The effects of indirect intergroup contact on willingness to engage in direct contact with former adversary
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Social Studies |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | web časopisu |
| Keywords | positive intergroup contact; negative intergroup contact; extended intergroup contact; mass-mediated intergroup contact; willingness to engage in intergroup contact; empathy; outgroup trust |
| Attached files | |
| Description | It is well established that direct intergroup contact reduces prejudice. In post-conflict societies, however, direct intergroup contact is missing due to thelack of willingness to engage in contact with former adversaries. Thus it is important to determine ways how to make former adversariesinteract. Past research found that indirect forms of intergroup contact – such as extended (i.e., knowing that an ingroup member has a close relationship with an outgroup member) or mass-mediated(i.e., portrayals of outgroup members in the mass-media) – can have similar effects to direct intergroup contact. Inan Albanian sample Social Studies (N = 232) in Kosovo, we examined the effects of both positive and negative extended and mass-mediated intergroup contact on willingness to engage in direct intergroup contact with Serbs. We tested the mediating role of trust and empathytoward Serbs. Negative extended contact – negative experiences with Serbsshared by participants’ family –was negatively linked to participants’ willingness to engage in intergroup contact with Serbs. Positive mass-mediated contact – positive information about Serbs from the TV and newspaper – was positively linked to participants’ willingness to engage in direct contactwith Serbs through empathy toward Serbs. We discuss the implications of the effects of mass-mediated intergroup contact forinterventions aiming at improving intergroup relations in post-conflict societies. |