Imagined Contact

We bridge the theorizing on mediated and imagined contact and integrate these two contact forms in one sequence within a single design. We experimentally examine whether (1) encouraging people to imagine a positive intergroup encounter prior to reading a personal story of an outgroup member as well as (2) mediated contact with an outgroup member similar or dissimilar to the ingroup prototype, improve outgroup attitudes. We also test the affective and cognitive mediators through which these effects emerge. Data from four different countries that test attitudes toward four distinct immigrant groups find that although imagined contact and similarity do not consistently improve outgroup attitudes, enhanced interest in the story of an outgroup member and positive emotions mediate the effects from similarity, and – in two countries – from imagined contact. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Two experiments carried out in Spain and the Netherlands tested the joint effects of imagined contact and similarity with a narrative protagonist on attitudes and behavioral intentions related to stigmatized immigrants. We advance a concept of optimal reception condition: imagining a positive interaction with an immigrant before reading a testimonial of an immigrant who is similar to the native audience. The optimal reception condition induced greater identification and transportation than the reference condition, leading to more positive attitudes and a higher intention of inter-group contact. The findings are discussed in the context of research on narrative persuasion and prejudice reduction.

Three experiments were conducted to test whether an imagined contact scenario with friendship potential would be more effective than the standard imagined contact scenario in changing Turkish participants’ attitudes and behaviors towards Syrian refugees. Experiment 1 (N = 99) showed that adding a specific friendship indicator to the contact scenario (intimacy or interaction) increased the effectiveness of the typical positive contact strategy on outgroup trust. Experiment 2 (N = 145) demonstrated that imagining a positive contact scenario which included both intimacy and interaction elements simultaneously was more effective than the standard imagined contact scenario in increasing outgroup trust and behavioral intentions. Experiment 3 (N = 79) demonstrated that simply adding an explicit statement about the potential of forming a cross-group friendship improved the effectiveness of the imagined contact paradigm on attitudes, trust, behavioral intentions, and perceived threat. Theoretical and practical implications of findings for the development of imagined contact interventions are discussed.

Recent contact literature has shown that imagining a positive intergroup encounter improves inter-group attitudes and behaviors, yet less is known about the effects of imagined contact in high conflict settings. We conducted three studies to understand the potential effects of imagined intergroup contact among ethnic Turks (majority status) and ethnic Kurds (minority status) in the Turkish-Kurdish interethnic conflict setting. Study 1 (N 5 47, Turkish) tested standard imagined contact effects (neutral vs. standard imagined contact condition) among majority Turks and showed that imagined contact was effective on outgroup attitudes, perceived threat, intergroup anxiety, and support for multiculturalism only among participants with higher ethnic identification. Study 2 (N 5 107, Turkish) examined how ethnic identification of the contact partner would influence the effectiveness of the standard imagined contact scenario (neutral vs. standard vs. ethnic identification condition) and demonstrated that imagined contact effects were more negative when the contact partner identified with his/her ethnic group during imagined contact. Study 3 (N 5 55, Kurdish) investigated imagined contact effects (neutral vs. standard imagined contact condition) among an ethnic minority group and showed that imagined contact did not improve minority group members' outgroup attitudes, but did decrease intergroup anxiety and perceived discrimination (marginally significantly) and increased perceived positive attitudes from the majority group. Practical implications of the use of imagined intergroup contact strategy in conflict-ridden settings were discussed.

In this article, we outline a new implementation of intergroup contact theory: imagined intergroup contact. The approach combines 50 years of research into the effects of contact with recent advances in social cognition. It represents both a versatile experimental paradigm for investigating the extended and indirect impacts of social contact, as well as a flexible and effective tool for practitioners and policy makers in their efforts to promote tolerance for multicultural diversity. We describe the theoretical basis for imagined contact effects, document emerging empirical support, and provide a practical guide for researchers wishing to adopt the paradigm. Finally, we discuss the potential application of imagined contact in educational contexts, and how it could be integrated with existing approaches to provide maximally effective strategies for improving intergroup relations.

How people perceive outgroup prosocial behaviors is an important but under-researched aspect of intergroup relations. In three experiments conducted in two cultural contexts (Italy and Kosovo) and with two different populations (adolescents and adults; N = 586), we asked participants to imagine being offered help by an outgroup versus ingroup member. Participants attributed fewer prosocial motives to and were less willing to accept help from the outgroup (vs. ingroup) member. This was particularly true for highly prejudiced participants and when the outgroup was described negatively. Participants' perceptions of the outgroup helper's prosocial motives and expected quality of the interaction with the helper mediated the effect of helper's group membership on willingness to accept the help (Experiment 3). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for intergroup relations.

This paper examines the modern Kurdish literary narratives and their application to the potential reconciliation between Kurds and Turks. It argues that while the subtle forms of dehumanisation of the Kurds are still entrenched in the Turkish state policy and popular media production – hampering the peace process – Kurdish literary narratives might be helpful in changing the dominant image of the Kurds, humanising them, and stimulating the process of reconciliation. Moreover, they offer diverse perspectives which may assist reconciliation. The peace process in Turkey started in 2009, intensified in 2013, and collapsed in 2015. At the same time, Kurdish culture has not been fully recognised, and it did not become a meaningful factor in the process of ending military conflict and establishing dialogue. The author offers an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on Paul Ricœur’s reflection on reconciliation and forgiveness, the results of socio-psychological study on the subtle forms of dehumanisation, and the role of literature in reconciliation with regard to the imagined contact hypothesis. Martha Nussbaum and Lawrence Hinman’s ideas on moral imagination are also applied to examine examples from Kurdish contemporary literature.

Imagined intergroup contact—the mental simulation of a (positive) interaction with a member of another group—is a recently developed, low-risk, prejudice-reducing intervention. However, regulatory focus can moderate of the effects of prejudice-reducing interventions: a prevention focus (as opposed to a promotion focus) can lead to more negative outcomes. In two experiments we found that a prevention focus altered imagined contact's effects, causing the intervention to backfire. In Experiment 1, participants who reported a strong prevention-focus during imagined contact subsequently reported higher intergroup anxiety and (indirectly) less positive attitudes toward Asians. We found similar moderating effects in Experiment 2, using a different outgroup (gay men) and a subtle regulatory focus manipulation. Theoretical and practical implications for imagined contact are discussed.

This study is an investigation of how a practically applied intervention for the public’s stigma of mental illness operates across types of mental illness. The intervention, imagined contact, is mental simulation of social interaction. This study examined its effects on stigma across mental disorders that the general public thinks are neurological, or “something one can’t help, faulty brain wiring, etc.” and disorders the public thinks are psychosocial or “due to incorrect thinking and social settings, etc.”. This study used an elaborate and detailed imagined contact scenario to reduce stigma of disorders and compared this with control groups. The stigma of mental illness was measured empirically with a series of scales quantifying affective reaction (feelings), social distancing (not socially engaging with the people), and dangerousness (fear). Results indicated that type of illness does not have an effect on imagined contact as an established stigma intervention except in the domain of affect. Stigma was significantly reduced in the domains of thoughts (dangerousness) and behaviors (social distancing) by imagined contact, but not in the domain of affect (affective reaction).

Keywords: stigma, public stigma, neurological, psychosocial, social, psychological, imagined contact

Rhythmically coordinating with a partner can increase pro-sociality, but pro-sociality does not appear to change in proportion to coordination success, or particular classes of coordination. Pro-social benefits may have more to do with simply coordinating in a social context than the details of the actual coordination (Cross et al., 2016). This begs the question, how stripped down can a coordination task be and still affect pro-sociality? Would it be sufficient simply to imagine coordinating with others? Imagining a social interaction can lead to many of the same effects as actual interaction (Crisp and Turner, 2009). We report the first experiments to explore whether imagined coordination affects pro-sociality similarly to actual coordination. Across two experiments and over 450 participants, mentally simulated coordination is shown to promote some, but not all, of the pro-social consequences of actual coordination. Imagined coordination significantly increased group cohesion and d...

Muslims around the world are facing more discrimination and prejudice than ever given modern world politics. It has been found that American citizens with negative stereotypes about Muslims are more likely to support prolonged wars in the Middle East, decreased spending on foreign aid to the Middle East, and more likely to display aggression toward other American Muslims (Sides & Gross, 2013). Some methods of prejudice reduction have been explored and include facial feedback and imagined intergroup contact. This research combines both of these methods to evaluate the effectiveness of facial feedback and imagined intergroup contact using four randomized groups: no engagement in facial feedback or imagined contact, engagement in facial feedback but no imagined contact, engagement in imagined contact but no facial feedback, and engagement in facial feedback and imagined contact. Three dependent variables were used to measure the effect of treatment on prejudice towards Muslims: a graph...

Research has demonstrated widespread negative attitudes held toward people with mental health problems. Our study investigated whether a new prejudice reduction technique, imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009), could combat stigma against people with mental illness, and the mediating processes through which it may exert this beneficial effect. We found that compared to a control condition, participants who imagined a positive encounter with a schizophrenic person reported weakened stereotypes and formed stronger intentions to engage in future social interactions with schizophrenic people in general. Importantly, these intentions were formed due to reduced feelings of anxiety about future interactions. We discuss the implications of these findings for improving the social inclusion of people with mental health problems.