Comparing direct and imagined intergroup contact among children: effects on outgroup stereotypes and helping intentions

Loris Vezzali*, Sofia Stathi, Richard J. Crisp, Dora Capozza

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We conducted an experimental intervention aimed at comparing the effectiveness of direct and imagined intergroup contact. Italian elementary school children took part in a three-week intervention with dependent variables assessed one week after the last intervention session. Results revealed that direct and imagined intergroup contact, compared to control conditions of direct and imagined intragroup contact, had an additive impact when it came to reducing negative stereotypes of immigrants and fostering future helping intentions toward this group. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)46-53
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Journal of Intercultural Relations
Volume49
Early online date26 Jul 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2015

Bibliographical note

© 2015, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Keywords

  • behavioral intentions
  • children
  • direct intergroup contact
  • imagined contact
  • intergroup relations
  • prejudice-reduction

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