Minority group members' theories of intergroup contact: A case study of British Muslims' conceptualizations of Islamophobia and social change

2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Hopkins ◽  
Vered Kahani-Hopkins
2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hema Preya Selvanathan ◽  
Pirathat Techakesari ◽  
Linda R. Tropp ◽  
Fiona Kate Barlow

Advantaged group members have an important role to play in creating social change, and intergroup contact has tremendous implications in shaping intergroup relations. However, little research has examined how intergroup contact predicts advantaged group members’ inclinations toward collective action to support the interests of disadvantaged groups. The present research investigates how contact with Black Americans shapes White Americans’ willingness to engage in collective action for racial justice and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Three studies of White Americans (total N = 821) consistently reveal that positive contact with Black Americans predicts greater support for collective action through a sequential process of fostering greater feelings of empathy for Black Americans and anger over injustice. These findings hold even when taking into account other relevant psychological factors (i.e., White guilt and identification, negative contact, group efficacy, and moral convictions). The present research contributes to our understanding of how advantaged group members come to engage in social change efforts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (14) ◽  
pp. e2022634118
Author(s):  
Chagai M. Weiss

Diversity in the lines of public institutions, such as hospitals, schools, and police forces, is thought to improve provision for minority group members. Nonetheless, whether and how diversity in public institutions shapes majority citizens’ prejudice toward minorities are unclear. Building on insights from the intergroup contact literature, I suggest that diversity in public institutions can facilitate positive intergroup contact between majority group members and minorities in elevated social positions. Such unique interactions, which exceed the equal status condition for effective intergroup contact, can serve to reduce prejudice and facilitate more inclusive attitudes among majority group members. To test this expectation, I focus on health care provision—a leading sector with regard to minority representation. Leveraging a natural experiment unfolding in 21 Israeli medical clinics where Jewish patients are haphazardly assigned to receive care from Jewish or Arab doctors and embedding prejudice-related questions in a routine evaluation survey, I demonstrate that brief contact with an Arab doctor reduces prejudice. Specifically, contact with an Arab doctor reduces Jewish patients’ exclusionary preferences toward Arabs by one-sixth of an SD and increases Jewish patients’ optimism about peace by a 10th of an SD. The modest magnitude of these effects is similar to the impact of well-powered interventions recently reviewed in a meta-analysis of prejudice reduction experiments. These findings emphasize how the demographic makeup of public institutions can reduce mass prejudice, even in a context of intractable conflict.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabea Hässler ◽  
Özden Melis Uluğ ◽  
Mariska Kappmeier ◽  
Giovanni A. Travaglino

Previous research has shown that positive intergroup contact among disadvantaged groupmembers may predict a so-called ‘sedative’ effect according to which positive contact isassociated with reduced support for social change. Conversely, positive contact is associatedwith increased support for social change toward equality among advantaged group members.This raises the important question of under which circumstances intergroup contact canencourage support for social change among both disadvantaged and advantaged groups. Inthis theoretical article, we tackle this question by introducing a new Integrated Contact-Collective Action Model (ICCAM). We first provide an up-to-date review of how intergroupcontact may promote or hinder social change for both disadvantaged and advantaged groups.We, then, use ICCAM to examine when the many forms of intergroup contact promote orhinder support for social change, proposing the existence of two different paths fordisadvantaged and advantaged group members. Finally, we discuss the implications of themodel for social intervention and make policy recommendations stemming from a review ofavailable evidence.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabea Hässler ◽  
Johannes Ullrich ◽  
Simone Sebben ◽  
Nurit Shnabel ◽  
Michelle Bernardino ◽  
...  

What role does intergroup contact play in promoting support for social change toward greater equality? Drawing on the needs-based model of reconciliation, we theorized that when inequality between groups is perceived as illegitimate, disadvantaged groups members will experience a need for empowerment and advantaged groups members a need for acceptance. When intergroup contact satisfies each group’s needs, it should result in more mutual support for social change. Using four sets of survey data collected through the Zurich Intergroup Project in 23 countries, we tested several preregistered predictions derived from the above reasoning across a large variety of operationalizations. Two studies of disadvantaged groups (Ns=689 ethnic minority members in Study 1 and 3,382 sexual/gender minorities in Study 2) support the hypothesis that, after accounting for the effects of intergroup contact and perceived illegitimacy, satisfying the need for empowerment (but not acceptance) during contact is positively related with support for social change. Two studies with advantaged groups (Ns=2,937 ethnic majority members in Study 3 and 4,203 cis-heterosexual individuals in Study 4) showed that, after accounting for illegitimacy and intergroup contact, satisfying the need for acceptance (but also empowerment) is positively related with support for social change. Overall, these findings suggest that intergroup contact is compatible with efforts to promote social change when group-specific needs are met. Thus, to encourage support for social change among both disadvantaged and advantaged group members, it is essential that besides promoting mutual acceptance, intergroup contact interventions also give voice to and empower members of disadvantaged groups.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine E. Merrilees ◽  
Jennifer Katz ◽  
Natalie DuBois ◽  
Claire Grant

Although much research suggests that intergroup contact reduces prejudice, less research has examined the effects of contact on prosocial intergroup bystander behaviors. The current study examined mediators between White undergraduate women’s (N = 139) contact with racial/ethnic minority group members and their intent to help a Black woman at risk for sexual assault. As expected, White women who had more frequent and higher quality contact reported greater intent to intervene. Results showed that the effect of quality intergroup contact was mediated by diversity beliefs, or the attitude that cultural heterogeneity leads to favorable outcomes. These results suggest that promoting high-quality opportunities for intergroup contact and education regarding cultural diversity could promote the safety of racially and ethnically diverse students on predominantly White campuses.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022110109
Author(s):  
Gian Antonio Di Bernardo ◽  
Loris Vezzali ◽  
Michèle D. Birtel ◽  
Sofia Stathi ◽  
Barbara Ferrari ◽  
...  

A field study was conducted with majority and minority group members to test whether the effects of optimal contact conditions and of intergroup contact generalize across situations, and extend to the support of intergroup equality in terms of agreement with social policies benefitting the minority group. Participants were 163 Italian and 129 immigrant workers in three corporate organizations. Results from structural equation modelling analyses revealed that, for the majority group, positive contact stemming from optimal contact conditions was indirectly associated, via reduction in negative stereotypes, with more positive behavior that generalized across situations. For both majority and minority groups, positive contact stemming from optimal contact conditions was associated with less negative stereotypes, and in turn with greater support for social policies favoring the minority. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, also in relation to the significance of the present results for research investigating the relation between intergroup contact and social change.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabea Hässler ◽  
Johannes Ullrich ◽  
Michelle Bernardino ◽  
Nurit Shnabel ◽  
Colette Van Laar ◽  
...  

Guided by the early findings of social scientists, practitioners have long advocated for greater contact between groups toreduce prejudice and increase social cohesion. Recent work, however, suggests that intergroup contact can undermine support for social change towards greater equality, especially among disadvantaged group members. Using a large and heterogeneous dataset (12,997 individuals from 69 countries), we demonstrate that intergroup contact and support for social change towards greater equality are positively associated among members of advantaged groups (ethnic majorities and cis-heterosexuals) but negatively associated among disadvantaged groups (ethnic minorities and sexual and gender minorities). Specification curve analysis revealed important variation in the size—and at times, direction—of correlations, depending on how contact and support for social change were measured. This allowed us to identify one type of support for change—willingness to work in solidarity— that is positively associated with intergroup contact among both advantaged and disadvantaged group members.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 439-451
Author(s):  
Iolo Madoc-Jones ◽  
Dawn Jones ◽  
Odette Parry ◽  
Sarah Dubberley

Purpose – Drawing on the approach of Bourdieu (1977, 1986), and using language as an exemplar, the purpose of this paper is to engage in a “dangerous conversation” to explore how and why issues of diversity were mobilised, ignored and leveraged in one particular service context. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research exploring the language choices of 25 service users who had been processed through the criminal Justice System in Wales in the last five years. Findings – The argument is made that in some service contexts, a habitus obtains that renders reflexivity about diversity issues problematic and predicates against the critical reflection necessary to promote anti-oppressive practice. Research limitations/implications – Small sample size, not generalisable. Practical implications – The authors intend the paper to encourage greater reflection on instances when diversity issues are raised and to render simplistic any attempt to invalidate claims of discrimination. Social implications – Encourage dialogue about claims of discrimination and greater reflection by service providers about the legitimacy of such claims. Originality/value – Anti-oppressive theorising has, for the most part, constructed minority group members as passive victims within hierarchical power relationships. While acknowledging how power is unequally distributed, the paper challenges hierarchical models which designate minority group members as bereft of power.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062110277
Author(s):  
James R. Rae ◽  
Allison L. Skinner-Dorkenoo ◽  
Anna-Kaisa Reiman ◽  
Katharina Schmid ◽  
Miles Hewstone

Dominant majority-group members living in areas with larger proportions of outgroup members tend to express more ingroup bias. However, prior research has rarely considered this in tandem with the bias-reducing effects of intergroup contact or tested whether outgroup proportions have similar effects for oppressed minority-group members. In two preregistered studies, we tested whether contact moderates the association between outgroup proportions and ingroup bias among White and Black Americans (total N > 75,000). As hypothesized, more Black residents in an area predicted greater explicit (but not implicit) ingroup bias among White respondents who reported low (but not high) contact with Black people. By contrast, more White residents in an area predicted lower explicit (but not implicit) ingroup bias among Black respondents regardless of intergroup contact with White people. We qualify previous findings by demonstrating that the association between outgroup proportions and ingroup bias depends on one’s group membership and level of intergroup contact.


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