Examining the role of positive and negative intergroup contact and anti-immigrant prejudice in Brexit

This study examined the interplay of anti-immigrant prejudice and intergroup contact experience on voting intentions within Britain’s 2016 referendum on its membership within the European Union. In the days before the referendum we asked more than 400 British people how they planned to vote. We measured a number of demographic factors expected to predict voting intentions as well as individuals’ prejudice toward, and intergroup contact experience (positive and negative) with EU immigrants. Anti-immigrant prejudice was a strong correlate of support for Brexit. Negative intergroup contact experience was associated with higher anti-immigrant prejudice and, in turn, increased support for ‘Leave’. Positive intergroup contact, on the other hand, seemed to play a reparative role, predicting lower prejudice and increasing support for ‘Remain’

Prejudice-reduction in culturally mixed classrooms : The development and assessment of a theory-driven prejudice-reduction intervention among majority and minority youth in Finland

Peer reviewe

The week after:Do the effects of imagined contact last over time?

The vast majority of studies assessing the prejudice reduction properties of imagined contact have focused so far on the immediate effects of the intervention. In an attempt to contribute to the literature examining the long-term effects of imagined contact, the two studies reported in this paper tested the immediate and long-term effects of imagined contact on outgroup attitudes, intergroup anxiety, and behavioral intentions in Experiment 1, and also on contact self-efficacy in Experiment 2. Both studies were conducted in a context of entrenched intergroup conflict, Cyprus. The results supported the effectiveness of imagined contact in eliciting more positive attitudes, lower levels of anxiety, more positive behavioral intentions, and higher contact self-efficacy when these were measured immediately after contact. However, evidence for the endurance of these effects was systematically found only for outgroup attitudes and intergroup anxiety. While these results speak to the ability of imagined contact to lead to long-term changes in important and commonly studied intergroup outcomes, lack of consistent evidence regarding its ability to yield lasting changes on variables pertaining to intended behavior toward the outgroup compose a challenge for the intervention

Confidence in Contact: A New Perspective on Promoting Cross-Group Friendship Among Children and Adolescents

Intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954) proposes that positive interactions between members of different social groups can improve intergroup relations. Contact should be especially effective in schools, where opportunities may exist to engage cooperatively with peers from different backgrounds and develop cross-group friendships. In turn, these friendships have numerous benefits for intergroup relations. However, there is evidence that children do not always engage in cross-group friendships, often choosing to spend time with same-group peers, even in diverse settings. We argue that in order to capitalise on the potential impact of contact in schools for promoting harmonious intergroup relations, a new model is needed that places confidence in contact at its heart. We present an empirically-driven theoretical model of intergroup contact that outlines the conditions that help to make young people ‘contact ready’, preparing them for successful, sustained intergroup relationships by giving them the confidence that they can engage in contact successfully. After evaluating the traditional approach to intergroup contact in schools, we present our theoretical model which outlines predictors of cross-group friendships that enhance confidence in and readiness for contact. We then discuss theory-driven, empirically tested interventions that could potentially promote confidence in contact. Finally, we make specific recommendations for practitioners and policy makers striving to promote harmonious intergroup relations in the classroom

Intergroup relations in Malaysia : Identity Contact and threat

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Measuring the effect of the North Korea-U.S. summit on the South Korean stock market

2019, 2019 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. We examine the effects of the North Korea-U.S. summit and related events on the South Korean stock market over the period March 2018 to June 2018. Employing the event study methodology, we estimate sectoral abnormal returns following the events surrounding the summit and conduct several robustness tests to control for market integration and firm-specific information. Furthermore, we assess how sectoral systematic risk changes following these events by using various ARCH-type models such as GARCH, TARCH, EGARCH and PARCH. The results show that the South Korean stock market was highly sensitive to these events. In particular, we find that the market was negatively affected by the news that could reduce the probability of holding the summit and vice versa. We also find that market scepticism about the summit leads to the rise of a diamond risk structure

'Rallying around the flag': Can an intergroup contact intervention promote national unity?

A longitudinal study evaluated the success of a contact-based nation-building intervention (the Malaysian National Service Programme) in promoting various facets of national unity. The study assessed how post-test measures of quality of intergroup contact, outgroup evaluations, and levels of identification changed compared to their respective pre-test levels, for both National Service and control group participants. The intervention did not lead to a worsening of any of the constructs related to intergroup relations, which is noteworthy given the novelty for many participants of mixing in a multi-ethnic setting. Furthermore, all rater groups (Malays, Chinese, and Indians) maintained their ethnic identity, even in the presence of high levels of national identity, which we discuss with respect to past research on the effects of positive intergroup contact on minority group identification. However, the changes associated with the intervention yielded only small effect sizes, and, on the whole, National Service participants did not show significantly greater improvement than that experienced by control participants. We discuss the value of intergroup contact in this novel setting, considering various features of this programme that may have limited its effectiveness and discuss how such interventions can more successfully meet their goals