The association between transgender-related fiction and transnegativity: Transportation and intergroup anxiety as mediators Author Ligia Orellana, Peter Totterdell, Aarti Iyer Publication Year 2022 Type Journal Article Abstract Fictional narratives can serve as an indirect contact strategy when direct contact between two groups is not feasible. This study investigated whether exposing cisgender individuals to transgender-related fiction was associated with reduced transnegativity. Two emotion-related mediators were examined in this relationship: transportation into the story (proximal to fiction exposure) and intergroup anxiety (proximal to contact theory). Cisgender participants (N = 84) viewed or read stories involving transgender characters or read a science article. Those who encountered transgender characters reported lower transnegativity than those who read the control story. Transportation into the story and intergroup anxiety serially mediated this relationship. The findings suggest conditions under which a fictional story can expand an audience’s social world and thereby serve as a strategy for prejudice reduction. Keywords indirect contact, prejudice, fiction, transnegativity, intergroup anxiety, anxiety, intergroup dynamics, literature, narratives, transgender, exposure, Cisgender Journal Psychology & Sexuality Volume 13 Pages 228–239 Date Published 05/2022 URL External link to reference Type of Prejudice/Bias Transgender/Genderqueer Country United Kingdom Method Lab Setting College/University Community Google ScholarBibTeX