Imagined intergroup contact and common ingroup identity: An integrative approach.

Publication Year
2015

Type

Journal Article
Abstract

We conducted two studies involving two different age groups (elementary school children and adults) aimed at integrating imagined contact and common ingroup identity models. In the first study, Italian elementary school children were asked to imagine interacting with an unknown immigrant peer as members of a common group. Results revealed that common ingroup imagined contact, relative to a control condition, improved outgroup helping intentions assessed 1 week and 2 weeks after the intervention. In the second study, common ingroup imagined contact led Italian university students to display higher intentions to have contact with immigrants compared to control conditions. In conclusion, results from both studies demonstrate that imagining an intergroup interaction as members of the same group strengthens the effects of imagined contact. These findings point to the importance of combining the common ingroup identity model and the imagined contact theory in order to increase the potentiality of prejudice reduction interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal
Social Psychology
Volume
46
Pages
265–276
Type of Article
Journal Article
Full text

Open access via the link provided.

Type of Prejudice/Bias
Country
Method