Understanding the impact of cross-group friendship on interactions with novel outgroup members.

Abstract

We examined the cognitive processes that might account for the impact of cross-group friendship on novel intergroup situations. Study 1 demonstrated that closeness with outgroup members predicts an association of the outgroup with the self, both in terms of the group itself and the personality traits stereotypically associated with the group. In Studies 2 and 3, we manipulated the accessibility of either a same-group friendship or cross-group friendship. Participants who described a cross-group friend exhibited a greater association of the friend's ethnicity with the self, and this association mediated the effects of friendship accessibility on positive expectations for intergroup contact (Study 2) and adaptive hormonal responses during a real interaction with a novel outgroup member (Study 3). These findings imply that cross-group friendship improves novel intergroup experiences to the degree that outgroups become associated with the self.

Selectively friending: Racial stereotypicality and social rejection

“…Research shows that one of the strongest predictors of seeking out or positively anticipating a cross-race social interaction is having had such interactions in the past that have gone well (Levin, van Laar, & Sidanius, 2003;Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton, Alegre, & Siy, 2010;Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton, & Tropp, 2008;Wout, Murphy, & Steele, 2010). Yet in general, people tend to avoid interracial interactions, in part due to false assumptions that outgroup members are uninterested in friendship with them Wilkins, et al, 2010;Williams & Eberhardt, 2008).…”

In perfect harmony: Synchronizing the self to activated social categories.

“…Finally, a further examination of the boundary conditions of selfsynchronization and factors that can increase and decrease the impact of activated social categories on associations between the self and these target groups (e.g., psychological distance from the target category, construal processes, culture) is also warranted. Although it is clear from this discussion that more research is necessary and that the present research is limited in its understanding of self-synchronization processes, because of the importance of perceived self-overlap and identification with outgroups on intergroup bias (Dovidio et al, 2004;Galinksy et al, 2005;Galinsky & Moskowitz, 2000;Page-Gould et al, 2010;Phills et al, 2011), these initial findings provide some thought-provoking ideas for gaining a better understanding of the self and perhaps even increasing harmony between social categories.…”

When your friends matter: The effect of White students' racial friendship networks on meta-perceptions and perceived identity contingencies

“…First, exposure to a diverse friendship network might lead participants to expect that their partner is egalitarian and unlikely to harbor racial prejudice. Another possibility is that Black participants who see their in-group represented in their partner's friendship network may begin to include the out-group partner in the self (Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991;Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton, Alegre, & Siy, 2010). Including an out-group member in the self has been shown to have similar benefits such as positive expectations for intergroup contact (Page-Gould et al, 2010), so it is possible that the friendship network cue may be operating through this mechanism.…”