Predictors of intergroup contact: The role of ideology, empathy, and personality

0575929 - PSÚ 2024 eng A - Abstract
Lacko, David - Oľhová, Simona - Hřebíčková, Martina - Sczesny, S. - Žingora, T. - Graf, Sylvie
Predictors of intergroup contact: The role of ideology, empathy, and personality.
[General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology /19./. Krakow, 30.06.2023-04.07.2023]
Method of presentation: Poster
URL events: https://easp2023krakow.com/program/ 
Institutional support: RVO:68081740
Keywords : prejudice * intergroup contact * empathy * personality * ideology
OECD category: Psychology (including human - machine relations)

In cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in Switzerland and Czechia, we investigated predictors of intergroup contact, namely ideological variables, empathy (Study 1&2) and personality traits (Study 3&4). In Study 1 (N=859 Swiss), those left-wing politically oriented reported more frequent positive (and less negative) contact with African migrants. In Study 2 (N=317 Swiss), those right-wing-oriented reported more negative contact, while those higher in empathy reported more positive contact with African immigrants. The link between empathy and intergroup contact was moderated by political orientation (for negative contact) and prejudice (for positive contact), in that those right-wing and more prejudiced the effect was stronger. Study 3 (N=3559 Czechs) found that those higher in extraversion and those lower in neuroticism had more frequent contact with people from abroad. The 4-wave longitudinal Study 4 (N=1943 Czechs) analyzed positive and negative contact with two minorities–Roma and Vietnamese. The results (on a between-person level) showed that those higher in extraversion and in neuroticism reported more negative contact, while those higher in agreeableness reported less negative contact. Moreover, those more open to experience reported more positive contact while those higher in neuroticism less positive contact. Findings suggest that many underinvestigated predictors may influence intergroup contact, and therefore should be taken into account in future.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345634