1. Improving intergroup relations in educational contexts with direct and indirect contact Loris Vezzali University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Thursday, April 28th 2016, at 14.15 – 16.00 The Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Research/Social Psychology University of Helsinki, 28th April 2016

2. The importance of direct contact The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) represents one of the most popular theories in social psychology. It states that contact, especially under optima conditions (equal status, cooperation, common goals, institutional support) can improve intergroup relations. Countless evidence demonstrates that direct contact is indeed effective in reducing prejudice (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006).

3. The importance of direct contact Longitudinal evidence for the effectiveness of contact is however still scarce with some exceptions (e.g., Jasinskaja-Lahti, Mähönen, & Liebkind, 2012). However, it has some limits, at least considering educational contexts:  number of waves (mainly two)  short time lag (generally, some months, and anyway confined within one school year).

4. The importance of direct contact Moreover, evidence for the effects of contact on implicit prejudice is  mainly correlational (e.g., Aberson & Haag, 2007)  when experimental, it lacks ecological validity (Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton, & Tropp, 2008)  effects are tested at very short distance from assessment of the dependent variable (for an exception, see Devine et al., 2014, testing effects between 4 and 8 weeks after an intervention).

5. Participants 232 Italians, 79 immigrants, first-year student in high-schools located in Northern Italy. Longitudinal design 4 waves: October 2009 (T1), May 2010, May 2011 (T2), May 2012 (T3) Hypotheses  contact T1 should have longitudinal effects on improved outgroup attitudes T3, mediated by reduced intergroup anxiety T2  the product of quantity and quality of contact T1 should have a direct longitudinal effect on reduced implicit prejudice T3 Initial direct contact and implicit prejudice Vezzali, Hewstone, Capozza, Trifiletti, & Lolliot, in preparation

6. Measures (5-step scale)  quantity of contact (2 items)  quality of contact (4 items)  intergroup anxiety (8 items)  outgroup attitudes (8 semantic-differential items)  implicit outgroup attitudes (ST-IAT; see Bluemke & Friese, 2008) Initial direct contact and implicit prejudice

9. Conclusions Contact has effects on both explicit outgroup attitudes. Importantly, contact experienced during the first 1-2 months of school influences explicit and implicit outgroup attitudes over three years. Therefore, it is crucial to tackle contact since the beginning of the school. Initial direct contact and implicit prejudice

10. Participants 388 Italians, 109 immigrants, first-year student in high-schools located in Northern Italy. Longitudinal design 2 waves: November 2015 (T1), May 2015 (T2) Hypotheses  the direction between contact and personality is bi-directional  personality mediates contact effects on improved outgroup attitudes Initial direct contact and personality Vezzali, Turner, Capozza, & Trifiletti, under review

11. Measures (5-step scale)  quantity of contact (4 items)  quality of contact (4 items)  personality (Big 5 inventory, see e.g. John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991, assessing agreeableness (9 items), openness to experience (10 items), extraversion (8 items))  outgroup attitudes (6 semantic-differential items, scale by Wright et al.’s (1997) scale)  attitudes toward homosexuals (feeling thermometer, 0-100 scale) Initial direct contact and personality

12. Agreeableness T1 Quantity of Contact T1 Quantity of contact T2 -.02.70*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

13. Openness to experience T1 Quantity of Contact T1 Quantity of contact T2.02.69*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

14. Extraversion T1 Quantity of Contact T1 Quantity of contact T2 -.01.70*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

15. Agreeableness T1 Quality of Contact T1 Quality of contact T2.13**.38*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

16. Openness to experience T1 Quality of Contact T1 Quality of contact T2.12**.39*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

17. Extraversion T1 Quality of Contact T1 Quality of contact T2.02.41*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

18. Quantity of Contact T1 Quality of Contact T1 Personality trait T1 Agreeableness T2 -.07.14***.52**** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

19. Quantity of Contact T1 Quality of Contact T1 Personality trait T1 Openness to experience T2 -.02.10*.60*** *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. PersonalityContact Initial direct contact and personality

20. Quantity of contact T1 Quality of Contact T1 Openness to experience T2.08 †.15** † p <.10. *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. Agreeableness T2 Extraversion T2 Outgroup attitudes T2 Personality traits and outgroup attitudes T1 were controlled for..19*** 95% C.I..008/.051 Initial direct contact and personality

21. Quantity of contact T1 Quality of Contact T1 Openness to experience T2.08 †.15** † p <.10. *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001. Agreeableness T2 Extraversion T2 Attitudes toward homosexuals T2 Personality traits and attitudestoward homosexuals T1 were controlled for..10* 95% C.I..053/1.276 Initial direct contact and personality

22. Conclusions Contact, in addition to being influenced by personality, also impacts on personality traits, which also partly explain its effects on reduced prejudice. Once again, it seems important to tackle contact since the beginning of the school. Initial direct contact and personality

23. Vezzali, Hewstone, Di Bernardo, & Capozza, in preparation Various authors have pointed out that contact, in addition to respect optimal condition, should be properly structured in order to maximize its effects. Various model have been proposed:  decategorization model (Brewer & Miller, 1984)  categorization model (Hewstone & Brown, 1986)  common ingroup identity model (Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000). Structuring initial direct contact

24. Various authors have pointed out that contact, in addition to respect optimal condition, should be properly structured in order to maximize its effects. Various model have been proposed:  decategorization model (Brewer & Miller, 1984)  categorization model (Hewstone & Brown, 1986)  common ingroup identity model (Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000). Structuring initial direct contact

25. Decategorization Categorization Common ingroup identity Pettigrew’s (1998) integrative model Structuring initial direct contact

26. Decategorization + Categorization Brown and Hewstone’s (2005) integrative model Structuring initial direct contact

27. Experimental design 4 conditions:  decategorization-categorization  categorization-decategorization  decategorization+categorization  control Structuring initial direct contact

28. Instructions DECATEGORIZATION Several studies in psychology demonstrate that initial contact with members of different ethnic groups is extremely important for determining the development of interethnic relationships. In particular, it is very important that individuals focus on personal characteristics and preferences, in order to know each other in depth. Please spend the next two weeks interacting with immigrants [Italians] by trying to know them better for whom they really are as persons. In order to do so, you can take advantage of the questions with which you will be provided. In two weeks from now, you will be asked to write an essay on what you have learnt. Structuring initial direct contact

29. CATEGORIZATION Several studies in psychology demonstrate that, after initial interactions with members of a different ethnic group where you had the possibility to know them for whom they really are, what is most important is knowing information of the respective original group, which constitutes an important part of the individual. In fact, our ethnic group tells a lot about who we really are. For this reason, we ask you to spend the next two weeks interacting with immigrants [Italians] by trying to know your respective groups better. In particular, we ask you to exchange information which help you to understand your peers’ culture, such as information on traditions, celebrations, mentality, ways to face issues, ways to have fun, etc. In two weeks from now, you will be asked to write an essay on what you have learnt. Structuring initial direct contact

30. DECATEGORIZATION + CATEGORIZATION Several studies in psychology demonstrate that initial contact with members of different ethnic groups is extremely important for determining the development of interethnic relationships. In particular, there are two aspects that are very important. First, it is very important that individuals focus on information of their original group, which constitutes an important part of the individual. In fact, our ethnic group tells a lot about who we really are. For this reason, we ask you to spend the next two weeks interacting with immigrants [Italians] by trying to know their group better. In particular, we ask you to exchange information which help you to understand your peers’ culture, such as information on traditions, celebrations, mentality, ways to face issues, ways to have fun, etc. Second, it is important to know members of the other ethnic groups also for whom they really are. In particular, it is very important that individuals focus on personal characteristics and preferences, in order to know each other in depth. Please spend the next two weeks interacting with immigrants [Italians] by trying to know them better for whom they really are as persons. In order to do so, you can take advantage of the questions with which you will be provided. In two weeks from now, you will be asked to write an essay on what you have learnt. Structuring initial direct contact

31. Participants 236 Italians, first-year student in high-schools located in Northern Italy. TIMETABLE Structuring initial direct contact First set of instructions Reinforcement of instructions 2 weeks after school beginning Third week Fourth week Essay – Second set of instructions Reinforcement of instructions Fifth week Sixth week Essay Sixth week Questionnaire

32. Measures (5-step scale)  cross-group friendships at school (3 items)  one-group representation (1 item)  intergroup anxiety (12 items)  outgroup attitudes (6 semantic-differential items, scale by Wright et al.’s (1997) scale)  behavioral intentions (approach, avoidance, aggression – 9 items) Structuring initial direct contact

33. Differences among conditions Cross-group friendships at school (1-5) b bc ac b Structuring initial direct contact

34. Differences among conditions One-group (1-5) bc ac a bc Structuring initial direct contact

35. Differences among conditions Intergroup anxiety (1-5) b ac bc Structuring initial direct contact

36. Differences among conditions Approach intentions (1-5) bcac a bc Structuring initial direct contact

37. Correlations between cross-group friendships and the other variables – differences among conditions Intergroup anxiety b cd ac bd Structuring initial direct contact

38. Correlations between cross-group friendships and the other variables – differences among conditions Outgroup attitudes bc ac a Structuring initial direct contact

39. Correlations between cross-group friendships and the other variables – differences among conditions Approach intentions bb a b Structuring initial direct contact

40. Correlations between cross-group friendships and the other variables – differences among conditions Avoidance intentions ac a bc ac Structuring initial direct contact

41. Conclusions Contact should be structured from the beginning of the school, in order to increase its effectiveness. In particular, the best combination of strategies is categorization followed by decategorization. Structuring initial direct contact

42. Although effective, direct contact is not often employed in naturalistic interventions (Paluck & Green, 2009), because  direct contact is costly and impractical  segregated environments  few outgroup members and/or less contact opportunities. Indirect contact

43. Research showed that it is also possible to capitalize on non face-to-face contact. There are two main forms:  extended/vicarious contact  imagined contact. Indirect contact

44. Extended contact According to Wright and colleagues (1997), knowing about or observing a member of one’s own group has a friend of another group can reduce prejudice. There is now evidence that extended contact is effective in reducing prejudice (Vezzali, Hewstone, Capozza, Giovannini, & Woelfer, 2014). Extended contact has several advantages over direct contact: it is less costly and is more easy to apply can be used in segregated contexts it should favor generalization it is equally effective for majority and minority members.

45. Extended contact + + -

46. + + +

47. Vicarious contact Recently, some authors (Dovidio, Eller, & Hewstone, 2011; Vezzali et al., 2014) differentiated between extended contact (knowing about cross-group interactions) and vicarious contact (observing cross- group interactions). Short stories (Liebkind, Mahonen, Solares, Solheim, & Jasinskaja-Lathi, 2014; Liebkind & McAlister, 1999; see also Cameron & Rutland, 2006) and real books (Vezzali, Stathi, & Giovannini, 2012) can be used as a form of vicarious contact, when they concern positive interactions between characters belonging to one’s own group and to another group (for instance, stories of positive contact between Whites and Blacks).

48. However, short stories may be difficult to create, and individuals may not be interested in many books. And if they’re not interested in a book, there is no reason to expect that the book will impact on their attitudes… Vicarious contact

49. Harry Potter books however are appealing to both children and adults (Heilman, 2009), readers are “fascinated by them” (Knapp, 2003, p. 79). The appeal of a book is important, as pupils often fail to identify engaging books (Worthy, Moorman, & Turner, 1999). Vicarious contact with fantasy characters

51. However…goblin, elves, half-giants and so on don’t exist…and disadvantaged groups such as immigrants, refugees, or homosexuals are not represented in the books… ≠ Vicarious contact with fantasy characters

52. We argue that J. K. Rowling presented fantasy social groups as humanized stigmatized groups, which have a low status position in the (magical) society. Therefore, readers may associate them to real-world groups which are stigmatized in the real society, such as Immigrants Refugees Homosexuals Vicarious contact with fantasy characters

53. Participants 34 Italian elementary school children. Experimental design Two experimental conditions: experimental, control. Hypothesis Reading passages of Harry Potter books related to prejudice should improve attitudes toward immigrants, but only for those who identify with the main character (social cognitive theory; Bandura, 2002). Vicarious contact with fantasy characters Vezzali, Stathi, Giovannini, Capozza, & Trifiletti, 2015

54. In the experimental condition, groups of children (5-6 at a time), once a week for 6 weeks, read and discussed stories of Harry Potter related to prejudice with a researcher. For example, children read the passage from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where Draco insults Hermione calling her “mudblood,” Hermione suffers for it (possibly activating parallel empathy), Hagrid and Ron feel indignated (reactive empathy). Vicarious contact with fantasy characters

55. The control condition was identical to the experimental condition. In this case, however, passages were unrelated to prejudice issues. For example, children read the passage from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone where Harry buys his first magic wand. Vicarious contact with fantasy characters

56. Measures were based on 5-step scale points, and were administered 1 week after the last intervention session.  attitudes toward immigrants (2 items)  identification with Harry Potter (2 items). Vicarious contact with fantasy characters

57. Experimental condition (reading passages related to prejudice) improved attitudes toward immigrants, BUT ONLY for children more identified with Harry Potter. Experimental condition × Identification with Harry Potter Low identificationHigh identification Attitudes toward immigrants

58. Participants 120 Italian children enrolled in multiethnic schools located in Northern Italy. Mean age was 10 years 11 months. Experimental design 2 conditions: extended contact, control Extended contact

59. Vezzali, Stathi, Giovannini, Capozza, & Visintin, 2015 Some studies demonstrated that extended contact improves outgroup attitudes among children (e.g., Turner, Tam, Hewstone, Kenworthy, & Cairns, 2013). However, children may not know that ingroup members have outgroup friends. We conducted an intervention based on extended contact, aimed at making them aware that their ingroup peers had cross-group friendships. Extended contact

60. Procedure In the experimental condition, participants were informed of taking part to a competition for the best essay on intercultural themes. They were paired with an ingroup peer and in two session had to write an essay on their best cross-group friendships and experiences. In the third session, the evaluated the essay written by other ingroup peers in the experimental condition, so to favor generalization. The control condition was identical. In this case, however, no mention was made to intercultural issues. One week after the intervention, participants were administered a questionnaire; a second questionnaire was administered three months after the intervention. Whereas all essays in the experimental condition concerned cross- group friendship experiences, none of the essays in the control condition reported cross-group experiences. Extended contact

61. Measures (5-step scale)  Pro-contact ingroup and outgroup norms (3 items each)  outgroup attitudes (feeling thermometer, 1 item, 0-10 scale)  contact behavioral intentions (7 items)  cross-group friendships (nomination of the three best friends) (repeated after 3 months) Structuring initial direct contact

62. Extended contact Path pro-contact ingroup norms - contact behavioral intentions 95% C.I..005/.154 Path pro-contact outgroup norms - contact behavioral intentions 95% C.I..003/.093

63. Imagined contact Simply imagining a cross-group interaction reduces prejudice (Crisp & Turner, 2009). There is now evidence that imagined contact is an effective strategy to reduce prejudice, also in educational contexts (Miles & Crisp, 2014). Imagined contact has several advantages over direct and also extended/vicarious contact: it is low-cost and extremely flexible and easy to apply it should not activate intergroup anxiety it can be used in extremely segregated contexts and where opportunities for contact are scarce.

64. Participants 81 non-disabled Italian elementary school first-, second-, and third- grade children. Experimental design Two experimental conditions: experimental, control. Imagined contact Vezzali, Di Bernardo, Crisp, Stathi, Bicocchi, Calderara, Palazzi, & Capozza, in preparation

65. In the experimental condition, participants met individually with the experimenters over the course of three sessions. FIRST SESSION Participants spent two minutes imagining to meet an unknown disabled child in wheelchair just arrived in his/her class, and to become friends with this child. They then imagined to describe what they had just imagined to a friend, and repeated their imaginative task recorded by an mp3. Imagined contact

66. SECOND SESSION Participants spent two minutes imagining to meet an unknown disabled deaf child in the neighborhood, and to become friends with this child. They were then asked to draw the imagined contact scene. Imagined contact

67. THIRD SESSION Participants spent two minutes imagining to meet an unknown disabled blind child at the park, and to become friends with this child. They then were asked to draw the characters of the imagined contact scene, the games/toys eventually used, cut out them and paste them on a poster (on which all children in the class pasted their characters while describing the imagined scene to a researcher). Imagined contact

68. In all sessions,  participants were prompted by experimenters, when performing the task for reinforcing the imagery task, to provide a detailed account of what they just imagined  were involved in a final collective discussion on what they imagined. In the control condition, participants simply completed dependent variables. Imagined contact

69. Questionnaire Measures were based on 5-step scale points, and were administered 1 week after the last intervention session. The target was represented by disabled children.  outgroup attitudes (feeling thermometer, 0-10 scale, 1 item)  contact behavioral intentions (3 items)  helping behavioral intentions (4 items)  anti-bullying behavioral intentions (3 items). Imagined contact

70. Behavior In the days following the intervention, each children met with a disabled child from another class. They met in a separate room, equipped with toys, and asked to play together for 5 minutes. There were 4 disabled children, 2 with mental disability, and 2 with mental and physical disability. The interaction was video-recorded. Imagined contact

71. Behavior Engineers extracted interpersonal distance during the interaction. Moreover, external coders provided measures (scale 1-7) of  verbal hostility (5 items) and anxiety (10 items)  non verbal hostility (5 items) and anxiety (10 items)  verbal + non verbal hostility (5 items) and anxiety (10 items) Imagined contact

72. Outgroup attitudes (0-10) a b Imagined contact

73. Contact behavioral intentions (1-5) a b Imagined contact

74. Helping behavioral intentions (1-5) a b Imagined contact

75. Anti-bullying behavioral intentions (1-5) a b Imagined contact

76. Interpersonal distance (m) (based on 55 participants) a b Imagined contact

77. Verbal hostility (1-7) a b Imagined contact

78. Verbal anxiety (1-7) a b Imagined contact

79. Non verbal hostility (1-7) a b Imagined contact

80. Non verbal anxiety (1-7) a b Imagined contact

81. Verbal + non verbal hostility (1-7) Imagined contact

82. Verbal + non verbal anxiety (1-7) Imagined contact

83. Although direct contact is most effective, also indirect contact can be extremely useful in educational contexts, as it can be easily adapted to different contexts and be included in school curricula. Future research could now focus on how the various strategies may be combined in order to maximize their effects. Conclusions