Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Positive Intergroup Contact: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Approach to Understanding Intergroup Attitudes

Intergroup contact theory has suggested that interpersonal, and even imagined, communication between members of different social groups is one of the most effective ways to promote positive intergroup attitudes. Researchers have examined various elements and conditions of the communication that may be related to the impact of intergroup contact. However, due to methodological limitations, the extent to which these conditions are necessary or sufficient to produce positive intergroup outcomes has been unclear. We used fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) to analyze how several communicative and psychological variables might be necessary and/or sufficient to produce positive intergroup attitudes toward “illegal” immigrants within an imagined intergroup contact experience. Findings suggest that certain combinations of conditions for contact are sufficient for producing positive attitudes toward social group members but that there are no necessary causes. The discussion emphasizes the implications for intergroup contact and the utility of fs/QCA.

[1]  T. Pettigrew.  Intergroup contact theory. , 1998, Annual review of psychology.

[2]  Rupert Brown,et al.  An integrative theory of intergroup contact , 2005 .

[3]  Mark Rubin,et al.  Negative Intergroup Contact Makes Group Memberships Salient: Explaining Why Intergroup Conflict Endures , 2010, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[4]  R. Crisp,et al.  Imagining intergroup contact is more cognitively difficult for people higher in intergroup anxiety but this does not detract from its effectiveness , 2012 .

[5]  Mark Rubin,et al.  Secondary transfer effects from imagined contact: group similarity affects the generalization gradient. , 2011, The British journal of social psychology.

[6]  Richard J. Crisp,et al.  Imagining Intergroup Contact Can Improve Intergroup Attitudes , 2007 .

[7]  Jordan Soliz,et al.  Perceptions of Communication With Gay and Lesbian Family Members: Predictors of Relational Satisfaction and Implications for Outgroup Attitudes , 2010 .

[8]  Amy J. C. Cuddy,et al.  The BIAS map: behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes. , 2007, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[9]  Jake Harwood,et al.  The Contact Space: A Novel Framework for Intergroup Contact Research , 2010 .

[10]  Rhiannon N. Turner,et al.  Can imagined interactions produce positive perceptions? Reducing prejudice through simulated social contact. , 2009, The American psychologist.

[11]  Marilynn B. Brewer,et al.  When contact is not enough: Social identity and intergroup cooperation , 1996 .

[12]  J. Walkup.  Fuzzy-set social science , 2003 .

[13]  Nick Joyce,et al.  Intergroup Contact and Communication , 2012 .

[14]  T. Wigram,et al.  Therapeutic Songwriting in Music Therapy , 2008 .

[15]  M. Hewstone,et al.  Intergroup Contact and Grandparent–Grandchild Communication: The Effects of Self-Disclosure on Implicit and Explicit Biases Against Older People , 2006 .

[16]  Aaron C. Kay,et al.  Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification , 2009 .

[17]  Charles C. Ragin,et al.  Comparative Employment Performance: A Fuzzy-Set Analysis , 2008 .

[18]  Brian A. Nosek,et al.  The Politics of Intergroup Attitudes , 2009, The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology.

[19]  Jocelyn M. DeGroot,et al.  Attitudes Toward Online Social Connection and Self-Disclosure as Predictors of Facebook Communication and Relational Closeness , 2011, Commun. Res..

[20]  Petra Kaufmann,et al.  Experimental And Quasi Experimental Designs For Research , 2016 .

[21]  Linda R. Tropp,et al.  A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. , 2006, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[22]  R. Crisp,et al.  Imagining intergroup contact promotes projection to outgroups , 2008 .

[23]  S. Gosling,et al.  The Secret Lives of Liberals and Conservatives: Personality Profiles, Interaction Styles, and the Things They Leave Behind , 2008 .

[24]  Miles Hewstone,et al.  Reducing explicit and implicit outgroup prejudice via direct and extended contact: The mediating role of self-disclosure and intergroup anxiety. , 2007, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[25]  Rhiannon N. Turner,et al.  Have Confidence in Contact. , 2010 .

[26]  Sandra Lowe,et al.  Redesigning Social Inquiry Fuzzy Sets And Beyond , 2016 .

[27]  J Tudor-Hart,et al.  On the nature of prejudice. , 1961, The Eugenics review.