Differential effects of intergroup contact for authoritarians and social dominators: a dual process model perspective

Intergroup contact is among the most effective ways to improve intergroup attitudes. Research examining whether the effects of contact are contingent on individual differences is limited, however. The authors test a dual process model perspective of individual differences in contact and prejudice. Their model predicts that intergroup contact should be particularly effective for people high in right-wing authoritarianism, but not those high in social dominance orientation, because these ideological attitudes are driven by different underlying motivational goals. The authors confirm these hypotheses in longitudinal (N = 805) and cross-sectional (N = 1,343) national probability samples. They also isolate perceived social threat, but not competitive threat, as a mediator for the interaction of right-wing authoritarianism and contact on prejudice. The authors elaborate on the individual difference mechanisms that facilitate and inhibit the effects of intergroup contact on prejudice and discuss how these relations may depend on contextual factors and the varying functions of prejudice.     

Testing a dual process model of prejudice: Assessment of group threat perceptions and emotions

Using American college student samples, two studies were conducted to establish the connection between perceptions of threat posed by people of the Muslim world and intergroup emotions toward this group. Study 1, a correlational study, situated these relationships within Duckitt??s (2001) dual process model. Path analyses revealed that perceptions of economic threat from Muslims were predicted by a motivation for hierarchical group relations, as manifested by social dominance orientation. Perceptions of value threat from Muslims were predicted by a motivation for social stability and security, as manifested by right-wing authoritarianism. These economic and value threat perceptions subsequently predicted the intergroup emotions of anger and disgust, respectively. Study 2, an experimental study, involved a manipulation of value threat from Muslims. Results showed that perceiving Muslims to pose a greater threat to Westerners?? values heightened feelings of disgust, which subsequently predicted behavioral inclinations to maintain traditional Western values.     

Intergroup contact buffers against the intergenerational transmission of authoritarianism and racial prejudice

The present study focused on the buffering role of positive intergroup contact in the intergenerational transmission of authoritarianism and racial prejudice in a sample of adolescents and one of their parents. In accordance with our expectations, adolescents’ intergroup contact experiences moderated the mediated relationships between parental authoritarianism and adolescents’ prejudice, both via adolescents’ authoritarianism and via parental prejudice. These relationships were stronger among adolescents with lower, rather than higher, levels of intergroup contact. We conclude that intergroup contact buffers the indirect relationship between parents’ authoritarianism and adolescents’ racial prejudice and therefore constitutes a promising means of reducing the intergenerational transmission of prejudice.     

Effects of contact and personality on intergroup attitudes of different professionals†

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of intergroup contact, personality, and demographic characteristics on the intergroup attitudes of police officers, medical doctors and nurses (N=421; 274 females, 147 males). Following the contact hypothesis, intergroup contact in and of itself was not expected to be sufficient for reducing intergroup prejudice, especially in unequal contacts between professionals and their clients. It was argued that the quality of contact required for the improvement of intergroup attitudes is not equal status or emotional closeness of the participants, but rather that of individuation and familiarity of the outgroup member. The results showed that both level of authoritarianism and individuation of an outgroup member affected intergroup attitudes across all types of contact. For authoritarianism, this result did not hold separately for males, but the individuation effect was very stable; those who knew an outgroup member only superficially held more negative intergroup attitudes than those who knew him or her well, even in unequal and non‐voluntary contacts, and even when controlling for authoritarianism, gender, education and professional field. The effect was non‐significant in voluntary contacts. No differences in intergroup attitudes were found between males and females or between the professional groups among males after controlling for authoritarianism. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prejudice toward immigrant workers among Dutch employees: integrated threat theory revisited

Integrated Threat Theory (ITT) (Stephan & Stephan, 1993 , 1996 ) describes four types of threats as mediators in the relation between antecedent factors (previous intergroup conflict, intergroup contact, status inequalities, in‐group identification, knowledge about the out‐group, and intergroup contact) and prejudice. The four mediating types of threats, which influence prejudice according to ITT are: intergroup anxiety, negative stereotyping, realistic and symbolic threats. In this study, the ITT model was tested using structural equation modeling on data collected in sample of 187 Dutch employees. Two alternative explanatory models are proposed in which, first intergroup anxiety and then negative stereotyping mediate the relation between the other ITT threats and prejudice. The data show a good fit with the model in which negative stereotypes are considered as mediator variable. The implications of these findings for ITT are discussed in the context of recent theoretical developments in the study of stereotypes and prejudice. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of terrorism on attitudes and ideological orientation

A quasi‐experimental study on the effects of terrorism on racial prejudice and ideological orientation is presented. Two independent samples were contacted before and after the Islamic terrorist attacks against railways in Madrid (11 March 2004). Anti‐Arab and anti‐Semite prejudices, authoritarianism and ideological orientations (liberal against conservative) were evaluated. Results showed that those terrorist attacks provoked changes in a reactionary and conservative direction: stronger prejudices not only against the target group (Arabs), but against another uninvolved group (Jewish); an increase in authoritarianism; stronger attachment to traditional conservative values, and a reduction in the attachment to liberal values. The results are interpreted in terms of the System‐Justification Theory, the Motivated Social Cognition model of Conservatism and the Right‐Wing Authoritarianism. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The psychological bases of ideology and prejudice: testing a dual process model

The issue of personality and prejudice has been largely investigated in terms of authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. However, these seem more appropriately conceptualized as ideological attitudes than as personality dimensions. The authors describe a causal model linking dual dimensions of personality, social world view, ideological attitudes, and intergroup attitudes. Structural equation modeling with data from American and White Afrikaner students supported the model, suggesting that social conformity and belief in a dangerous world influence authoritarian attitudes, whereas toughmindedness and belief in a competitive jungle world influence social dominance attitudes, and these two ideological attitude dimensions influence intergroup attitudes. The model implies that dual motivational and cognitive processes, which may be activated by different kinds of situational and intergroup dynamics, may underlie 2 distinct dimensions of prejudice.     

Right-wing authoritarianism and majority members’ preferences for minority acculturation

The present research examines the role of right-wing authoritarianism for the formation of majority members’ attitudes towards minority members’ contribution to the acculturation process. Previous research has confirmed the link between right-wing authoritarianism and majority members’ acculturation preferences. Nonetheless, a test of their longitudinal relationship was still lacking. Using data from a 3-wave panel study in Germany, we demonstrate that right-wing authoritarianism among majority members predicts less support for immigrants’ cultural maintenance and less support for the establishment of intergroup relations over time (Study 1, N = 551). Using cross-sectional survey data, we show that collective threat mediates these relationships (Study 2, N = 817). Data were representative of the German adult population. Our findings indicate that authoritarian majority members oppose integration because they perceive foreigners as threatening. Right-wing authoritarianism appears to be a meaningful individual difference variable linked to majority members’ attitudes towards immigrants’ maintenance of their heritage culture and the establishment of intergroup relations over time. Our findings complement recent theorizing about acculturation processes.     

共同内群体认同对心理融合的促进效应及其机制

摘要：采用实验法从外显和内隐两个层面探讨共同内群体认同对心理融合的促进效应及其机制。实验1采用最简群体范式,通过重新范畴化操纵共同内群体认同,测量外显心理融合,结果发现,共同内群体认同显著促进了心理融合;实验2以民族群体为被试,采用GANT范式,从外显和内隐两个水平进一步探究共同内群体认同对民族心理融合的促进效应,结果发现,共同内群体认同促进了外显和内隐心理融合,感知相似性在共同内群体认同和心理融合间起中介作用。两个实验证明了共同内群体认同可以在外显和内隐两个水平促进心理融合,其促进作用是通过感知相似性实现的,也证实了GNAT范式在心理融合研究中的有效性。     

Effects of diversity versus segregation on automatic approach and avoidance behavior towards own and other ethnic groups

We present the results of a study in which we measured automatic intergroup behavior and evaluations in ethnic majority and minority group members. We focus our attention on the level of segregation and diversity of immediate life contexts as indicators of outgroup exposure. Specifically, Dutch ethnic minority and majority students enrolled at ethnically segregated and diverse schools completed a measure of automatic approach and avoidance behavior and reported explicit intergroup attitudes. The research is framed into prevailing theories in the field: Social Identity Theory and System Justification Theory. Results of our study suggest that segregation of minority group members' immediate life context may be an important moderator of evaluations as well as approach and avoidance behavior toward ingroup and outgroup. In particular, minority members in segregated schools showed an approach bias towards their ingroup, whereas minority members in diverse schools showed an approach bias towards the majority outgroup.     

Unwilling,but not unaffected—Imagined contact effects for authoritarians and social dominators

According to a dual process model perspective, intergroup contact should be particularly effective for people high in right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), but not for those high in social dominance orientation (SDO), because of different underlying motivational goals. In the present studies, we tested the hypothesis that imagined contact, that is, the mental representation of a positive intergroup encounter, improves intergroup relations for high RWAs. In two experimental studies, we showed that high RWAs, compared with low RWAs, show less negative emotions toward Turks (Study 1; N = 120) and more willingness to engage in future contact with Romani people (Study 2; N = 85) after imagined contact. As expected, people high in SDO did not benefit from imagined contact. Instead, people low in SDO showed less negative emotions after imagined contact in Study 1, but this effect was not replicated in the second study. Theoretical implications and the role of imagined contact as a possible intervention for highly biased individuals will be discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

积极接触与消极接触对群际关系的影响

群际接触研究中存在的“积极偏向”阻碍了对群际接触的全面认知, 因而, 近年来消极接触开始被纳入研究之列。当前的积极接触和消极接触研究以问卷法为主, 另外还涉及内容分析、社会网络分析以及实验法。积极接触和消极接触分别会提升和恶化群际关系, 群际情绪、群际信任在其中起中介作用, 权威主义、亲密性起调节作用。在积极接触效应和消极接触效应的关系上, 存在不对称性检验和交互作用检验两种研究思路, 并均得到了实证研究证据的支持。未来研究需要进一步考察不同效价接触, 尤其是消极接触的泛化效应, 拓展积极接触和消极接触的效应范围, 完善积极接触和消极接触的作用机制, 并进一步探索影响积极接触和消极接触不对称性效应的因素。     

Group domination and inequality in context: evidence for the unstable meanings of social dominance and authoritarianism

Both social dominance orientation (SDO) and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) are assumed to be general and relatively stable psychological orientations that individuals ‘carry with them’ from context to context, influencing responses to salient forms of intergroup inequality and domination. In two experimental studies we tested the relative stability of SDO (Studies 1 and 2) and RWA (Study 1). That is, we examined whether people who score relatively high on SDO/RWA in one context tend to support intergroup hierarchy and domination in other contexts. To do so, we manipulated the salience of different intergroup relationships before measuring SDO and RWA, and then observed the associations among these constructs and attitudes toward specific intergroup relationships and legitimizing ideologies (support for war, conservatism, heterosexism, and religious fundamentalism). Contrary to the assumption of relative stability, the extent to which SDO and RWA were related to these specific attitudes and ideologies varied markedly depending on the experimental context. These results highlight the contextual basis and meaning of individuals' expressed support for group‐based dominance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social identity theory: past achievements,current problems and future challenges

This article presents a critical review of Social Identity Theory. Its major contributions to the study of intergroup relations are discussed, focusing on its powerful explanations of such phenomena as ingroup bias, responses of subordinate groups to their unequal status position, and intragroup homogeneity and stereotyping. In addition, its stimulative role for theoretical elaborations of the Contact Hypothesis as a strategy for improving intergroup attitudes is noted. Then five issues which have proved problematic for Social Identity Theory are identified: the relationship between group identification and ingroup bias; the self‐esteem hypothesis; positive – negative asymmetry in intergroup discrimination; the effects of intergroup similarity; and the choice of identity strategies by low‐status groups. In a third section a future research agenda for the theory is sketched out, with five lines of enquiry noted as being particularly promising: expanding the concept of social identity; predicting comparison choice in intergroup settings; incorporating affect into the theory; managing social identities in multicultural settings; and integrating implicit and explicit processes. The article concludes with some remarks on the potential applications of social identity principles. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social representations of history and the legitimation of social inequality: the form and function of historical negation

Three studies examined the form and function of ideologies that negate (versus recognise) the historical basis of claims for reparation for past injustices. Historical negation (a) predicted opposition towards the resource‐specific aspects of social policy and (b) functioned as the mechanism though which majority group members high in a threat‐driven security‐cohesion motivation (indexed by right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA)) legitimated policy opposition in both undergraduate student (Study 1) and general population (Study 2) samples of the majority group (New Zealand Europeans/Pakeha). Study 3 experimentally manipulated historical negation in a general population sample using extracts adapted from political speeches, and demonstrated that historical negation increased opposition among liberal voters towards the resource‐specific aspects of bicultural policy. These results suggest that history serves an important symbolic function in mobilising support for public policies regarding intergroup relations because temporal continuity is central to claims of legitimacy, especially where resources are involved. Research in this area is important for any nation with a history of intergroup conflict, as it aids not only in understanding the form and function of historical narratives that legitimate social inequality, but also provides insight into the ways in which such discourses can be countered and re‐formulated in order to promote social equality. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Group size,controllability of group membership,and comparative dimension as determinants of intergroup discrimination

We expected that, when group members cannot control their group membership, majority members show ingroup favouritism on task-relevant dimension, whereas minority members were expected to show ingroup favouritism on task-irrelevant dimension (hypothesis I) In addition, it was expected that intergroup comparisons will change when group membership changes from uncontrollable to controllable. Based on Social Identity Theory, two alternative hypotheses were explored: Compared with uncontrollable settings, ingroup bias will decrease (2a) or increase (2b) in controllable settings. Ninety-two subjects were divided into four groups (minority versus majority, controllable versus uncontrollable group membership), allegedly on the basis of their essay writing style. The results supported the first hypothesis. Hypothesis 2a received support among the majority members and hypothesis 2b among the minority members. The findings are discussed in terms of Social Identity Theory and the effect the perceived control of group membership and the dimension may have on intergroup comparisons.     

Experimentally manipulated high in‐group status can buffer personal self‐esteem against discrimination

We present an experiment in which the relative status of an in‐group and the discriminatory nature of a decision maker's intergroup behaviour (in‐group‐favouring/out‐group‐favouring/even‐handed) were independently manipulated to observe their effects on self‐esteem. Adopting a Social Identity Theory framework, and following from previous empirical work, we predicted that discrimination against one's in‐group would lead to lower self‐esteem among members of a low‐status group but not among members of a high‐status group. This prediction was confirmed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acculturation preferences and behavioural tendencies between majority and minority groups: The mediating role of emotions

The main goal of this research was twofold. First, we aimed at determining how acculturation preferences and emotions were related to specific intergroup behavioural tendencies towards majority and minority groups. Second, we aimed at developing an intergroup behavioural tendencies scale that differentiates between valence (facilitation and harm) and intensity (active and passive). The role of intergroup contact was also examined, as it is a known predictor of intergroup prejudice. In order to fulfil these goals, we carried out two studies. In Study 1 , Spanish participants (N = 279) answered a questionnaire about Moroccans (a devalued group) or Ecuadorians (a valued group) by reporting their acculturation preferences for immigrants, their positive and negative emotions, quantity of contact with them and behavioural tendencies towards them. In Study 2 , Moroccans (N = 92) and Ecuadorians (N = 87) assessed Spaniards on these measures. Results confirmed the structure of the new behavioural tendencies scale across four groups of participants. Overall, findings also showed that acculturation preferences and quantity of contact indirectly predicted behavioural tendencies through positive emotions. This research contributes to knowledge on how the majority and minority's acculturation preferences are related to their emotions and specific dimensions of intergroup behavioural tendencies, confirming the predominant mediating role of positive emotions in this process.     

The relation between polyculturalism and intergroup attitudes among racially and ethnically diverse adults

Research on intergroup ideologies (colorblindness, multiculturalism) has increased our understanding of intergroup attitudes. This article reports empirical tests of the relation between a newly studied ideology, polyculturalism (ideology focusing on interactions and connections among racial/ethnic groups), and intergroup attitudes. Across four studies (with racially/ethnically diverse U.S. undergraduates, and Black and White American adults), greater endorsement of polyculturalism was related to greater equality beliefs; appreciation for and comfort with diversity; willingness for intergroup contact; and endorsement of liberal immigration and affirmative action policies. Polyculturalism explained unique variance after controlling for colorblindness, multiculturalism, assimilation ideology, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism. Implications and future directions of studying polyculturalism are discussed.