From imagery to intention: A dual route model of imagined contact effects

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & R. Turner, 2009) is a new indirect contact strategy for promoting tolerance and more positive intergroup relations. In this chapter, we review existing research on imagined contact and propose two routes-cognitive and affective-through which it can exert a positive influence on contact-related attitudes and intentions. We first review research that has established the beneficial impacts of imagined contact on intergroup attitudes via reduced intergroup anxiety, supporting its efficacy as an intervention where there exists little or no opportunity for direct contact. We then review more recent research showing that imagined contact not only improves attitudes, but can also enhance intentions to engage in future contact. These studies suggest that contact imagery provides a behavioural script that forms the cognitive basis for subsequent judgements about future contact intentions. Collectively, the findings from this research programme support the idea that imagined contact can complement more direct forms of contact-providing a way of initially encouraging an interest in engaging positively with outgroups before introducing face-to-face encounters. We discuss the implications of these findings for future theory and research, and how they can inform prejudice-reduction interventions seeking to capitalise on the beneficial effects of mental imagery.

Imagining intergroup contact reduces implicit prejudice

Recent research has demonstrated that imagining intergroup contact can be sufficient to reduce explicit prejudice directed towards out-groups. In this research, we examined the impact of contact-related mental imagery on implicit prejudice as measured by the implicit association test. We found that, relative to a control condition, young participants who imagined talking to an elderly stranger subsequently showed more positive implicit attitudes towards elderly people in general. In a second study, we demonstrated that, relative to a control condition, non-Muslim participants who imagined talking to a Muslim stranger subsequently showed more positive implicit attitudes towards Muslims in general. We discuss the implications of these findings for furthering the application of indirect contact strategies aimed at improving intergroup relations.

Common Ingroups and Complex Identities: Routes to Reducing Bias in Multiple Category Contexts

We tested the hypothesis that evaluative bias in common ingroup contexts versus crossed categorization contexts can be associated with two distinct underlying processes. We reasoned that in common ingroup contexts, self-categorization, but not perceived complexity, would be positively related to intergroup bias. In contrast, in crossed categorization contexts, perceived complexity, but not self-categorization, would be negatively related to intergroup bias. In two studies, and in line with predictions, we found that while self-categorization and intergroup bias were related in common ingroup contexts, this was not the case in crossed categorization contexts. Moreover, we found that perceived category complexity, and not self-categorization, predicted bias in crossed categorization contexts. We discuss the implications of these findings for models of social categorization and intergroup bias.

A test of the extended intergroup contact hypothesis: The mediating role of intergroup anxiety, perceived ingroup and outgroup norms, and inclusion of the outgroup in the self

S. C. Wright, A. Aron, T. McLaughlin-Volpe, and S. A. Ropp (1997) proposed that the benefits associated with cross-group friendship might also stem from vicarious experiences of friendship. Extended contact was proposed to reduce prejudice by reducing intergroup anxiety, by generating perceptions of positive ingroup and outgroup norms regarding the other group, and through inclusion of the outgroup in the self. This article documents the first test of Wright et al.'s model, which used structural equation modeling among two independent samples in the context of South Asian-White relations in the United Kingdom. Supporting the model, all four variables mediated the relationship between extended contact and outgroup attitude, controlling for the effect of direct contact. A number of alternative models were ruled out, indicating that the four mediators operate concurrently rather than predicting one another.

Improving children's attitudes toward refugees: An evaluation of a school-based multicultural curriculum and an anti-racist intervention

We evaluated the impact of the Friendship Project, a program designed to improve elementary school children's attitudes toward refugees. Participants either received 4 weekly lessons based on the program, or they received no lessons. All participants completed attitude measures before and after implementation of the program. Half completed the post-test 1 week after completion of the program, while the other half completed the post-test 7 weeks after its completion. The program led to more positive attitudes toward refugees in the short term, but not in the long term. Moreover, although it did not increase empathy, the program increased the proportion of participants who preferred an acculturation strategy of integration and reduced the number of participants who had conflictual acculturative fit.

Socio-political context and accounts of national identity in adolescence

Psychological research into national identity has considered both the banal quality of nationalism alongside the active, strategic construction of national categories and boundaries. Less attention has been paid to the conflict between these processes for those whose claims to national identity may be problematic. In the present study, focus groups were conducted with 36 Roman Catholic adolescents living in border regions of Ireland, in which participants were asked to talk about their own and others’ Irish national identity. Discursive analysis of the data revealed that those in the Republic of Ireland strategically displayed their national identity as obvious and ‘banal’, while those in Northern Ireland proactively claimed their Irishness. Moreover, those in Northern Ireland displayed an assumption that their fellow Irish in the Republic shared their imperative to assert national identity, while those in the Republic actively distanced themselves from this version of Irishness. These results suggest that for dominant ethnic groups, ‘banality’ may itself provide a marker of national identity while paradoxically the proactive display of national identity undermines minority groups claims to national identity.

Citizenship Attributes as the Basis for Intergroup Differentiation:Implicit and Explicit Intergroup Evaluations

Recent research (e.g. Barnes, Auburn & Lee, 2004) suggests that citizenship opportunities and resources may be afforded or denied to individuals according to their group memberships. We consider how the generic processes of intergroup differentiation by which groups are socially devalued and excluded can reflect divergent conceptualizations of citizenship among different groups. As part of a wider investigation of social exclusion, a combination of methods was used to investigate the relative intergroup perceptions of residents from more and less affluent areas in Limerick city, Ireland. Participants (n=214) completed the implicit association test and rated a fictional character on a series of citizenship-relevant dimensions. All participants displayed negative
implicit associations with designated disadvantaged areas in Limerick. The results of the explicit prejudice assessment illustrated that these negative associations are matched by a lower overall attribution of positive characteristics to residents from these areas relative to residents from a more affluent area. On examination of each group’s relative rating of traits, residents from less affluent
areas appear doubly disadvantaged as they are devalued in terms of both outgroup and ingroup understandings of citizenship attributes.

Enacting National Concerns: Accounts of the 2002 Golden Jubilee

Although the study of national identity in social psychology has examined the various ways in which the national group is ‘imagined’, little attention has been paid to the many collective national commemorations, celebrations and rituals of state assumed to unite the nation. This is surprising given the number of celebrations and commemorations which fill the calendars of modern nations
throughout the world and which are assumed by social scientists to play some part in the reproduction of the national community. Taking the British Royal Golden Jubilee celebrations of 2002, the present study examines how understandings of Anglo-British national identity are manifest in conversational
interviews during and after these events. In line with previous examinations of Anglo-Britishness, our respondents typically resisted imagining the national community as a homogenous whole and distanced themselves from depictions of the Jubilee as a nationalistic event. Support for the Jubilee was contingent upon the event being apolitical and inclusive.We suggest that such collective
national events could potentially facilitate ways of imagining the national community in terms of diversity and inclusivity rather than homogeneity and exclusivity.

Risky decision making in younger and older adults:The role of learning.

Are older adults risk seeking or risk averse? Answering this question might depend on both the task used and the analysis performed. By modeling responses to the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), our results illustrate the value of modeling as compared to relying on common analysis techniques. While analysis of overall measures suggested initially that older and younger adults do not differ in their risky decisions, our modeling results indicated that younger adults were at first more willing to take greater risks. Furthermore, older adults may be more cautious when their decision making is based on initial perceptions of risk, rather than learning following some experience with a task.

Researcher identity: exploring the transformatory power of the research experience.

In consumer research, we frequently focus on the phenomenon of transformation, whether the transformatory effects of a particular consumption community or the great body of work being carried out under the banner of transformative consumer research. However, there is a particular transformation which occurs in the field of interpretivist consumer research that, we would argue, is overlooked—that of researcher transformation. We present as data our reflexive considerations on the ways in which our own research with vulnerable consumers has affected and changed us. We consider short-term transformations in the field, reflecting on the various ways that researcher identity is carefully managed and negotiated to fit with the social–cultural setting. We also consider longer term transformations and discuss the enduring impact of the research process—the people we have met, the homes we have visited, and the stories we have heard. By reflecting on the shaping of identities ‘in the field’, we aim to deepen our appreciation of the interpretive consumer research process and contribute to theoretical understanding of transformative identity research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Combating the mental health stigma with nostalgia

We report research implicating nostalgia as an intrapersonal means of warding off the stigmatization of persons with mental illness. We hypothesized and found that nostalgia about an encounter with a person with mental illness improves attitudes toward the mentally ill. In Experiment 1, undergraduates who recalled an encounter with a mentally ill person while focusing on central (vs. peripheral) features of the nostalgia prototype reported a more positive outgroup attitude. This beneficial effect of nostalgia was mediated by greater inclusion of the outgroup in the self (IOGS). In Experiment 2, undergraduates who recalled a nostalgic (vs. ordinary) interaction with a mentally ill person subsequently showed a more positive outgroup attitude. Results supported a serial mediation model whereby nostalgia increased social connectedness, which predicted greater IOGS and outgroup trust. IOGS and outgroup trust, in turn, predicted more positive outgroup attitudes. We ruled out alternative explanations for the results (i.e., mood, perceived positivity, and typicality of the recalled outgroup member). The findings speak to the intricate psychological processes underlying the prejudice-reduction function of nostalgia and their interventional potential. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Community identity as resource and context: A mixed method investigation of coping and collective action in a disadvantaged community

Community identities enhance well-being through the provision of social support and feelings of collective efficacy as well as by acting as a basis for collective action and social change. However, the precise mechanisms through which community identity acts to enhance well-being are complicated by stigmatisation which potentially undermines solidarity and collective action. The present research examines a real-world stigmatised community group in order to investigate: (1) the community identity factors that act to enhance well-being, and (2) the consequences of community identity for community action. Study 1 consisted of a household survey conducted in disadvantaged areas of Limerick city in Ireland. Participants (n=322) completed measures of community identification, social support, collective efficacy, community action, and psychological well-being. Mediation analysis indicated that perceptions of collective efficacy mediated the relationship between identification and well-being. However, levels of self-reported community action were low and unrelated to community identification. In Study 2, twelve follow–up multiple-participant interviews with residents and community group workers were thematically analysed, revealing high levels of stigmatisation and opposition to identity-related collective action. These findings suggest the potential for stigma to reduce collective action through undermining solidarity and social support.

TEENAGERS AND ILLICIT DRUG-USE - EXPANDING THE USER VS NONUSER DICHOTOMY

The present study examines proximal and distal factors associated with the use and non-use of illegal substances within a sample of 860 teenagers in North Wales. Arguing that there is predictive utility in expanding the traditional 'users vs non-users' design dichotomy, four groups are identified-resistant and vulnerable non-users and experimental and repeated users. 'Person' variables (life satisfaction, deviance, hopelessness and drug-related attributions) appeared to primarily differentiate the vulnerable group from their resistant counterparts and identify this, as yet non-using group, with user samples. It is suggested that these variables might represent 'risk' factors for illicit substance use and that the group design employed suggests they precede, rather than follow as a consequence of, illicit drug use. Like their resistant counterparts however, the vulnerable group are differentiated from user samples on some lifestyle and context indices. It is argued that these represent 'protective' influences in an otherwise at-risk group of non-users. Variables associated with an escalation of illicit drug use are discussed in considering the differences between the experimental and repeated user groups. Apart from the more proximal factor of drug-related attributions, 'person' variables appeared less involved here. Repeated users did however, tend to use a greater number of drugs, have a greater proportion of friends who also used illegal substances and significantly fewer had a Welsh cultural identity.