Longitudinal associations between intergroup contact and intergroup trust among adolescents in ethnic regions of China.

Intergroup trust is a crucial psychological foundation for promoting ethnic unity and maintaining social stability. This study explored the dynamic relationship between intergroup contact and trust among adolescents in ethnic regions of China and sought to uncover the mechanisms behind this relationship. Through a two-wave longitudinal survey of 679 adolescents, employing the Intergroup Contact Experience Scale, the Intergroup Trust Scale, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the study yielded several findings: (1) Over the year, a significant increase in intergroup contact was observed among the adolescents. Notably, junior high students demonstrated a marked rise in intergroup trust, whereas no significant change was discernible in high school students. (2) Cross-lagged analysis indicated that early intergroup contact significantly predicted subsequent intergroup trust and loneliness. Initial loneliness also forecasted future intergroup trust, yet early intergroup trust did not predict later intergroup contact or loneliness. (3) Loneliness served as a partial mediator in the longitudinal link between intergroup contact and trust among these adolescents. These findings reinforce the premise that in China's ethnic regions, intergroup contact is a precursor to intergroup trust, both directly enhancing trust among adolescents and indirectly by reducing loneliness.

Does Digital Intergroup Contact Reduce Prejudice? A Meta-Analysis.

With the ubiquity of technology in the modern life, contact between different social groups via different digital means is an everyday reality. Can such a digital intergroup contact reduce prejudice, or does it exacerbate it? In this study, we summarize the present evidence on the links between intergroup digital contact and prejudice in a variety of intergroup contexts. We meta-analyzed experimental and correlational evidence from 88 independent samples (n = 9,385). Digital intergroup contact showed a small but significant effect consistent with prejudice reduction (g = 0.25). Direct digital contact showed larger effect than indirect forms of contact, and contact via computer-mediated communication showed larger effects than contact achieved via other activities such as interacting with nonplayable characters or embodiment. The effects were similar regardless of the type of out-group targeted by prejudice. Overall, meta-analytical results suggest that digital intergroup contact may reduce prejudice.

Who you know influences where you go: Intergroup contact attenuates bias in trainee teachers' school preferences.

The vicious cycle of educational inequality may be maintained and perpetuated by teachers' lack of desire to work in socioeconomically deprived communities. Across two studies (Ntotal = 606), we experimentally investigated whether teachers' aversions to such settings could be mitigated by contact experiences with (a) people experiencing financial hardship and (b) children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Trainee teachers rated their levels of desire to work in schools that varied in terms of the socioeconomic backgrounds and diversity of their student populations. They also reported their contact experiences. Although, overall, teachers showed an aversion to working in a school that served a diverse and low-income community compared to one with average student demographics, this effect was attenuated when teachers had more prior contact with both close others in financial hardship and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. These findings were replicated across both studies. Further analyses also revealed that the relation between contact and school desirability may, at least in part, be mediated by changes in teaching self-efficacy. These findings demonstrate the potential value of teachers' contact with other groups as a method of reducing bias in education.

Everyday discrimination, co-ethnic social support and mood changes in young adult immigrants in Germany-Evidence from an ecological momentary assessment study.

Objective: In the context of international migration flows, Germany is the second largest receiving country of migrants in the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the momentary mood effects of discrimination experiences for young adult immigrants and which social resources can buffer negative effects. A distinction is made between the importance of inter and intra-ethnic interaction partners in processing stressors. Method: Using an ecological momentary assessment design, first-generation migrants in Germany who had recently migrated from Poland, Turkey or Syria were interviewed three times a day over seven days in June 2021 (N individuals = 976; N observations = 11,470). The timing of the short surveys was chosen at random using a signal contingent sampling method. Participants reported their momentary mood and instances of discrimination, along with information on social support perception and interaction partners during the preceding hour in the context of their everyday lives. Hybrid mixed-effects regression models were estimated and the research questions were tested with three-way interactions. Results: The results indicate that perceived social support only moderately buffers the negative effect of everyday discrimination experiences on mood. A positive main effect on mood is observed for situational variations in perceived social support as well as for support from interaction partners. Conclusion: The findings illustrate that being embedded in supportive relationships is important in everyday life, regardless of the occurrence of stressors. Furthermore, the study suggests that the level of perceived support is more important for first-generation migrants than the ethnic origin of the support provider.

Stay strong, stay healthy: exploring a predictive model of psychological adaptation among Macau students studying in Mainland China within the postcolonial context.

The prevailing research on adaptation primarily centers around the settlement of international students and immigrants in different cultural environments. However, there is a notable gap in understanding the intra-cultural adaptation process for individuals from postcolonial areas when relocating to their home country. The primary focus of the current study lies in constructing a predictive model that delineates the psychological adaptation experienced by Macau students studying in Mainland China. In total, two hundred and fifty-five Macau students completed a questionnaire which assessed variables falling into two categories: identity-related variables, such as language proficiency and identity, and intergroup-related variables, including intergroup contact and the quality of contact, and psychological adaptation. The findings from the present study revealed that identity and quality of contact continued to make significant contributions to psychological adaptation in intra-cultural environments as in inter-cultural environments, whereas language proficiency and intergroup contact were unrelated to psychological adaptation in intra-cultural adaptation. The present study extended the adaptation research by transporting hypotheses and findings from inter-cultural adaptation and testing their validity and applicability in postcolonial contexts. The findings also provided practical implications for Chinese education institutions and policy-makers.

Imagine Being Humble: Integrating Imagined Intergroup Contact and Cultural Humility to Foster Inclusive Intergroup Relations.

To reduce prejudice and to promote intergroup harmony and equality, the imagined intergroup contact technique, based on the mental simulation of an encounter with an outgroup member, has been proposed. Though a substantial body of research has provided support for the efficacy of imagined intergroup contact in prejudice reduction, an alternative strand of research has raised questions about its effectiveness. In this experiment, we combined imagined intergroup contact with cultural humility, that is, an other-oriented, humble approach toward people with different cultural backgrounds, recognizing status and power imbalances and privileges. Specifically, we tested whether instructions aimed at eliciting cultural humility during imagined contact boosted its effectiveness in reducing prejudice and promoting future contact intentions, compared to a standard imagined contact condition and to a control imagination task. Intergroup anxiety was tested as a mediator of the effects of culturally humble imagined contact on reduced prejudice and on future contact intentions. We found that culturally humble imagined contact, compared to the two other conditions, reduced intergroup anxiety and yielded indirect effects on reduced prejudice and increased future contact intentions. The findings will be discussed by focusing on the integration of cultural humility in prejudice reduction techniques based on intergroup contact.

Intergroup Contact Is Associated with Less Negative Attitude toward Women Managers: The Bolstering Effect of Social Dominance Orientation.

This cross-sectional study examined the intergroup contact hypothesis in the workplace by enrolling 150 Italian employees. Within the framework of social dominance theory, the purpose of this study was to test the assumption that individuals with higher levels of social dominance orientation are more likely to exhibit prejudice against women in managerial positions and benefit more from intergroup contact with a female supervisor. In particular, we found that individuals with higher levels of social dominance orientation exhibited more negative attitudes towards women in manager positions, but this effect only appeared when their superiors were women, as opposed to men. In addition, participants with higher social dominance orientation experienced more positive outcomes from intergroup contact, resulting in less negative attitudes toward women managers, than those with lower social dominance orientation. Overall, these findings yield insights into how intergroup contact affects individuals with prejudice tendencies, indicating that contact with the targeted group (i.e., women in managerial positions) is negatively associated with negative attitudes towards the group, even when the prejudice is driven by social dominance orientation. These results could shed light on new routes to design practical intervention aimed at solving prejudice towards women in leadership roles.

Need Fulfillment During Intergroup Contact: Three Experience Sampling Studies.

One challenge of modern intergroup contact research has been the question of when and why an interaction is perceived as positive and improves intergroup relations. We propose to consider the perceived fulfillment of the situationally most relevant need. We conducted three intensive longitudinal studies with recent migrants to capture their interactions with the majority out-group (Nmeasurements = 10,297; Nparticipants = 207). The situational need fulfillment mechanism is consistently a strong predictor of perceived interaction quality and positive out-group attitudes following intergroup interactions. The model is specific to out-group contact, robust to various need types, and works at least as well as Allport's contact conditions. As one of the first studies to test intergroup contact theory using intensive longitudinal data, we offer insight into the mechanisms of positive intergroup contact during real-life interactions and find situational motivations to be a key building block for understanding and addressing positive intergroup interactions.Public significance statement: In this article, we provide evidence that the fulfillment of situational needs during real-life intergroup contacts meaningfully predicts perceived interaction quality and positive outgroup attitudes. Methodologically, this offers a testament to the emerging practice of capturing real-life interactions using intensive longitudinal data. Theoretically, our results give weight to motivational fulfillment as a flexible and effective mechanism for understanding positive intergroup contact.

Adaptación de una escala para evaluar contacto entre ciudadanos de distinta clase social del Gran Córdoba (Argentina)

Resumen: Introducción. La escala propuesta por Islam y Hewstone (1993) evalúa la frecuencia y la calidad del contacto entre distintos grupos. Aunque es una de las escalas más empleadas para evaluar el contacto intergrupal, a la fecha no hay investigaciones, según nuestro conocimiento, que hayan empleado dicha escala en muestras de Argentina ni en grupos que pertenezcan a distintas clases sociales. Objetivo. Adaptar la escala de contacto intergrupal propuesta por Islam y Hewstone (1993) en una muestra de personas de 18 a 65 años de distinta clase social, radicadas en el Gran Córdoba (Argentina). Método. Empleamos un muestreo no probabilístico de tipo autoelegido y participaron 442 personas. Llevamos a cabo la adaptación lingüística y cultural de los ítems de la escala original y elaboramos tres versiones idénticas de la escala en las cuales lo que varía es el grupo evaluado (clase alta, clase media, o clase baja). Resultados. Obtuvimos evidencias satisfactorias acerca de la validez estructural, convergente, discriminante y predictiva de la escala en todas sus versiones. Además, los resultados sobre la consistencia interna fueron adecuados. Discusión. La adaptación de la presente escala representa un aporte significativo al campo de conocimiento y evaluación del contacto intergrupal.

Abstract: Introduction. The scale proposed by Islam and Hewstone (1993) assesses the frequency and quality of contact between different groups. Although it is one of the most widely used scales to evaluate intergroup contact, to date there are no studies, to our best knowledge, that have used this scale in samples from Argentina or in groups belonging to different social classes. Objective. To adapt the intergroup contact scale proposed by Islam and Hewstone (1993) in a sample of people between 18 and 65 years old from different social classes, who live in the Gran Córdoba (Argentina). Method. We used a no-probabilistic sampling (self-selected) and 442 citizens participated. We carried out the linguistic and cultural adaptation of the items of the original scale and elaborated three identical versions of the scale in which what varies is the group evaluated (high, medium or low class). Results. We obtained satisfactory evidence about the structural, convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of the scale. In addition, the results about internal consistency were adequate. Discussion. The adaptation of this scale represents a significant contribution to the field of knowledge and evaluation of intergroup contact.

Resumo: Introdução. A escala proposta por Islam e Hewstone (1993) avalia a frequência e a qualidade do contato entre diferentes grupos. Embora seja uma das escalas mais utilizadas para avaliar o contato intergrupal, até o momento não há investigações, ao nosso conhecimento, que tenham utilizado esta escala em amostras da Argentina ou em grupos pertencentes a diferentes classes sociais. Objetivo. Adaptar a escala de contato intergrupal proposta por Islam e Hewstone (1993) em uma amostra de pessoas entre 18 e 65 anos de diferentes classes sociais, residentes na Grande Córdoba (Argentina). Método. Utilizamos uma amostra não probabilística auto-selecionada e 442 pessoas participaram. Realizamos a adaptação linguística e cultural dos itens da escala original e elaboramos três versões idênticas da escala em que o que varia é o grupo avaliado (classe alta, classe média ou classe baixa). Resultados. Obtivemos evidências satisfatórias sobre a validade estrutural, convergente, discriminante e preditiva da escala. Além disso, os resultados de consistência interna foram adequados. Discussão. A adaptação desta escala representa uma contribuição significativa para o campo do conhecimento e avaliação do contato intergrupal.