Contact capacity and its effect on intergroup relations

Although intergroup contact is an effective means to improve intergroup attitudes, it does not always have a positive impact on them. This study introduces contact capacity as a factor that may impede intergroup contact. Longitudinal social network data (N = 6,600; Mage = 14.87 years) was collected...

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Chi tiết về thư mục
Những tác giả chính: Pfister, M, Wölfer, R, Hewstone, M
Định dạng: Journal article
Ngôn ngữ:English
Được phát hành: SAGE Publications 2019
Miêu tả
Tóm tắt:Although intergroup contact is an effective means to improve intergroup attitudes, it does not always have a positive impact on them. This study introduces contact capacity as a factor that may impede intergroup contact. Longitudinal social network data (N = 6,600; Mage = 14.87 years) was collected in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden and used to accurately calculate participants’ out-group, in-group, and total contact. Multilevel models (L1: students, L2: school classes) showed that the total amount of contact at Wave 1 negatively predicts individuals’ out-group friends at Wave 2 while controlling for out-group attitudes, existing out-group friendships and sociodemographic variables. An additional robustness check showed that this effect holds true for future in-group friendships. The study highlights the importance of contact capacity for whether people engage in intergroup contact and the contribution of social network analysis to contact research.