Let's stay close: An examination of the effects of imagined contact on behavior toward children with disability |
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| Authors: | Veronica Margherita Cocco Elisa Bisagno Gian Antonio Di Bernardo Nicola Bicocchi Simone Calderara Andrea Palazzi Rita Cucchiara Franco Zambonelli Alessia Cadamuro Sofia Stathi Richard Crisp Loris Vezzali |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Parma, Parma, Italy;2. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy;3. University of Greenwich, London, UK;4. Durham University, Durham, UK |
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| Abstract: | In line with current developments in indirect intergroup contact literature, we conducted a field study using the imagined contact paradigm among high-status (Italian children) and low-status (children with foreign origins) group members (N = 122; 53 females, mean age = 7.52 years). The experiment aimed to improve attitudes and behavior toward a different low-status group, children with disability. To assess behavior, we focused on an objective measure that captures the physical distance between participants and a child with disability over the course of a five-minute interaction (i.e., while playing together). Results from a 3-week intervention revealed that in the case of high-status children imagined contact, relative to a no-intervention control condition, improved outgroup attitudes and behavior, and strengthened helping and contact intentions. These effects however did not emerge among low-status children. The results are discussed in the context of intergroup contact literature, with emphasis on the implications of imagined contact for educational settings. |
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| Keywords: | children imagined contact indirect contact intergroup behavior intergroup contact prejudice |
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