Willingness to engage in intergroup contact: A multilevel approach.

Abstract

Numerous studies point to the potential of intergroup contact for reducing prejudice and intergroup tension. However, this potential can be realized only when group members are willing to engage in intergroup contact. The goal of the current article is to provide a theoretical framework for understanding the barriers and the motivations that explain why individuals would be willing (or not) to engage in intergroup contact. Our taxonomy relies on Pettigrew's (1997) multilevel approach for analyzing social phenomenon, considering the impact of factors at the macro societal level, the meso intermediate level, and the micro individual level. This taxonomy enables us to devote special attention to barriers and motivations that are specific to groups trapped in violent intergroup conflict (macrolevel factors), to barriers and motivations that result from membership in social groups (mesolevel factors), and to motivators and barriers that exist at the intrapersonal level (e.g., microlevel factors). We discuss the integration of the various levels and the implication of such integration for future research and practice. This article forms a roadmap for investigating a relatively understudied angle in the literature on contact and provides both theoretical and practical insights as to when and why individuals are willing to engage in intergroup contact.

Seeking and avoiding intergroup contact: Future frontiers of research on building social integration

“…These investigations demonstrate significant inter-individual variability in responses to realistic intergroup contact opportunities (see,e.g., Mohr & Sedlacek, 2000). They also prove that this variability is typically multi-determined (Al Ramiah et al, 2015;Barbarino & Stürmer, 2016;Ponterotto, 2010;Ron et al, 2017;Stürmer et al, 2013;Van der Zee & Van Oudenhoven, 2000). Through this groundwork around the factors promoting or hindering people's interest in intergroup exploration, we aspire to contribute to an integrated, empirically determined and ecologically valid understanding of the conditions and processes that are at work in realistic social settings.…”

“…We classified individual predictors (as manipulated in experiments and intervention studies, or measured by self‐report in correlational and longitudinal research: see “design” column), along three broad levels of analysis: a micro‐level, a meso‐level, and a macro‐level (see “levels of analysis” column). These three broad organizing concepts, borrowed from Lewin's () and Pettigrew's () multilevel approach to analyzing social phenomena, have already proved fruitful in the contact literature to distinguish between effects that belong to arguably distinct spheres of reality—ranging from most internal to the individual, to most outer spheres (Christ et al, ; Ron et al, ). In our work, we articulate this multilevel lens further, by identifying lower levels of analysis that map onto distinct psychological traditions.…”

“…Reflecting on these dynamics, it clear that avoidance of out-groups does not need to reflect "pure" out-grouprelated processes; it can be the byproduct of in-group-centered processes (e.g., driven by perceived in-group members' homophily, in-group identity support, or interest in learning in-group norms: Harwood, 1997;Knobloch-Westerwick, 2015;Ron et al, 2017;Shelton & Richeson, 2005). Contact avoidance might thus present against relatively muted, neutral or apathetic responses to out-groups.…”

“…These structural barriers extend to our mediated communication environments: Growing evidence shows that people selectively seek media featuring in-group members and avoid content featuring out-group members (Harwood, 1997;Iyengar & Hahn, 2009;Knobloch-Westerwick, Appiah, & Alter, 2008;Knobloch-Westerwick & Hastall, 2006). These findings are largely interpreted in terms of in-group (vs. out-group) media consumption supporting in-group identity needs (Abrams & Giles, 2009;Joyce & Harwood, 2017), although the actual motivations might be more complex (Ron, Solomon, Halperin, & Saguy, 2017;Stürmer & Benbow, 2017).…”

The discrimination of immigrants in the socioeconomic domain: the role of intergroup attitudes of the mainstream population

“…также 15]. Люди с высоким уровнем АПТ менее склонны проживать в районах, где проживают представители аутггруппы [60]. Кроме того, вера в опасный мир, в котором большинство людей представ-ляет угрозу, должна снизить готовность к межгрупповому контакту [см.…”