to dispel those stereotypes.
Ph. D.